Previous research has studied toxicity in World of Tanks game with a focus on precursors of toxicity, player performance in the game from the perspective of gender-performance gap or observing the players' major behaviors instigated by various situations within the game. This research focuses on player's behavior in the game chat with an emphasis on toxic behavior by using participant observation ethnography, thematic analysis, content analysis and autoethnography. Contrary to the predicted belief that game mechanics could instigate toxic behavior in the game, results showed that the major forms of toxicity were regarded as gamesplaining, ableism, sarcasm, male preserve concept and fragile masculinity concept.

The literature on rebel cohesion/fragmentation currently presents valid macro-level explanations for rebel group cohesion/fragmentation, yet no model currently exists exploring non-utility-based motivations regulating pro-group behaviour. This thesis tests the assumptions of a novel social psychological framework – Identity Fusion Theory – on rebel cohesion. Using a primarily quantitative approach applying a logistic regression model to primary data gathered on the Syrian Civil War, and a smaller qualitative element comparing groups with “fused” and “non-fused” memberships during the war, the thesis tests the hypothesis that “groups with highly fused memberships will be less likely to fragment during the course of a civil war than groups with non-fused memberships”. The results of the analysis show a strong, positive relationship between fused memberships and rebel cohesion. The results of the thesis are to some extent limited by potential omitted variable bias (suggested by high R2 values) and the use of Syria as the only population from which to sample. Nevertheless, the relatively large number of observations in the dataset (63) as well as heterogenous nature of groups involved suggest the findings are generalisable. In conclusion, we did find a positive relationship between fusion and rebel group cohesion. The main implications of this thesis being that future academic research may benefit from focusing on social psychological factors when examining rebel dynamics while policymakers potentially shape better responses to insurgencies and rebellions.

This paper discusses the problems caused by the linguistic features used by speakers as the basis of determining their social identity. The concept of identity is broad and closely related with socio-cultural and eco-spheres environment of the speakers. The speaker’s identity is determined by employing both social and linguistic features in the overall analysis. The linguistic features include the whole range of language use, from phonetic features to lexical units, syntactic structures and family names. This paper therefore argues that the speaker’s linguistic features pose some problems in determining the speaker’s identity. The first problem concerns the concepts of language and dialect which are defined differently by different scholars. The second problem refers to multilingual speakers with diversified linguistic competence, and lastly, it has been noted with concern that some speakers use artificial family names which are not from their ethnic origin, hence complicating the process of determining the identity of the speakers.

Social identity between interlocutors s is an indispensable factor in the formation of a community (i e. a social unit whose members are held together by an international network and who share certain interests, beliefs, views and attitudes) In this regard, language is known to be an influential symbol of identity, an important clue to social group membership. As Einer Haugen states, language is at once `a social institution, like the laws, the religion, or the economy of a community, and a social instrument which accompanies and makes possible all other institutions. As an institution it may become a symbol of the community` (1956:8 7).

This study aims to examine how identity creation in young women is affected by living in an in-betweenship state. In addition, with the help of our interviewees' stories, we also want to highlight the advantages and disadvantages that the women themselves see in this phenomenon. The purpose of the study is to examine how women who experience in-betweenship and dual cultural affiliation describe that it affects their identity. To investigate this, a qualitative research method with semi-structured interviews is used. The interviewees consist of seven women between twenty and thirty years old with origins from the Middle East, who were all born or raised in Sweden. All interviews were thematized in connection with the transcript and the important themes selected have been limited to what answers the study's purpose and question.The results of the study showed that all interviewees have at some time felt various difficulties in finding and creating their identity between two cultures, which in many cases has led to some form of identity crisis. Several of the interviewees mention that there is a kind of rootlessness and an expressed wonder of "who am I". Another result that this study has shown is that the benefits of living in an intermediate relationship and with dual cultures are a deeper understanding of other people and cultures. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur unga kvinnors identitetsskapande påverkas av att leva i ett mellanförskap. Utöver det vill vi med hjälp av intervjupersonernas berättelser och erfarenheter också lyfta fram de för- och nackdelar som kvinnorna själva ser med detta fenomen. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur kvinnor med dubbel kulturtillhörighet som upplever ett mellanförskap beskriver att det påverkar deras identitet. För att undersöka detta används en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjupersonerna består av sju kvinnor mellan tjugo och trettio år med ursprung från mellanöstern, alla är födda eller har spenderat större delen av sin uppväxt i Sverige. Alla intervjuer transkriberades i samband med intervjuerna och de teman som valts ut relaterar till studiens syfte och frågeställning.Studiens resultat visar att alla intervjupersoner någon gång har känt svårigheter i att hitta och skapa sin identitet mellan två olika kulturer, vilket i många fall har lett till någon form av identitetskris. Flera av intervjupersonerna nämner en känsla av rotlöshet och en uttryckt undran över ”vem är jag”. En av de största fördelarna som gemensamt nämns av intervjupersonerna är att de tack vare en dubbel kulturtillhörighet har fått en djupare förståelse för andra människor och kulturer.

The purpose of this study has been to investigate how female Swedish Finns reflect upon their socialization and their social identity in the Swedish society. The main theoretical framework for this study originates from sociologists such as Goffman and Tajfel. Goffman describes social interaction in terms of theatrical performance and deviant role with the concept of stigma. Tajfel explains how social identity can be understood as the part of the individual's self-concept, which derives from their knowledge and pride of their membership of a social group. A web survey (n=78) and semi-structured interviews (n=7) were conducted with female Swedish Finns, who were born in the 1970’s. They were asked to reflect upon their socialization in the Swedish society, the term Swedish Finns and their current social identity. I found out that the women of this study felt their social identity as being mostly Finns. They showed pride of their origin and of being bilingual. The Finnish language keeps them tied to Finnish traditions, family and friends, which inhibits the socialization to the Swedish society. As time goes by these women gradually move away from other Finns to socializing more with the Swedes. The stories of the seven Swedish Finns implicate that normification takes place and the stigmatized Finn strives to appear as an ordinary Swede in social situations. However, these women recognize themselves mostly as Finns at heart, but also as Swedes depending on the social context. They can best be described as different kind of Swedish women.

Denna kvalitativa studie undersöker emotionshantering och känsloregler i polyamorösa förhållanden. Polyamorösa utsätter sig för situationer där emotionshantering med största sannolikhet är av vikt, där svartsjuka samt emotionen compersion (även kallad medglädje) kan uppstå, och har därmed upplevelse av att hantera svartsjuka och compersion som är värdefull att undersöka. Studiens forskningsfrågor var 1) Hur den polyamorösa personen har lärt sig om polyamorösa sociala normer och förväntningar gällande emotioner svartsjuka och compersion i parrelationer, 2) Hur den polyamorösa personen själv hanterar emotioner av svartsjuka och compersion i sina relationer Samt 3) Vilka förebilder personen har gällande hanteringar av emotioner svartsjuka och compersion, samt och hur utvärderar hon sina egna erfarenheter. Den teoretiska ramen i studien är baserad på teorin om social identitet samt privata emotionella system. Materialet samlades med hjälp av semi-strukturerade djupintervjuer med fem polyamorösa kvinnor, där det sedan användes en tematisk analysmetod. Resultatet visade att den polyamorösa personen lär sig känsloreglerna i den polyamorösa kontexten genom att interagera med andra med samma sociala identitet (antingen genom sin partner eller genom socialisationsarenor såsom sociala medier), samt att dessa normer påvisar kommunikationsfaktorn som en viktig norm som hjälper den polyamorösa individen i sin emotionshantering. Denna norm menar flera respondenter är någonting som fungerar för dem i deras egen emotionshantering, och när de uppfyller den här normen leder det till att de utvärderar sina erfarenheter av emotionerna svartsjuka och compersion som goda. Däremot underströk flera respondenter att de inte hade några förebilder att jämföra sig med, utan jämförelser sker i störst utsträckning med den större monogama gemenskapen. / This qualitative study examines emotion management and emotion rules in polyamorous relationships. Polyamorous people are exposed to situations where emotion management is most likely important, where jealousy and the emotion compersion can occur, and thus have experience of dealing with jealousy and compersion that is valuable to investigate. The research questions of the study were 1) How the polyamorous person has learned about polyamorous social norms and expectations regarding emotions jealousy and compersion in couple relationships, 2) How the polyamorous person herself handles emotions of jealousy and compersion in their relationships, and 3) What role models the person has regarding management of emotions jealousy and compersion, as well as and how she evaluates her own experiences. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the theory of social identity and private emotional systems. The material was collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with five polyamorous women, where then a thematic analysis method was used. The results showed that the polyamorous person learns the emotional rules in the polyamorous context by interacting with others with the same social identity (either through their partner or through socialization arenas such as social media), and that these norms demonstrate the communication factor as an important norm that helps the polyamorous individual in their emotion management. This norm, several respondents believe, is something that works for them in their own emotion management, and when they meet this norm, it leads them to evaluate their experiences of the emotions such as jealousy and compersion as very good. On the other hand, several respondents emphasized that they had no role models to compare themselves with, but that comparisons are made to the greatest extent with the larger monogamous community.

Varje år byter ett antal elever som är döva eller har hörselnedsättning (D/HN) skolform under pågående grundskoleutbildning. Det har inte funnits en samlad bild av varför bytet sker och hur eleverna upplever omställningen. Vi har i denna studie genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio högstadieelever med syftet att bidra med kunskap om elevers erfarenheter av att byta skolform från en auditivt orienterad skolmiljö (grundskola) till en visuellt orienterad skolmiljö (regional specialskola). Den tematiska analysen har inspirerats av Schlossbergs (1981; 2011) transitionsmodell, vilken kan appliceras på alla typer av övergångar, förändringar och byten oberoende av om de är förväntade eller ej. Elevernas byte av skolform kan ses som en flytt från en språklig och kulturell kontext till en annan, och deras erfarenheter har delats in i tre huvudteman; flytta ut, flytta in samt göra sig hemmastadd. I intervjuerna framkom varierande erfarenheter, vilket visade att gruppen D/HN-elever som byter skolform var en heterogen grupp. Resultatet visade dock på en del likheter mellan eleverna, exempelvis att en majoritet av eleverna har upplevt ett socialt utanförskap i den auditivt orienterade skolmiljön där de inte känt sig jämlika sina skolkamrater eller fått likvärdiga möjligheter till fungerande lärsituationer. Byte av skolform har påverkat elevernas identitetsarbete och de flesta eleverna beskrev efter bytet en känsla av att vara samma som de andra, känna sig hemma och känna tillhörighet med andra D/HN-elever. Vidare visade resultatet även en förskjutning i elevernas syn på teckenspråk från att ha varit ett hjälpmedel till att vara en del av deras sociala och kulturella identitet. Bytet av skolform har lett till att elevernas identitetsarbete påverkats positivt, och eleverna har gått från att vara marginaliserade till att vara inkluderade. Slutsatser som drogs utifrån resultatet var att D/HN-elever behöver få möjlighet att utveckla en positiv social identitet istället för en marginell sådan, och för att kunna göra detta är tillgång till visuellt orienterade miljöer av vikt. / Every year a number of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students change school settings during their years in compulsory school. Why the decision is being made and how the students themselves experience the transition are questions that have not been asked when researching school placement for DHH students. This study aims to contribute with knowledge about DHH students' experiences in changing from an auditory oriented school setting (compulsory school) to a visually oriented school setting (compulsory special needs school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students). The thematic analysis is informed by Schlossberg's (1981;2011) transition model, which is a model that can be applied to any form of change or transition whether expected or unexpected. The change in school settings can be seen as a move from one linguistic and cultural context to another, and the students' experiences have been divided into three themes; moving out, moving in and making oneself at home. The interviews point to different sorts of experiences which show that this group of students is vastly diverse, although with some significant similarities. The change in school setting has had an effect on their identity work and the students describe it as feeling at home, being the same as the others and as a sense of belonging with other DHH students in the visually oriented school setting. The result shows that the students have gone from seeing sign language as a tool that can facilitate communication to recognizing it as a language that is a part of them and their social and cultural identity. As stated above there has been a positive effect on the students’ work on their identities and they feel included instead of marginalized. For DHH students to develop a positive rather than a marginal social identity, the students need access to visually oriented settings.

Cette thèse se propose de réactualiser les apports des principaux fondateurs de la notion de mémoire collective : Halbwachs (1925/1992, 1941/2008, 1950/1997) et Bartlett (1932/2003) dans le cadre théorique de la pensée sociale (Rouquette, 1973, 2009). Après une présentation de leurs apports respectifs, une articulation entre mémoire et pensée sociale sera présentée. À partir de cette dernière, nous proposons un ensemble d’études empiriques sur la base de la distinction théorique entre l’influence du présent sur le passé et l’influence du passé sur le présent (Jedlowski, 2001, Jodelet, 1992). Ainsi, dans une première partie empirique nous examinons, à travers cinq études, l’influence de l’implication personnelle, opérationnalisant les intérêts du présent, sur la reconstruction du souvenir social via la représentation d’un événement du passé. Les résultats obtenus montrent que l’implication personnelle vis-à-vis d’un événement influence la représentation sociale de celui-ci. Particulièrement, la faible implication personnelle tend à rendre saillant des aspects descriptifs de la représentation du passé, tandis que la forte implication personnelle tend à rendre saillant des aspects évaluatifs. Dans une seconde partie empirique, nous considérons l’influence du souvenir sur la pensée sociale (le présent) au travers des fonctions de la mémoire collective. Dans une étude empirique, nous nous intéresserons d’abord à sa fonction de mobilisation à travers l’influence de la cohérence (ou de l’incohérence) entre le souvenir d’un événement et un exemplaire similaire à venir. Puis nous nous intéresserons à la fonction de définition de l’identité sociale grâce à trois études empiriques. Nos résultats montrent que le partage de souvenir entre un individu et une cible entraine une similarité perçue plus importante et une catégorisation sociale de celle-ci dans l’endogroupe. De plus, à travers le paradigme de l’effet brebis galeuse, nos résultats suggèrent que le partage de souvenir a un aspect normatif. La discussion de l’ensemble de ces études reviendra sur la distinction structurant notre partie empirique (i.e. influence réciproque entre passé et présent) en proposant que ces deux mouvements soient considérés comme dynamiques. Des pistes d’études intégrant ses aspects seront alors proposées / This thesis proposes to update and extend the main contributions of the founders of the concept of collective memory: Halbwachs (1925/1992, 1941/2008, 1950/1997) and Bartlett (1932/2003) in the theoretical framework of Social Thinking (Rouquette 1973, 2009). After a presentation of their contributions, we present a link between memory and Social Thinking. Based on this review, we propose a set of empirical studies on the basis of the theoretical distinction between the influence of the present on the past and the influence of the past on the present (Jedlowski, 2001; Jodelet, 1992). In the first empirical part, we examined, in five studies, the influence of personal involvement that represents the interests of the present, on the reconstruction of the social memory, via the representation of a past event. The results show that the personal involvement vis-à-vis an event influences its social representation. Specifically, low personal involvement tends to make salient descriptive aspects of the representation of the past, whereas high personal involvement tends to make salient its evaluative aspects. In the second empirical part, we consider the influence of memory on Social Thinking (i.e. the present) related to the functions of collective memory. In an empirical study, we first looked at its mobilization function through the influence of the consistency (vs. inconsistency) between the memory of an event and a similar future event. Then, in three empirical studies, we look at the social identity definition function. Our results show that when an individual and a target share the same memories, perceived similarity increases and the target is more likely to be categorized as an ingroup. In addition, through the paradigm of the black sheep effect, our results suggest that sharing memory has a normative aspect. The general discussion focuses on the distinction that has structured our empirical part (i.e. the interplay between past and present) and proposes that these two movements have to be considered as a dynamic. Suggestions of studies incorporating this aspect are also proposed

Rapid urbanisation is a global phenomenon on the rise. If managed poorly by the cities affected, it may lead to, e.g. segregation, air pollution and civil unrest. In order to avoid these problems and to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, 10, reduce inequality within and among countries and 11, make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, urbanisation policies must be functional, robust and socially sustainable so that the organic growth or poorly executed policies does not lead to problems like segregation, tensions between the inhabitants and civil unrest. This study takes a closer look at a one mega city’s attempt to cope with their rapid urbanisation, the Socio-Economic Stratification (SES) system of Bogotá, Colombia to see if it is a sustainable and efficient urbanisation policy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in two areas of Bogotá where neighbourhoods are characterised by a significant difference in SES levels. Social Identity Theory and the Social Identity Model of System Attitudes were adopted to analyse the results, focusing on the formation of group identities in the neighbourhoods, intergroup conflictual behaviour, relationships and contact to see whether there exist peaceful coexistence or intergroup conflictual behaviours between the members of the SES systems different levels. The study shows a passively supported but not actively endorsed system, a tendency to place strong classification and stigmas on individuals based on their SES level, the lack of relationships and contact between neighbourhoods, and social identities with intergroup conflictual behaviour in three out of four areas investigated. A less conflictual behaviour is found in individuals that have lived in other SES levels or has had much contact with people from there. The results suggest that urbanisation policies, not only in Bogotá but worldwide, should be implemented where inhabitants are encouraged to interact and diminish segregation. As the segregation stemming from the SES system is causing tensions between the members of the different SES levels and may lead to civil unrest. This study contributes to the deficit in empirical data that exists on the SES system and will work to spark a debate on its implications and highlight people’s experiences from it. The results will also work as material for future research on the SES system and other urbanisation policies worldwide.