"Instead of studying, for example, how the psychology of personality limits and prevents real social and political change, we should be studying how political and ideological changes create new personalities and individual needs and motives." The above quotation is from social psychologist Professor John Turner, who is one of the two theorists, the other being Henri Tajfel, most responsible for the Social Identity Perspective, the principle subject of this thesis. The Social Identity Perspective is an approach to Social Psychology that incorporates two sub-theories: Tajfel's Social Identity Theory and Turner's Self-Categorization Theory. This thesis is based upon using the perspective for the purposes of creating more realistic and believable fictional characters in realist fiction. For the purposes of this thesis Pam Morris' definition of realism will be used, that being, 'any writing that is based upon an implicit or explicit assumption that it is possible to communicate about a reality beyond the writing.' According to both theories, individuals can develop two principal identities: the personal self, which is to say a collection of idiosyncratic qualities that define them as a unique individual, and a collective self (or social identity) that encapsulates the status and characteristics of the social groups they belong to in opposition to other social groupings. Turner theorised that the personality of a human being is heavily influenced by their social context at an unconscious level. This influence can be made manifest by their parents, by their school friends and work colleagues, by their romantic partners, and especially by the collective cultural expectations native to the area they choose to reside in. Turner put forward the concept that our personality and actions are therefore influenced by society at the level of how the individual defines himself or herself. This occurs without agency on the part of the individual. These social belief systems therefore mould what the individual thinks, their actions, and their motivations. This thesis will demonstrate a method of usage for elements of Social Psychology, specifically the Social Identity Perspective that underpins the actions, interactions and motivations of the fictional characters contained within the thesis's creative element. It is the contention of this thesis that The Social Identity Perspective will assist an author in marrying together ever more realistic characterisation to other areas of writer research already extensively drawn upon by the author such as those projects focused upon creating a more realistic setting in a historical novel for instance. As previously stated it is the intention of this thesis to apply aspects of social psychology to the creation of realist texts only, the findings however may also be of use to authors who write in other genres, after all even the writer of fantastic fiction still requires characters whose actions are fundamentally recognisable and justifiable to the reader in order for them to be able to make sense of the fiction and as Henry James said, 'one can speak best from one's own taste, and I may therefore venture to say the air of reality (solidity of specification) seems to me to be the supreme virtue of a novel'. It is the aim of this thesis that its findings may highlight the potential of using The Social Identity Perspective and other adjuncts of Social Psychology as tools for both plot construction and character development that is completely realistic. This may then lead to other areas of research, some of which are suggested in the concluding chapter of this thesis.

Approximately 15% of all new marriages in the United States in 2010 were between spouses that shared different racial or ethnic backgrounds from one another. Socha and Diggs (1999) began to examine race as both an outcome of family communication as well as a factor that influences children's communication development in families because of the social pressure multiethnic families endure to fit a nuclear family model. This study utilized dyadic interviews of eleven multiethnic parent couples (N = 22 individuals; 11 dyads) in order to gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. Communication in families plays a foundational role in many aspects of society and socialization of the young. However, slim research has addressed how communication in families affects the understandings of ethnicity and the formation of social identities as a social construction (see Hecht, Collier, & Ribeau, 1993; Socha & Diggs, 1999; Socha, Sanchez-Hucles, Bromley, & Kelly, 1995). Researchers in the social sciences, especially in communication, must recognize that the sanctuary of the home may be generating the keys to understanding problems concerning social identity formation and diversity. Thus, there is a need for communication research at the crossroads of ethnicity, family, and identity. This dissertation highlights family factors that may influence Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic children’s social identities as well as family communication within Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. This study explicates multiethnic families through the lens of communication accommodation theory (CAT; Giles, 1973), social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), and self-categorization theory (SCT; Turner, 1985; Turner, 1987), explicitly overviewing the intersection of interpersonal and intergroup communication (Giles, 2012). This study provides insights to both theoretical expansion and practical application within Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. Ultimately, this study addresses questions such as: a) How do Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems communicate surrounding topics of race and ethnicity, b) How do Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic families discuss components of social identity (e.g., ethnic identification for multiethnic children), and c) What challenges are unique to Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems?

The goal of this nonexperimental quantitative research study was to determine if the professional identity of a counselor educator (CE) predicted their perceived importance of professional advocacy. Social identity theory (SIT) constituted the framework for this study, which asked whether CEs would follow the established norms of the dominant professional group and thus consistently perceive the importance of professional advocacy. The Professional Counselor Advocacy Inventory (PCAI) was used to measure CEs' perceptions. The data of 92 participants were analyzed in SPSS 21 using an ordinal regression. Specialization, age, gender, primary setting, and years of experience were the predictor variables, and multiple elements of perceived importance were the outcome variables. While CEs overwhelmingly agreed that professional advocacy as a general concept was important as indicated by majority responses, there was less agreement on the importance of other elements, particularly concerning insurance coverage and job attainment. Of the five predictor variables examined, only gender and age produced significant results on study inquiries related to insurance, employment, and self-advocacy. The findings do not support SIT in the context of professional advocacy among CEs and additional research may be needed to determine if other variables predict the level of importance CEs assign to professional advocacy. As the results of this study demonstrated only age and gender produced a significant effect, this research could contribute to social change by sparking conversation about advocacy patterns and efforts in CEs, which may ultimately contribute to policy change and improve the reputation of the counseling and counselor education fields for its members and clients.

This research develops the social psychological study of lay perception of human rights and of rights-based reactions to perceived injustice. The pioneering work by social representation theorists is reviewed. Of particular interest is the use of rights-based responses to perceived relative subgroup disadvantage. It is argued that these responses are shaped by the historical development of the legal concept of unique subgroup rights; rights asserted by a subgroup that cannot be asserted by outgroup members or by members of a broader collective that includes all subgroups. The assertion of unique subgroup rights in contrast to individual rights was studied by presenting participants with scenarios suggestive of human rights violations. These included possible violations of privacy rights of indigenous Australians (Study 1), civil and political rights of indigenous Australians under mandatory sentencing schemes (Study 2), privacy rights of students in comparison to public servants (Study 3), refugee rights (Study 4), and reproductive rights of lesbians and single women in comparison to married women and women in de facto relationships (Study 5). The scenarios were based on real policy issues being debated in Australia at the time of data collection. Human rights activists participated in Studies 4 and 5. In Study 5, these activists participated via an online, web-based experiment. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. A social identity theory perspective is used drawing on concepts from both social identity theory and self-categorization theory. The studies reveal a preference for an equality-driven construal of the purpose of human rights law (i.e. that all Australians be treated equally regardless of subgroup membership) in contrast to minority support for a vulnerable groups construal of the purpose of human rights (i.e. that the purpose of human rights law is to protect vulnerable subgroups within a broader collective). Tajfelian social belief orientations of social mobility and social change are explicitly measured in Studies 3-5. Consistent with the social identity perspective, these ideological beliefs are conceptualised as background knowledge relevant to the subjective structuring of social reality (violation contexts) and to the process of motivated relative perception from the vantage point of the perceiver. There is some indication from these studies that social belief orientation may determine construals of the purpose of human rights. In Study 5 the observed preference for using inclusive human rights rhetoric in response to perceived subgroup injustice is explained as an identity-management strategy of social creativity. In Studies 4 and 5, explicit measurement of activist identification was also made in an attempt to further explain the apparently-dominant preference for an equality-driven construal of the purpose of human rights law and the preferred use of inclusive, individualised rights rhetoric in response to perceived subgroup injustice. Activist identification explained some action preferences, but did not simply translate into preferences for using subgroup interest arguments. In Study 5, metastereotyping measures revealed that inclusive rights-based protest strategies were used in order to create positive impressions of social justice campaigners in the minds of both outgroup and ingroup audiences. Ideas for future social psychological research on human rights is discussed.

The Canadian population is aging, as is the Canadian workforce. Today, four generations find themselves cohabiting in the workforce together. This may have an impact on workplace collaboration and communication, as both of these processes are influenced by group perceptions. Academic research has focused upon workplace interactions mainly from a younger worker’s perspective; hence, the older worker’s voice has been overlooked. The objective of this study is thereby from an older worker’s perspective, to understand how generations perceive each other in the workplace, and further, understand how these perceptions influence intergenerational communication and collaboration. To do so, we have relied upon Communication Accommodation Theory and Social Identity Theory, and have conducted a survey to measure the influence of ageist stereotypes on communication and its accommodation, in addition to such influences on knowledge transfer. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Syfte: Debatten kring revisorers oberoende har pågått länge. Idag är frågan om revisorers oberoende en av de viktigaste frågorna inom redovisning vilket delvis beror på de företagsskandaler som inträffat under senare år. Tidigare studier visar att sociala identifikationer kan utvecklas vid nära relationer vilket både kan ha en positiv och en negativ påverkan på revisorers oberoende. För att utvidga tidigare studier har vi lagt till personlig identifikation för att studera detta på individnivå. Vi har även valt att lägga till en faktor, det karismatiska ledarskapet, för att undersöka om detta påverkar samtliga identifikationer. Studien syftar till att undersöka om klientidentifikation, personlig och professionell identifikation påverkas av ett karismatiskt ledarskap och om dessa identifikationer i sin tur har en påverkan på revisorers oberoende. Metod: Vi har i studien använt oss av enkäter som metod för att samla in primärdata. Data samlades in från auktoriserade och godkända revisorer runtom i Sverige. Insamlad data har sedan bearbetats och analyserats med hjälp av statistikprogrammet SPSS statistics. Resultaten från de statistiska analyserna har sedan redovisats i olika tabeller. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visade att ett karismatiskt ledarskap har en påverkan på samtliga identifikationer, dock var denna påverkan relativt svag, vilket innebär att det är många andra faktorer som ökar identifikationerna. Vidare visade resultatet att personlig identifikation kan innebära ett större hot mot revisorers oberoende än klientidentifikation. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: För att få mer djup i studien och för att få fram respondenternas egna tankar och åsikter skulle en kvalitativt inriktad studie, med intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod kunna genomföras. Ytterligare förslag till forskning skulle kunna vara att undersöka andra faktorer som kan tänkas påverka olika identifikationer. Uppsatsens bidrag: Uppsatsen bidrar till fortsatt forskning inom revisorers icke-finansiella beroende, genom att vi undersöker problemet ur ett socialt identitetsperspektiv. Vidare bidrar studien med kunskap om faktorer som påverkar sociala identiteter. / Aim: The debate about the auditor independence has been going on for a long time. Today is the issue of auditor independence one of the most important in accounting which depends on several corporate scandals that have occurred in recent years. Previous studies shows that close relationships explicate social identifications which can have a positive and a negative impact on auditor independence. We have added personal identification in our study at the individual level to expand previous studies. We have also added the charismatic leadership as a factor to investigate whether this affect identifications. The study aims to investigate whether the client identification, personal and professional identification is affected by a charismatic leadership and whether these identifications has an impact on auditor independence. Method: In our study we have used surveys as a method to collect primary data. Data were collected from Swedish authorized and approved auditors. The collected data where then processed and analyzed by the statistical program SPSS statistics. The results of the statistical analyzes are then presented in different tables. Result and conclusions: The results of the study showed that charismatic leadership has an impact on all identifications, however, this effect is relatively weak, which means that there are many other factors that increase these identifications. Furthermore, the result also showed that personal identification can be a greater threat to auditor independence than client identification. Suggestions for future research: To obtain the respondents' own thoughts and opinions, a qualitative focused study with interviews as a data collection method could be implemented. Further implications could be to examine other factors that may affect different identifications. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes for further research about the auditors' non-financial dependence, in which we examine the problem from a social identity perspective. Furthermore, the study can provide knowledge of the factors that affecting social identities.

This dissertation investigates the nature by which social class membership and identity figure in judgements of transition institutions for the citizens of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe. Using a unique dataset and a series of novel conceptual frameworks, it argues that social class is, in effect, an operationalisation of socioeconomic risk and vulnerability-a premise from which several important implications derive. Drawing on social identity theory, it presents and tests a model of self-conceptualisation, grounded in the belief that individuals variously identify with their social classes, depending on their perceptions of shared socioeconomic risk. From this, it follows that strong identifiers should derive more relevant information about the emerging market system from class-level economic experiences, and therefore accord these cues greater weight in judgements about transition institutions. Beyond testing this theory of interpersonal variation, it invokes signal detection theory from cognitive psychology to determine whether cross-group differences in economic vulnerability are responsible for observed class differentials in reliance on class-based economic cues. It then takes a wider view of class-based economic cognition by considering how the process of transition, itself, influenced the evaluative calculus of post-communist citizens. Building on cognitive mobilisation theory in political science, it is posited that on-going exposure to the prevailing economic system endows these citizens with the ability to link their class-level economic experiences to the effects of the market mechanism. The analysis largely supports the constituent hypotheses, as well as the larger notion that perceptions of shared socioeconomic risk led social class experiences to figure prominently in the minds of post-communist citizens.

The aim of the thesis is to provide a social identity account of the politics of mobilisation: based on hatred mostly, in contrast with accounts of solidarity. The bulk of the thesis concentrates on exploring how and why is prejudice in the form of hatred mobilised in inter-group relations. Three studies parse the structure of hate discourse of Hindu right-wing groups in India. Study 1 and study 2 are qualitative studies that analyse the production of hate in two mediums of communication, while study 3 is an experimental study demonstrating the reception of hate. The studies analyse the structure of hate discourse with the theoretical lens of a social identity framework to explicate a context of categories and category-relations, while colouring in the contents of the categories with data from India. The first contention is, if a virtuous in-group can be construed as under threat from an out-group, then, the annihilation of the other can be justified as the defence of virtue. In the other words, violence becomes virtuous. The second contention is, the process that motivates out-group hate discourse derives from struggles over intra-group authority. That is, out-group threats are invoked in order to condemn political rivals for in-group power as not representing the group and not defending group interests. This sets up the foil for the leader to position ‘self' as the ideal leader who protects and represents the in-group, while undermining the credibility of the political rival. Study 4 is a qualitative study analysing counter-hegemonic discourse on mobilisations against the rhetoric of hatred. Taken together, the first 3 studies argue that hatred is not an inherent feature of individuals or a natural fall-out of inter-group processes, it is mobilised for specific political aims. The fourth study looks at the dimensions with which other leaders counteract the politics of hate; when hatred can be mobilised, so can solidarity. The theoretical implications and limitations have been discussed.

This paper has had the ambition to answer the question does people’s perception of group difference affect their sense of societal cohesiveness? Using survey data from a Swedish 2015 study conductedby the SOM-institute this study looks at people living in Sweden’s perceptions of differentgroup identities to see which elements come at play in forming an over-all sense of societal cohesion.This study combines theories on social capital in relation to group identities to create anadvanced model to test the data in. The analysis confirmed that people’s discernment of other groups indeed affects the level of societal cohesiveness, and that respondents who felt a stronger emotional connection towards groups with another economy, education and culture were more likely to feel like a part of the Swedish society and to be more trusting of others.

This dissertation explored how sports organizations approach the communication of a defeat on social media from the perspective of organizational image management. Furthermore, this study sought to identify how sports fans react to a defeat on social media and what kind of implications fan reactions have on the organizational image management process. The sports industry has some unique characteristics compared to other commercial industries. The overall success of sports organizations is to a great extent dependent on the on-field performances of the team and the coherence of the fan community. The image of sports organizations is likewise dependent on the combination of on-field performances and how the fan community perceives the organization. Sports fans have a strong psychological connection to their favorite team. The strong attachment to a sports organization results commonly in biased evaluations of their favorite team. This dissertation examines how this dynamic unfolds in an online media environment using a customized theoretical framework that combines organizational image management theory and social identity theory. The research strategy in this dissertation consisted of a case study of six sports organizations in the Swedish Hockey League and their fans. Empirical data was collected through six interviews with communication specialists employed by the teams and by sampling comments written by fans on the teams’ Facebook pages on posts about defeats. The findings show that sports organizations in the SHL have a desire to appear honest in their approach to communicating a defeat on social media. This desire encompasses a straightforward approach to communicating a defeat on social media to their fans, making the organization to resemble a credible disseminator of information to key stakeholders in online environments. Furthermore, through the strong psychological connection to their favorite team, fans were found to have a role in the image maintenance process on social media after a defeat. Fans took mainly two different stances on social media after a defeat and were found to both hinder and aid the image management process after a defeat.