The purpose of this study is to examine how members of the Oregon State University polo team negotiate aspects of their social identity. Over the course of the 2011-2012 school year, 15 interviews and 30 hours of observations were conducted. From the data, five overarching themes were identified: inclusion as a motivation to join the club, perceived stereotypes associated with polo, levels of self-presentation when discussing identity, hierarchy within the club structure, and the perceived future connection with the social identity as an OSU polo club member. Discussion of the themes include applications to Ting-Toomey's identity negotiation theory and Picket and Brewer's ingroup inclusion and exclusion concepts. This study also provides recommendations based on the findings in order to promote competent identity negotiation amongst the members. / Graduation date: 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/36282 |
| Date | 30 November 2012 |
| Creators | Hanna, Erika L. |
| Contributors | Root, Elizabeth M. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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