We live in an ever-changing social world, which constantly calls forth changes to our identities and actions. Advances in science, technology and medicine, political upheaval, and economic development are just some examples of social change that can impact upon how we live our lives, how we view ourselves and each other, and how we communicate. Three decades after its first appearance, Identity Process Theory remains a vibrant and useful integrative framework in which identity, social action and social change can be collectively examined. This book presents some of the key developments in this area that have occurred in the last three decades. In eighteen chapters by world-renowned social psychologists, the reader is introduced to the major social psychological debates about the construction and protection of identity in face of social change. Contributors address a wide range of contemporary topics – national identity, risk, prejudice, intractable conflict and ageing – which are examined from the perspective of Identity Process Theory. This fresh approach promises to make an important impact on social psychology and will appeal to scholars and students of identity, social action and social change.

This paper presents the findings from a comparative qualitative study of British Indian and British Pakistani gay men, all of whom self-identified as members of their religious communities. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and identity process theory. Results suggest that the intersection between sexuality and religion is more relevant to British Pakistani participants, while the intersection between sexuality and ethnicity is more relevant to British Indian participants. For British Indian participants in particular, homosexuality seems to be socially problematic, posing potential obstacles for interpersonal and intergroup relations. Conversely, for British Pakistanis, homosexuality is both socially and psychologically problematic, affecting intrapsychic as well as interpersonal levels of human interdependence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This article examines how British Muslim gay men may safeguard membership in the religious group, which can be threatened as a result of self-identifying as gay. Twenty British Pakistani Muslim gay men were interviewed. Data were analyze using an interpretative phenomenological analysis through the heuristic lens of identity process theory. The following themes are discussed: (i) ‘gay identity casting doubt upon one’s Muslim-ness’; (ii) ‘Ramadan: a symbolic opportunity to be a “true Muslim”’; and (iii) ‘accepting “Muslim views” and religious authenticity’. Data suggest that threatened Muslim identity can lead to hyper-affiliation to the religious in-group, which is achieved through a multitude of substrategies. Practical implications are discussed.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, the largest non-Arab country in the region, has sought to play an influential role in regional politics since its establishment in 1979, and the Arab Spring protests have provided the prime opportunity for doing so. The Iranian government has vocally supported the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, but has remained defiantly supportive of the Syrian president despite popular opposition to his government. The Iranian media have been pivotal in communicating the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Using thematic analysis, this article examines emerging media representations of the Arab Spring in two major English-language Iranian newspapers, The Tehran Times and Press TV. The following two themes are discussed: (1) “Islamic Awakening”: Islamicizing the Arab Spring, and (2) “Bashar Al-Assad is not Muammar Al-Gaddafi”: Compartmentalizing the Syrian Ally. Islamic identity and ingroup-outgroup dynamics are mobilized in order to increase the political influence of Iran and to undermine that of its foes. It is argued that there is a systematic “instrumentalization” of the Arab Spring in the Iranian press - it is employed to validate and accentuate tenets of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s revolutionary ideology and to support its political interests in the region.

Keywords: Arab Spring; media representations; Iran; Iranian press; groups; politics"

"Background: Low rank makes people feel vulnerable and so paranoia about being harmed by people of higher rank becomes an adaptive response.

Aims: To establish the relationship between job rank and paranoia, as well as avoidant personality traits because these can also be adaptive responses.

Results: The sample comprised 1,248 managers, 1,146 supervisors and 4,955 employees with non-managerial and non-supervisory jobs who took part in the Mental Health Survey of England. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of job rank. Depressive ideas, panic, obsessions, paranoia and avoidant personality disorder are significantly more prevalent among workers with non-managerial or supervisory jobs in comparison to workers who are supervisors or managers. Moreover, managers present narcissistic personality disorder at a significantly higher rate than people with other job ranks.

Conclusions: Low job rank triggers paranoia and avoidant personality disorder."

In 2006, the Iranian government-aligned newspaper Hamshahri sponsored The International Holocaust Cartoon Contest. The stated aim of the contest was to denounce “Western hypocrisy on freedom of speech,” and to challenge “Western hegemony” in relation to Holocaust knowledge. This government-backed initiative was a clear attempt to export the Iranian regime’s anti-Zionist agenda. Using qualitative thematic analysis and Social Representations Theory, this article provides an in-depth qualitative analysis of the cartoons submitted to the contest in order to identify emerging social representations of Jews and Israel. Three superordinate themes are outlined: (i) “Constructing the ‘Evil Jew’ and ‘Brutal Israel’ as a Universal Threat”; (ii) “Denying the Holocaust and Affirming Palestinian Suffering”; (iii) “Constructing International Subservience to ‘Nazi-Zionist’ Ideology”. Although the organizers of the International Holocaust Cartoon Contest claimed that their aims were anti-Zionist, this article elucidates the overtly anti-Semitic character of the contest and its cartoons. It is argued that the cartoons exhibit a distorted, one-sided version of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of Jewish history, and are therefore likely to shape viewers’ beliefs concerning Jews and Israel in fundamentally negative ways, with potentially negative outcomes for intergroup relations and social harmony.

Fracking or the extraction of shale gas through hydraulic fracturing of rock has become a contested topic, especially in the United States, where it has been deployed on a large scale, and in Europe where it is still largely speculative. Research is beginning to investigate the environmental and economic costs and benefits as well as public perceptions of this new energy technology. However, so far the social and psychological impact of fracking on those involved in it, such as gas workers, or those living in the vicinity of fracking sites, has escaped the attention of the social science research community. In this article we begin to fill this gap through a small-scale thematic analysis of representations of fracking in 50 YouTube videos, where a trailer of a controversial film, Gasland (Fox, 2010), has had a marked impact. Results show that the videos discuss not only environmental and economic costs and benefits of fracking but also social and psychological impacts on individuals and communities. These videos reveal a human face of fracking that remains all too often hidden from view.

The cultural expectation of an arranged heterosexual marriage poses social and psychological challenges for British Asian gay men. This article examines the diary accounts of twelve British Asian gay men concerning their perceptions and feelings concerning marriage in face of familial pressure to get married and the implications for identity processes and psychological wellbeing. Data were analyzed qualitatively using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Identity Process Theory. The following themes are outlined: (1) “Bringing it up”: Coercion, threat and negative emotions; (2) Sidestepping marriage: Strategies for coping with threat; and (3) “A no-win situation”: Marriage as a dilemma. Familial coercion into marriage can threaten identity and psychological wellbeing and individuals will deploy intrapsychic/interpersonal coping strategies with have limited long-term efficacy.

Climate change is one of the most important global challenges in the twenty-first century, given that a changing climate is likely to have negative and potentially irreversible consequences for the environment and human beings. Drawing upon Social Representations Theory and Identity Process Theory from social psychology, we argue that research should focus upon, and successfully integrate, three levels of analysis, namely (1) how climate change knowledge is constructed and circulates (social representation); (2) the role of identity in relation to these representations (identity); and (3) how people might respond to these representations (social action). It is suggested that identity needs determine how people process social information concerning climate change, and that they mediate the link between social representations and environmental behaviour. Understanding human responses to climate change necessitates an integrative social sciences perspective, in terms of disciplinary, theoretical and methodological approaches.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been described as one of the most intractable in the world. This article, firstly, provides an overview of the socio-political events that led up to the Palestinian UN state membership bid in September 2011 and, secondly, as a case study, it examines how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was constructed in speeches delivered by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the state membership bid to the UN General Assembly in September 2011. Despite their opposing agendas, there are some significant discursive similarities in the two speeches. The most salient shared discourses concern that of ingroup victimhood, on the one hand, and that of outgroup threat, on the other. It is argued that the speeches unwittingly dispel support for intergroup reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians by aggravating grievances on both sides and accentuating intergroup suspicion. This article highlights the importance of examining political speeches in order to better understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a climate change mitigation technology which has had a rather chequered history in British policy making and in the British public sphere. This article deals with the neglected topic of representations of CCS in the British media and their possible impact on public perceptions and public policy. Public perception of CCS is shaped in part by the media which provide tools for making sense of complex technological and political issues such as CCS. This article compares articles on CCS in two UK newspapers, one national (The Times) and one regional (The Aberdeen Press and Journal) in 2011, a year during which some of the last battles over CCS demonstration projects were fought. It applies frame and metaphor analysis to a corpus of 150 articles. Findings reveal that during 2011 CCS coverage moved through a cycle of hype and disillusionment, with both newspapers reaching a trough of disappointment at the end of 2011. It will be difficult to reignite interest in CCS in this context, both in terms of media and public attention, and in terms of policy and investment. Regional confidence in national CCS policy in particular will be difficult to recover.

"We live in an ever-changing social world, which constantly calls forth changes to our identities and actions. Advances in science, technology and medicine, political upheaval, and economic development are just some examples of social change that can impact upon how we live our lives, how we view ourselves and each other, and how we communicate. Social change can result in the salience and visibility of particular social categories, changes in the assimilation, accommodation and evaluation of these categories, and new patterns of action. Similarly, individual psychological change – getting a new job, being diagnosed with a life-changing illness, growing old - can dramatically affect our sense of self, potentially forcing us to re-think who we are, our relationships with others and how we ought to behave in particular contexts. What social change and psychological change have in common is their power to radically affect our identities and actions.
This volume is about identity, change and action. The contributors to this volume address this tripartite relationship in diverse and complex social psychological contexts. The chapters endeavor to explore the antecedents of changes in identity and action, and their developmental trajectory. It is easy to see why the important task of examining the tripartite relationship between identity, change and action has generally been neglected by social psychologists. Core debates in the field have focused on questions about the “correct” unit of analysis (psychological or sociological); competition between the quantitative and qualitative paradigms; and epistemology. These divides have, to a large extent, impeded theoretical integration. Identity Process Theory sits within this matrix of debate because of its integrative focus on the intrapsychic, interpersonal and intergroup levels, its methodological diversity and epistemological eclecticism. The theory constitutes a valuable explanatory tool for addressing pressing social psychological problems of the 21st century, and aspires to acquire predictive power as it is refined and developed in empirical work. We decided to edit this volume amid a growing body of diverse empirical research based on the theory since the early 1980s. It has been used by social psychologists in particular but has broader appeal in the social sciences and among practitioners. Thus, Identity Process Theory has an important role to play in shaping the social psychology of identity, change and action.
As evidenced by the chapters in this volume, Identity Process Theory research has addressed a wide range of pressing real-world issues – national identity, post-conflict societies, sexual behavior, risk, place and environment, and prejudice. Furthermore, unlike many Western social psychological theories, Identity Process Theory has been used as a heuristic tool in diverse geographical and cultural settings – the UK, Spain, Canada, India, Israel, and others. Yet, the diversity that characterizes the theory can also make it difficult to delineate conceptually. This volume provides a summary of the development of Identity Process Theory and contextualizes the theory in the social psychology of identity, change and action."

This chapter explores social representations, identity and social relations among non-heterosexual British Asian men. After an overview of two relevant theories from social psychology - Identity Process Theory and Social Representations Theory, the chapter outlines dominant social representations of sexuality that inform individuals’ meaning-making, the impact of these representations for identity processes, how individuals cope with potential threats to identity, and the development and management of social relations. It is argued that being Asian and gay can result in threatened identity, leading to low psychological well-being and negative interpersonal relations.

""Shale gas is a novel source of fossil fuel which is extracted by induced hydraulic fracking, or “fracking.” This article examines the the socio-political dimension of fracking as manifested in the UK press at three key temporal points in the debate on the practice. Three newspaper corpora were analysed qualitatively using Thematic Analysis and Social Representations Theory. Three overarching themes are discussed: “April-May 2011: From Optimism to Scepticism”; “November 2011: (De-)Constructing and Re-Constructing Risk and Danger; “April 2012: Consolidating Social Representations of Fracking.” In this article, we examine the emergence and inter-relations between competing social representations, discuss the dynamics of threat positioning and show how threat can be re-construed in order to serve particular socio-political ends in the debate on fracking.

Keywords
fracking; media; climate change; environmental communication; social representations theory
""

"*Please e-mail me if you would like a pdf of this chapter*

"Homosexuality  is strictly forbidden in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is punishable by imprisonment, flogging and, under certain circumstances, it carries the death penalty. Although homosexuality has long been a social taboo in Iranian society, the Islamic Revolution of 1979 introduced draconian judicial measures against this ‘social ill’. There are thousands of non-heterosexual  people currently living in Iran - many of them remain socially invisible’ to avoid persecution. The immense social stigma of homosexuality and danger of state-sponsored persecution, on the one hand, and the desire to ‘live out’ one’s sexual identity, on the other, can potentially induce social and psychological dissonance with negative outcomes for well-being (Jaspal and Cinnirella, 2010). Many non-heterosexual Iranians seek ways out of Iran in pursuit of greater social and sexual freedom. For example, some individuals have utilised educational and vocational opportunities in the West in order to leave Iran – this has allowed exposure to different ways of thinking about their sexualities. Often migrants are joining sizeable Iranian communities around the world: for instance, there are over 120,000 Iranians living in Canada and some 70,000 Iranians currently living in the UK.  Thus, migration can offer important opportunities for, and changes in, sexual identity development, as well as continued involvement in the Iranian ethno-national community.
Scholars have attempted to understand and explain homophobia in the Islamic Republic. Accordingly, there has been some scholarly engagement with gender and sexuality (Gerami, 2003; Najmabadi, 2013), and homosexuality in the Islamic Republic (Afary, 2009; Najmabadi, 2005). Yet, this theoretical work has not been matched by empirical investigations of the identities and experiences of non-heterosexual Iranians, and there has been no insight into how migration to a ‘safe’ country, such as the UK or Canada, can impinge upon identity. As a first step in empirical research in this area, this chapter provides some preliminary insight into the identities and experiences of a group of gay  Iranian migrants to the UK, with a focus on perceived changes in identity since migration. Moreover, the study explores how individuals understand and manage the dominant, and often conflicting, norms, values and representations regarding sexuality in the Iranian and UK contexts.""

This paper examines textual representations of Israel in the English-language Iranian Press in order to elucidate how the IRI’s anti-Zionist ideology is “exported” beyond the country’s national and linguistic borders in an apparently more socially acceptable manner. Indeed, as Pierre Pahlavi has argued, the IRI invests heavily in the foreign-language media “to spread the image of Iran as a “moderate Islamic country” to a target audience of millions.” Yet, this positive image cannot be constructed at the expense of the long-standing, seemingly non-negotiable stance of anti-Zionism. Drawing on Intergroup Threat Theory from social psychology, this paper provides some analytical insight into the media’s construal of Israel, outlining the ways in which Israel is constructed as (i) threatening; (ii) illegitimate; (iii) being in decline. These themes are discussed in terms of their potential implications for intergroup relations.

Communicating climate change poses challenges not only in terms of what words to use, but also in terms of what visual images to choose. Social scientists have examined verbal aspects of news reporting on climate change from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Similarly, visual representations of climate change are beginning to attract academic attention. In this article we take one contested aspect of climate change, extreme weather events, as a topic for a visual analysis, based on a case study of articles published after the release of a draft report by the International Panel on Climate Change on extreme weather and climate change adaptation in November 2011. We analyse a corpus of online images on this report using Visual Thematic Analysis. Our analysis contributes to theoretical developments in the field of visual climate change communication, focusing in particular on the role of geographical distance, identity and emotions evoked by the images used. Four major themes relating to images of hurricanes, drought, heat, power plants/smoke stacks, and ice/sea level rise and their implications for climate change communication are discussed in detail.

"Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, anti-Zionism has remained an important ideological building block of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This paper examines the manifestation of anti-Zionism in the English-language Iranian Press in order to elucidate how this ideology is ‘exported’ to an international readership. The paper presents the results of an empirical study of two leading English-language Iranian newspapers: The Tehran Times and Press TV. The study uses critical discourse analysis and draws upon tenets of Social Representations Theory and the notion of Delegitimization from social psychology. The following themes are outlined: (i) “Problematizing Israel’s right to exist”; (ii) “Unveiling the global Zionist conspiracy”; and (iii) “Leading global anti-Zionism – the declining ‘Zionist regime’”. Both anti-Zionist and antisemitic representations are observable in the corpus. The paper identifies three key components of the delegitimization process in textual representations of Israel, and discusses possible implications of outgroup delegitimization for identity, emotion and action.

Keywords: media representations; Iran; Israel; anti-Zionism; prejudice; social representations theory; critical discourse analysis; qualitative; social psychology"""""

This paper explores the socio-psychological aspects of British national identification among British South Asians, which constitutes the largest ethnic minority group in Britain. Identity Process Theory can elucidate the social and psychological ‘functions’ of Britishness for social actors, offering a holistic account of national identification within this population. The paper provides a discussion of nationhood and the construction of national identity, temporal factors in national identification, its cognitive and affective aspects, the psychological ‘functionality’ of Britishness, and its social representations. It is argued that a civic, instrumental conception of Britishness might facilitate access to this identity among British South Asians.

""Climate change has rarely been out of the public spotlight in the first decade of this century. The high-profile international meetings and controversies such as ‘climategate’ have highlighted the fact that it is as much a political issue as it is a scientific one, while also drawing our attention to the role of social media in reflecting, promoting or resisting such politicisation. In this article, we propose a framework for analysing one type of social media venue that so far has received
little attention from social scientists – online reader comments. Like media reporting on climate change, reader comments on this reporting contribute to the diverse, complex and contested
discourses on climate change, and can reveal the meanings and
discursive resources brought to the ongoing debate by laypeople
rather than political elites. The proposed framework draws on
research in computer mediated communication, corpus linguistics and discourse analysis and takes into account both the content of such ‘lay talk’ and its linguistic characteristics within the specific parameters of the web-based context. Using word frequencies, qualitative study of co-text and user ratings, we analyse a large volume of comments published on the UK tabloid newspaper website at two different points in time – before and after the East Anglia controversy. The results reveal how stereotypes of science and politics are appropriated in this type of discourse, how readers’ constructions of climate science have changed after ‘climategate’, and how climate sceptic arguments are adopted and contested in computer-mediated peer-to-peer interaction.""

"""Anti-Zionism constitutes an important ideological building-block of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). This paper provides insight into the mass communication of anti-Zionism in the English-language Iranian Press in order to examine how this ideology is ‘exported’ to an international readership. The paper presents the results of an empirical study of two leading English-language Iranian newspapers: The Tehran Times and Press TV. The study uses critical discourse analysis and draws upon tenets of Social Representations Theory from social psychology. The following discourses are discussed: (i) Resisting social representations of Israeli statehood; (ii) Constructing threat: The Zionist regime as a terrorist entity; and (iii) Responding to threat: Anti-Zionism as a religious duty for the Muslim Ummah. As a ‘mouth-piece’ of the IRI, these outlets adopt and encourage a fervently anti-Zionist stance by refusing to recognise the statehood and civilian population of Israel and by constructing the ‘Zionist regime’ as a terrorist threat which should be mitigated collectively by the Islamic Ummah. Implications are discussed.

Keywords: media representations; Iran; Israel; anti-Zionism; prejudice; social representations theory; critical discourse analysis; qualitative; social psychology"""

This paper presents the results of a comparative qualitative study of British Indian and British Pakistani gay men, all of whom self-identified as members of their religious communities. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and identity process theory. Results suggest that the intersection between sexuality and religion is more relevant to British Pakistani participants, while the intersection between sexuality and ethnicity is more relevant to British Indian participants. For British Indian participants, in particular, homosexuality seems to be socially problematic, posing potential obstacles for interpersonal and intergroup relations. Conversely, for British Pakistanis, homosexuality is both socially and psychologically problematic, affecting intrapsychic as well as interpersonal levels of human interdependence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

""This study examines the rhetorical aspects of social contestation of climate change in reader comments published in The Daily Mail, subsequent to climategate. The following themes are reported: (1) Denigration of climate scientists to contest hegemonic representations; (2) Delegitimization of pro-climate change individuals by disassociation from science; (3) Outright denial: Rejecting hegemonic social representations of climate change. The study outlines the discursive strategies employed in order to construct social representations of climate change; to contest alternative representations; and to convince others of the validity of these representations. It examines how social representations of science are formed, maintained and disseminated.

Keywords: climate change; skepticism; communication; social media; social representation; public understanding; critical discourse analysis; social psychology""

""In Britain, the social, political and legal positions of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual have improved, which has generally led to greater tolerance and acceptance at the social level. However, there is evidence that British Muslim gay men (BMGM) can continue to face discrimination from within their religious and cultural communities (Yip 2007). Representations of homosexuality within these communities are often negative and stigmatising, which frequently results in decreased willingness to ‘come out’ (Jaspal and Siraj 2011), as well as psychological ‘conflict’ (Bhugra 1997). Given that their religious and cultural groups prescriptively advocate heteronormativity and compulsory heterosexuality, BMGM may opt to remain ‘invisible’ (Murray 1997). Collectively, these factors can have profoundly negative social and psychological outcomes for BMGM.
There is now a growing tradition of research into the interface of religion and sexuality among BMGM (Jaspal and Cinnirella 2010, 2012, Yip 2004a, 2004b). Our research has examined the socio-psychological implications of being Muslim and gay for the self-concept, with a particular focus upon identity threat and coping. A principal contention within this body of work has been that religious and cultural homophobia seems to encourage the perception among BMGM that their religious and sexual identities are entirely incompatible. This may have negative social, psychological and emotional outcomes. The present chapter makes a contribution to existing research by elucidating how BMGM may cope with religious and cultural homophobia. The chapter draws upon identity process theory (Breakwell 1986), a socio-psychological theory of identity construction, threat and coping, in order to theorise the potential effects of homophobia for identity. Furthermore, the chapter addresses the role of emotion in meaning-making vis-à-vis religious and sexual identities and the phenomenological aspects of emotional experience when identity is threatened.""

"Identity Process Theory (IPT; Breakwell, 1986, 2001) and the Schwartz Value Theory (Schwartz, 1992) focus upon distinct but related aspects of the self and have some overlapping propositions particularly in regards to human motivation. Hence, it is surprising that there has been no attempt so far to integrate them theoretically or empirically. This chapter provides the first attempt to address this lacuna in the literature. After presenting key elements of the value theory and the strengths of IPT vis-à-vis competing frameworks of identity, the chapter provides a theoretical integration of the two theories, first in general, and then specifically with regard to identity, value change and social processes. The second part of the chapter provides an empirical examination of interactions between identity processes and values.

Values (e.g., achievement, tradition) convey what is important to people in their lives and according to IPT form part of the individual’s identity. The Schwartz value theory is currently the leading theory of values due to its comprehensive empirical support worldwide, while IPT elucidates the fundamental processes underlying identity construction. Both theories discuss internal organisation (of identity or values) but they differ in focus. While values constitute the criteria individuals use to evaluate actions, people, the self and events, IPT explains how and why identity structures change, particularly in the context of social change. Similarities and differences between the two theoretical frameworks are analysed in the chapter. An important common element of both IPT and values is that of change, both individual and social. Here theoretical suggestions of change in identity (e.g. Breakwell, 2004) and values (Bardi & Goodwin, in press) are integrated.

While IPT mainly outlines the processes that occur in all individuals, albeit mediated by culture, the Schwartz value theory specifies individual differences in the contents of prioritised values. Hence, the Schwartz value theory can add an individual-difference dimension to understand identity processes, which would enrich the theory. We discuss some of the theoretical and empirical advantages associated with integrating frameworks which collectively address the individual and group levels of the self. This will be examined in the empirical part of the paper by testing whether values moderate the link between certain identity principles and the centrality of self-aspects. To illustrate, we predict that the self-direction values will moderate the relationship between a distinctiveness-enhancing identity aspect and its centrality to the individual, such that for those who value self-direction, the more a self-aspect is perceived as distinguishing the self from others, the more central it will be to the individual. As another example, for who value conservation (conformity, tradition, and security), the more a self-aspect is seen as enhancing (1) belonging and (2) continuity, the more central it will be to the individual (Jaspal & Yampolsky, in press). Several other hypotheses will be tested as well.

The chapter concludes that integration of these two theories can advance the understanding of processes of the self, particularly in relation to identity and value change, and encourages researchers to incorporate both values and identity processes in their research into the self."

"The goal of this chapter is to bring together different theoretical frameworks (i.e., identity process theory, identity integration and coherence; Amiot, de la Sablonnière, Terry, & Smith, 2007; Benet-Martinez; Breakwell, 1986; Jaspal & Cinnirella, 2010) in order to explain how multiple identities become integrated and come to cohere with one another in the overall self. Doing so is important given the increasing flux in people’s identities, the multiplicity of social groups they can join and the relative agency and flexibility individuals have in revealing and in developing specific aspects of themselves. At the same time, individuals can experience discrimination based on their group membership, identity threat, and intra-individual conflict that may block and compromise the integration of their different identities. IPT integrates theories of identity construction at various levels of human interdependence, which reflects its heuristic, theoretical and empirical utility in making sense of multiple identification alongside the theory of identity integration. The tension between human potentials and possibilities vs. constraints and clashes will be a recurring theme running through this chapter.

In the first section of the chapter, we start by defining the concepts of identity integration and psychological coherence, draw conceptual links between these concepts, discuss the differences between them, and highlight their relevance in an increasingly complex and changing social world. In particular, we discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of integrating individual and group-levels theories, which elucidates our decision to synthesise identity integration and identity process theory. When doing so, we draw on literature from both social psychology and cultural psychology.

In the second section of the chapter, we go more deeply into the mechanisms involved as identities become integrated. More specifically, each stage proposed in the model of social identity integration and development (Amiot et al., 2007) is described and we propose hypotheses to specify which identity principle is likely to become activated and salient at each stage of the integration process. Doing so not only allows to bridge identity principles theory and identity integration, but it specifies the situational relevance of each motive and which identity principles are likely to be important to satisfy at each stage in order to move forward in the identity integration process. Throughout this process, we stress how agency and initiative come into play as individuals decide which strategies to employ to restore certain needs and how they can capitalize on the multiplicity of their different identities (i.e., by downplaying vs. highlighting strategic aspects of these different identities). Moreover, we elucidate some of the particular benefits associated with the use of identity process theory vis-à-vis competing theories of the self.

The final section of the chapter discusses the issue of stigmatised social identities and raises the question of whether these identities can be fully integrated in the self. More specifically, we discuss how socially devalued identities are internalised and come to ‘fit’ into the person’s overall self-structure such that they are acknowledged and recognized (rather than denied) but without predominating nor lowering the value of one’s overall self. We end the chapter by proposing future research directions for concretely testing these theoretical propositions."

Climate change has become a pressing environmental concern for scientists, social commentators and politicians. Previous social sciences research has explored media representations of climate change in various temporal and geographical contexts. Through the lens of Social Representations Theory, this article provides a detailed qualitative thematic analysis of media representations of climate change in the 1988 British broadsheet Press, given that this year constitutes an important juncture in this transition of climate change from the domain of science to that of the socio-political sphere. The following themes are outlined: (i) ‘Climate change: a multi-faceted threat’; (ii) ‘Collectivisation of threat’; (iii) ‘Climate change and the attribution of blame’; and (iv) ‘Speculative solutions to a complex socio-environmental problem’. The article provides detailed empirical insights into the ‘starting-point’ for present-day disputes concerning climate change and lays the theoretical foundations for tracking the continuities and discontinuities characterising social representations of climate change in the future.

Geoeengineering the climate by reflecting sunlight or extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has attracted increasing attention from natural scientists, social scientists, policy makers and the media. This article examines promotional discourse related to geoengineering from the 1980s to 2010. It asks in particular how this option for dealing with the problems posed by climate change were framed through the use of conceptual and discourse metaphors and whether one can argue that these are metaphors we ‘live by’ or metaphors we might ‘die by’. Findings show that an overarching argument from catastrophe was bolstered by three conceptual master-metaphors, namely The Planet is a body, The Planet is a machine and The planet is a patient/addict, linked to a variety of discourse metaphors, older conceptual metaphors and clichés. This metaphorical landscape began to shift while the article was being written and will have to be closely monitored in the future.

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism constitute two important ideological building blocks of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Yet, there is no existing research into the psychosocial motives underlying the manifestation of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism at the institutional level in Iran. Here it is argued that there is much heuristic and predictive value in applying tenets of identity process theory (IPT), a socio-psychological model of identity threat and action, to the primarily socio-historical literature on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in Iran. The paper provides a summary of anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and ‘new anti-Semitism’ and IPT. The substantive section of the paper explores (i) how anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism may restore feelings of belonging in the Muslim world and beyond; (ii) the inter-relations between ingroup and outgroup self-efficacy; (iii) the psychosocial motivation to maintain Shiite ideology and Khomeini’s legacy; and (iv) the construction of Jews and Israel in terms of a threat to group continuity. It is suggested that insights into the motivational principles underlying anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism at the institutional level may inform empirical research into social representations of Jews and Israel in Iran. More broadly, this paper highlights the potential contribution of social psychology to existing work on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the humanities.

""Sikhs constitute a high proportion of the ethnic minority population in Britain. Yet, social psychologists have largely neglected this demographically important religious group, leaving much of the theorising to anthropologists and sociologists. The present study explores how a group of British-born Sikhs understood and defined their Sikh identities, focussing upon strategies for safeguarding the continuity and distinctiveness of this identity. Ten individuals were interviewed. Informed by identity process theory, the transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Three superordinate themes are reported, namely (i) “Freedom and gender equality”: the ‘essence’ of Sikh identity; (ii) “We are the followers of Guru Nanak”: continuing the legacy of the Gurus; and (iii) Maintaining group continuity and distinctiveness in a threatening social context. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed, particularly in relation to intergroup relations.

Keywords: identity; religion; Sikhs; identity process theory; social representations theory""

Living with disfigurement can constitute a psychologically challenging position for both adults and young people alike. The present paper explores the potential implications of living with disfigurement for identity through the novel application of identity process theory, a socio-psychological theory of identity threat, to the topic of disfigurement. The theory argues that individuals need to perceive appropriate levels of self-esteem, distinctiveness, continuity, self-efficacy, meaning, belonging and coherence, and that insufficient levels of these principles will induce identity threat. Firstly, the paper outlines those principles most susceptible to threat among individuals living with disfigurement. Secondly, it considers strategies which may be implemented by the threatened individual as a means of coping with identity threat associated with disfigurement, as well as the efficacy of these strategies. The primary focus of the paper lies within the identification of what threatens identity and how health care institutions can facilitate and encourage effective coping strategies among individuals living with disfigurement.

This study explores how a group of young British Muslim gay men (BMGM) of Pakistani background in non-gay affirmative religious contexts understood and defined their sexual, religious and ethnic identities, focusing upon the negotiation and construction of these identities and particularly upon strategies employed for coping with identity threat. Twelve BMGM were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Transcripts were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke (2006). The aim was to explore participants’ lived experiences through the interpretive lens of identity process theory (Breakwell, 1986, 1992). Four superordinate themes are reported, entitled “I’m gay because..”: Making sense of gay identity, “It’s all about temptation”: Invoking religious discourses to explain sexual identity, “Going against God”: Fear of divine retribution, “It’s easier to be gay here”: External attributions and British national identity. The data suggest the existence of an additional identity principle, which is referred to as the psychological coherence principle. This motive represents the need to ensure a sense of coherence between existing identities, and we discuss how individuals may adopt strategies to deal with threats to the principle.

This study explores how a group of young Israeli Jews understood and defined their ethno-national identities, focusing upon the role of social representations of the Holocaust in the construction of Jewish Israeli identity. Eleven individuals were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. The analysis was informed by identity process theory and social representations theory. Three superordinate themes are reported, entitled: (i) “perceptions of the Holocaust as a personal and shared loss”; (ii) “re-conceptualising the Holocaust and its impact upon intra-/ intergroup relations”; and (iii) “the Holocaust as a heuristic lens for understanding the Israeli-Arab conflict”. The data suggest that awareness of social representations of the Holocaust may enhance the belonging and continuity principles of identity, in particular. It is argued that the maintenance of national ingroup security constitutes a source of (group) continuity. Implications for psychological well-being are discussed.

Muslims have never before occupied such a central position in the British media, given their general absence from more ‘normalised’ representational positions such as in popular soaps, literature and reality television. Recent studies reveal the primarily negative ‘hypervisibility’ of Muslims across the media, which has encouraged negative social representations. Drawing upon relevant concepts from intergroup threat theory and identity process theory, this paper argues that British Muslims are increasingly constructed in terms of a hybridised threat to the ethno-national ingroup, consisting of both symbolic and realistic aspects. This account offers a socio-psychological perspective by exploring the potential socio-cognitive and behavioural repercussions of exposure to representations of British Muslims as a hybridised threat. The focus upon identity processes among the non-Muslim British majority elucidates the identity implications of Islamophobic representations in the Press and some of the potential causes of Islamophobic prejudice. It is argued that the principles of continuity, distinctiveness and self-esteem are particularly susceptible to change as a result of such negative media representations. The transition from media representation to dominant social representation is discussed, in addition to the potential implications for intergroup relations.

This study explored perceptions of ‘coming out’ among a group of British Muslim gay men, focussing upon the perceived consequences for identity and psychological well-being (BMGM). Ten BMGM of Pakistani descent were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interview transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis and informed by identity process theory. Four superordinate themes are reported, including (i) “social representational constraints upon ‘coming out’; (ii) “‘Coming out’: a source of shame and a threat to distinctiveness”; (iii) “fear of physical violence from ingroup members”; and (iv) “foreseeing the future: ‘coming out’ as a coping strategy”. Data suggest that BMGM face a bi-dimensional homophobia from ethno-religious ingroup members and the general population, which can render the prospect of ‘coming out’ threatening for identity. Practical implications are discussed.

Identity processes among British Muslim gay men were explored, with particular attention to perceptions of gay affirmative social contexts and interpersonal relations with relevant others. Twenty individuals were interviewed. Transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Identity process theory (IPT) was applied to the data. Three superordinate themes are reported: (i) “self continuity and the transition from straight to gay space”; (ii) “interpersonal relations with other gay men and self-/other-categorisation”; and (iii) “interpersonal contact/ identification with White gay men as an identity enhancer”. The analysis reveals the heuristic value of IPT in research on identity and interpersonal relations. Conceptual distinctions are introduced between reactive coping strategies and active enhancing strategies, and diachronic and synchronic consequences of specific strategies are discussed.

Caste persists as an important socio-psychological phenomenon in many spheres of Indian social life and particularly within village contexts. It is argued that socio-psychological insights into caste identity and caste-based stigma may complement ongoing sociological and anthropological research into caste. Drawing upon identity process theory, this paper explores the possible functions performed by caste-based stigma both for the higher caste groups (HCG) and the ‘Scheduled Caste’ (SC) groups. It examines how the maintenance of the social hierarchy implicated in the caste system, the spatial and endogamous separation of caste groups and the historical division of labour in accordance with caste group affiliation may impinge upon identity processes among both groups. It is argued that caste group affiliation and caste-based stigma have differential and sometimes conflicting implications for identity processes among the HCG and SC. While negative social representations of the SC may threaten self-esteem among SC members, it may enhance the self-esteem, meaning and distinctiveness principles among the HCG. The systematic positioning of the caste ingroup and outgroups within the social matrix may enhance meaning and distinctiveness among both the HCG and SC. This paper highlights a potential rationale underlying caste group members’ resistance to social change vis-à-vis caste, even among those who might be expected to benefit from such change. Some theoretical points are made in the form of testable hypotheses and methodological issues in caste-related research are considered.

"Being gay in a heteronormative world can be difficult and stressful, but for Muslims who identify as gay, life can be particularly problematic. This is due primarily to negative
social representations of homosexuality within Islam. This
article elucidates some of the socio-psychological challenges
which may be experienced by British Muslim gay men through a
brief discussion of the relevant literature in this area. It is argued
that psychologists ought to engage with these issues to complement ongoing work within sociology, and that studying the interface of sexuality and religion has important implications for policy and practice, particularly within counselling psychology."

Given the pervasiveness of language in social life and the implications that language use can have for one’s individual and collective identities, attempts were made to explore the theoretical and empirical advantages in connecting social psychological theories of identity and sociolinguistics in order to explore language and identity among second generation British Asians. This paper features a brief overview of the sociological background of British Asians and a detailed consideration of two social psychological theories of identity, namely, self-aspects model of identity (Simon, 2004) and identity process theory (Breakwell, 1986, 1992). It is considered that these under-utilised social psychological theories lend themselves readily to the study of language and identity among this population. Moreover, this paper considers the substantive literature on language and identity. It is argued that an interdisciplinary (social psychological and sociolinguistic) approach is particularly well-suited to the exploration of language and identity. Furthermore, ‘theoretically active’ phenomenological approaches may be particularly useful for research in this domain.

This study explores how a group of young British-born South Asians understood and defined their religious and linguistic identities, focusing upon the role played by heritage languages and liturgical languages and by religious socialisation. Twelve British-born South Asians were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interview transcripts were subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes are reported. These addressed participants’ meaning-making regarding ‘the sanctification of language’ and the consequential suitability of ‘the liturgical language as a symbol of religious community’; the themes of ‘ethnic pride versus religious identity’ and ‘linguistic Otherness and religious alienation’ concerned potential ethno-linguistic barriers to a positive religious identity. Findings are interpreted in terms of concepts drawn from relevant identity theories and tentative recommendations are offered concerning the facilitation of positive religious and ethnic identities.

This study explores how a group of British South Asians (BSA) understood, defined and evaluated languages associated with their ethnic and religious identities, focusing upon the role of language in the negotiation and construction of these identities and particularly upon strategies employed for coping with identity threat.  Twelve BSA were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule.  Transcripts were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis.  Participants’ accounts were explored through the interpretive lens of identity process theory.  Four superordinate themes are reported: “Maintaining a sense of distinctiveness through language use”, “Exclusion of others and personal claims of belonging”, “Deriving a sense of self-esteem from the knowledge of one’s threatening position” and “Two identities, two languages. Searching for psychological coherence”.  While identity principles may be cross-culturally universal, coping strategies are fluid and dynamic.  Individuals will act strategically to minimise identity threat.  Some of the coping strategies manifested by participants are discussed.

After thirty years of language planning in favour of French in Quebec, the first part of this article reviews the impact of the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) on the demolinguistic vitality of the Francophone majority and the Anglophone minority in the province. The analysis also examines the success of Bill 101 and Bill 104 in substantially restricting enrolment in the minority English school system while favouring enrolment in the French school system. The second part of the paper examines court challenges to Bill 104 launched by Quebec parents which were eventually heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2007. The brief submitted by the Attorney General representing the Quebec Government defence of Bill 104 is the focus of the discourse analysis proposed in this article. Results show how the Chief Justice of Quebec used threat to the vitality of the French language in North America as a legitimising argument for further restricting access to English schools in Quebec. This government discourse allows the Francophone majority to claim that the only way to protect its threatened vitality is to further erode the institutional vitality of the Anglophone minority within the Province.

This study explores how a group of second generation Asians (SGA) understood and defined language, focusing upon the role they perceived language to have played in their identity. Twelve SGA were interviewed and the data were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis. Four superordinate themes are reported, entitled ‘Mother tongue and self’, ‘A sense of ownership and affiliation’, ‘Negotiating linguistic identities in social space’ and ‘The quest for a positive linguistic identity’. Participants generally expressed a desire to maintain continuity of self-definition as Asian, primarily through the maintenance of the heritage language (HL). An imperfect knowledge of the HL was said to have a negative impact upon psychological well-being. There were ambivalent responses to the perception of language norms, and various strategies were reported for dealing with dilemmatic situations and identity threat arising from bilingualism. Recommendations are offered for interventions that might aid the ‘management’ of bilingualism among SGA.

""This study is an investigation of the impact of language stigma for identity functioning among speakers of Andalusian Spanish. Fifteen Andalusian Spaniards were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Qualitative Thematic Analysis was used to analyse the data guided by Identity Process Theory and the Ethnolinguistic Vitality Framework. The following themes are outlined: (a) Threatened linguistic identity and vitality (re-)constructions; (b) Re-locating the socio-psychological value in one’s linguistic variety; and (c) Multiple linguistic identities: threat and management. This article elucidates how perceived threats to ethnolinguistic vitality can induce identity threat. Weak social status may jeopardise self-esteem, while weak institutional support may threaten self-efficacy. The belonging principle may be vulnerable to threat in contexts in which the stigmatised group has minority status. Relevant sociolinguistic concepts are discussed in relation to the intrapsychic level of identity functioning. Potential strategies for coping are discussed.

Keywords: language stigma; identity; identity process theory; ethnolinguistic vitality; Andalusian Spanish""

"Ethnicity has received much empirical and theoretical attention in the social sciences. Yet, it has scarcely been explored in terms of its relationship with the motivational principles of identity. Here it is argued that there is much heuristic and predictive value in applying identity process theory (IPT), a socio-psychological model of identity threat, to the substantive literature on ethnicity. The paper explores the potential psychological benefits of ethnic identification. Key theoretical strands from anthropology and sociology such as the ‘relational self’ in ethnic identification are discussed in relation to IPT. The intergroup dimension of ethnic identification is explored through the discussion of ethnic ‘boundaries’. Finally, the paper discusses the construct of ‘hybridisation’ in relation to social psychology. This paper attempts to reconcile psychological and sociological perspectives on ethnic identification, advocating a multi-methodological approach. Key theoretical points are outlined in the form of testable hypotheses which are open to empirical exploration.

Keywords: ethnic identity; ethnicity; hybridity; identity threat; identity process theory; social representations; South Asians; social psychology; sociology"

The present essay presents a rationale for delineating ethnic and religious identities in empirical research into self-identification among British South Asians. It is argued that the delineation of these identities is important in order to (i) predict and explain the identificatory possibilities available to these individuals; (ii) explore the differential values attributed to these identities; (iii) the level of psychological ‘connectedness’ between the identities; and (iv) the inter-relations between these identities, particularly in relation to psychological coherence. It is argued that a systematic delineation of these identities may have favourable theoretical, empirical and applied outcomes.

This study is a qualitative exploration of British South Asian individuals’ accounts of intergroup relations with the British White majority and other ethnic groups. Twenty male and female participants were interviewed about several pertinent issues using a semi-structured interview schedule.  These included the construction of ethnic and national identities; the management of any difficulties arising from the interactions between these identities; perceptions of discrimination; attitudes towards and social representations of other ethnic groups.  Data were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis and the analysis was informed by identity process theory (Breakwell, 1986) and social representations theory (Moscovici, 1984). The study features a pluralist interpretative endeavor in that it synthesises critical realist and social constructionist epistemologies.  The analysis revealed positive feelings towards settlement in Britain, downward comparisons with communities resident in the Subcontinent, the revision of (in)group dynamics, a psychological ‘rapprochement’ with the White British majority and the ‘otherisation’ of recent migrants to Britain.  Possible theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This study explores how a group of young British Muslim gay men (BMGM) in non-gay affirmative religious contexts understood and defined their sexual, religious and ethnic identities, focusing upon the negotiation and construction of these identities and particularly upon strategies employed for coping with identity threat. Twelve BMGM were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Transcripts were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke (2006). The aim was to explore participants’ lived experiences through the interpretive lens of identity process theory (Breakwell, 1986, 1992). Four superordinate themes are reported, entitled “I’m gay because..”: Making sense of gay identity, “It’s all about temptation”: Invoking religious discourses to explain sexual identity, “Going against God”: Fear of divine retribution, “It’s easier to be gay here”: External attributions and British national identity. The data suggest the existence of an additional identity principle, which is referred to as the psychological coherence principle. This motive represents the need to ensure a sense of coherence between existing identities, and we discuss how individuals may adopt strategies to deal with threats to the principle.

This study sought to explore the social psychological meanings and functions of language and the impact of language upon identity directly from the perspective of a group of second generation Asians.  Twelve male and female participants were interviewed about several pertinent issues using a semi-structured interview schedule.  These included self-description, the discussion of taken-for-granted terminology such as ‘mother tongue’, an exploration of contextual factors in language choice/use, the psychological and social significance of individual languages, and cultural and linguistic socialisation.  Data were subjected to Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis.  Participants generally expressed a desire to maintain continuity of self-definition as British Asian, and maintenance of the heritage language was viewed as an essential part of this.  Accordingly, an imperfect knowledge of the heritage language was said to have a negative impact upon psychological well-being.  There were ambivalent responses to the perception of language norms, including internalisation and subversion.  Various strategies were said to be employed in order to deal with dilemmatic situations and identity threat arising from bilingualism, including denial and re-conceptualisation of incoming information.  Recommendations are offered for social and psychological interventions which might aid the ‘management’ of bilingualism among second generation Asians.