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Self‐denial as a paradox of political and regional social identity: Findings from a study of 16– and 18–year‐olds
Author(s) -
Abrams Dominic,
Emler Nicholas
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420220306
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , politics , nationalism , identity (music) , social identity theory , social psychology , locality , denial , irrationality , perception , psychology , political science , political economy , sociology , social group , law , linguistics , philosophy , physics , neuroscience , rationality , acoustics , psychoanalysis
Data from a survey of 4591 16‐19‐year‐olds from four parts of Britain demonstrate that a North‐South divide is manifested both economically and politically. Southerners are materially better off and more supportive of the Conservative party. Adopting a social identity analysis of sectional effects, we hypothesized that party political support is a manifestation of identification with locality, and also that political support, rather than perceived deprivation, would be associated with intentions to stay in or move out of ones locality. Results revealed that Labour supporters in the north of England, and Conservative supporters in the south were most committed to their locality. In Scotland, where nationalism is more directly linked to political parties, those who supported the Scottish Nationalist Party or Labour Party identified more strongly with Scotland and had less intention to leave, but also perceived their situation as more disadvantaged than did Conservatives. These findings are interpreted as supporting a social identity approach to political support and geographical occupational mobility. We suggest that despite the apparent irrationality of self‐denying perceptions and choices, these may also serve self‐preserving functions in the longer term.