Group Identification Under Stress: A Comparative Study

This study investigates how one localized segment of an advantaged group understands its position in the societal context in an era in which general views of that position may be changing. Theory and past research suggest that people’s ideas are influenced by the major social, political, and economic events through which they live, and that people’s sense-making tends to vary by region and locality.

In this research, members of the target group are interviewed to investigate their understandings of their position and their associated thought processes. Findings from this project will help to develop a more nuanced view of the regional group studied, and in particular will aid those designing practices to mitigate undesirable effects of differences in opportunities.

Honors undergraduate students will assist in data collection, helping to build the methodological skills of the next generation of scientists.

Data for this project come from in-depth interviews of 150 members of the advantaged group, divided between two locations: one moderately sized city and one town. Sampling follows a purposive design to maximize the range of interviewees’ contexts and relevant experiences. Data are analyzed using flexible coding and standard software for analyzing interview and qualitative data.

This project is jointly funded by the Sociology Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.