Citation

Livingstone AG, Spears R, Manstead AS. Br. J. Soc. Psychol. 2009; 48(Pt 2): 295-311.

Affiliation

School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. LivingstoneAG@cardiff.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Wiley Blackwell)

DOI

10.1348/014466608X329533

PMID

18652735

Abstract

A considerable body of research has shown that group members establish and emphasize characteristics or attributes that define their in-group in relation to comparison out-groups. We extend this research by exploring the range of ways in which members of the same social category (Welsh people) deploy a particular attribute (the Welsh language) as a flexible identity management resource. Through a thematic analysis of data from interviews and two public speeches, we examine how the deployment of the Welsh language is bound up with characterizations of the in-group's wider intergroup position (in terms of power relations and their legitimacy and stability), and one's position within the in-group. We focus in particular on the rhetorical and strategic value of such characterizations for policing in-group boundaries on the one hand, and for the in-group's intergroup position on the other. We conclude by emphasizing the need to (1) locate analyses of the uses and importance of group-defining attributes within the social setting that gives them meaning and (2) to appreciate such characterizations as attempts to influence, rather than simply reflect that setting.

Language: en