Argument and multiple identities: contemporary European nationalism and environmentalism.

AuthorMcKerrow, Raymie
PositionSpecial Issue: Argument & Identity

The relationship between argument and social identity is a largely unexplored topic. In general, social psychologists examining this issue tend to view language from the perspective of one's cultural heritage, rather than examining the role of public discourse or argument in the construction of social identity. Even within this restricted focus on language, the rhetorical force is missed. As Taylor and Moghaddam (1994) assert: "Although language can contribute to the demarcation of group boundaries and the development of group identity, many groups exist without a common language. In short, language is a contributor to, but not a prerequisite for, intergroup behavior. Consequently, any theory of intergroup relation that focuses on language will necessarily be restricted to a small number of cases, which may not even be the more important cases" (p. 92). Even Edwards (1992), who is arguably the strongest proponent for an analysis of language within social identity, focuses on its role in terms of constructing ethnic identity (and while arguing for a cross-disciplinary approach, remains unaware of intercultural communication studies relevant to ethnicity). It should be noted that this state of affairs is not unique to the present subject; even within social psychology, identity theory and social identity theory developed in general isolation from one another while focusing on similar concerns (Hogg, Terry, & White, 1995).

Our approach will necessarily be preliminary in relating argumentation to social identity. We assume at the outset that social identity is a "multiple construct"-just as a person contains a multiplicity of "selves" so too does one's relation to a social group admit of multiple facets (Deaux, 1992, 1993; Deaux, Reid, Mizrahi, & Ethier, 1995; Mouffe, 1993). We also assume that ingroup/outgroup relationships of solidarity/differentiation (Brewer, 1991) are a product, in part, of the discourse that constructs and names (thereby giving meaning to) the relational matrix in which a social identity is located. A review of the basic tenets of social identity theory is presented below. Following that discussion, we will employ two illustrations to examine the relationship between argument and the creation and maintenance of social identity. The first illustration focuses on nationalism as given expression in the divided city of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovena during the recent warfare in that troubled land. The second focuses on environmentalism as given expression in the dispute over the status of the Brent Spar oil rig in the North Sea.

SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY

The basic premise of social identity theory (Breakwell, 1992; Deaux, 1992; Edwards, 1992; Hogg, 1992, Hogg & Abrams, 1988; Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Taylor & Moghaddam, 1994) - including self-categorization theory (Oakes, Haslam, & Turner, 1994; Turner, 1982, 1985, 1991; Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) - is that the defining characteristics of a social category (such as nationality) may become part of one's self-concept and influence perception and conduct (Hogg, Terry, & White, 1995, pp. 259-260). Since a person may fit into several social categories (even contradictory ones) at one and the same time, the importance of participation in any one category will be dependent on the salience of that category at that moment in time. For example, a Serbian in Sarajevo may perceive himself to be a loyal Serb and at the same time be in love with a Muslim woman; given the contradictory nature of these impulses within that country at this time, choosing to act as a Serb or a man in love will suggest which impulse is more salient (as was demonstrated in the death of two young lovers as they sought "safe passage" out of Sarajevo on October 25, 1993 [Drakulic, 1996b]).

Social Identity Principles: Self-Categorization and Self-Enhancement

Social identity theory further postulates the operation of two underlying processes: categorization and self-enhancement (Hogg et al., 1995). Categorization, especially as refined by Oakes et al. (1994), is the cognitive act of giving one's experience a name-of locating it in space and time within one's other categories of experience: "It begins with the assumption that self-conception reflects self-categorization, the cognitive grouping of the self as identical to some class of stimuli in contrast to some other class of stimuli" (p. 95). In a social setting, self-categorization may produce a normative perception of what one should do or of how one should act. In the process, one establishes one's sense of solidarity with the "in/group" while at the same time distinguishing one's self from others outside the salient category. As Brewer (1991, p. 478) notes, the tension between these like/not like dimensions is managed in terms of "optimal distinctiveness" - a balance that best serves the individual's goals at a certain moment in time. Deaux et al. (1995) suggest that social identity clusters around five dimensions of self-categorization: ethnicity/religion; stigmas; political affiliation; vocation/avocation; and relationships. In the example of the two lovers, ethnicity and relationship (along with a stigma attached to a particular relationship) functioned as the "optimal" categories of social identity, with a desire to live together in peace the primary impulse for their attempted departure to a safe haven.

As suggested above, social identity theory further assumes that people "have a basic need to see themselves in a positive light" (Hogg et al., 1995, p. 260) and that certain group memberships may enhance self-perception. In seeing one's self as linked to a group, the identity of out/group members may be seen as less desirable while enhancing one's sense of self within the group as a part of the "contrast" effect. For example, Serbians see Muslims as "foreigners" even though the initial impetus to convert can be traced to the 15th century, and the conversion was of people indigenous to Bosnia-Herzegovina; while not an accurate portrayal of reality (see Mottahedeh, 1994, p. vii), the ideological assessment of Muslim "foreignness" nonetheless functions as an ingredient in distinguishing one's own positively perceived in/group from a more negatively perceived out/group.

Prototype Construction

This process of accentuating one's own "self' yields what is termed a "prototype" - a subjective perception of the person's identification of the social category as salient for his/her own purposes. As social identity is thus defined and leads to behavior on the part of the individual within a group, it is responsive to immediate social contexts. That is, a person is continually re-evaluating and renegotiating the relevance or salience of particular social categories in determining how to act in a given setting. Hogg et al. (1995) present this illustration: "[A] nontraditional male at a feminist meeting might try to avoid the contextually negative implications of self-categorization as male by drawing attention to contextually less negative self-categorizations" (p. 262). While the example assumes that feminists would see "male" in negative terms, the point is clear: the relationship between social identity and in/out group relations is often dynamic rather than static. The example also assumes that the out/group, in this case the feminists, are a salient "other" for the person; if that were not the case, the person would find less motivation to act in a way that does not call attention to his membership in the social category "man." As will be argued later, however, the static nature of some "prototypes" (Fiske & Taylor, 1991; Hogg, 1992, p. 94), when functioning as images of the other, yields an inflexible argumentative position. Social identities are thus concerned with the optimal "fit" between current prototypes and the social context in which one finds oneself. Hogg et al. (1995) argue that these prototypes organize experience in such a manner as to determine in/out group relationships. As Hogg (1992) suggests:

People tend to seek confirmation for who they are, so they feel threatened by the insecurity and unpredictability communicated by marginally prototypical members [those not sharing or evincing "ideal" group membership traits or behaviors], but comfortable and happy with the security and predictability communicated by highly prototypical members. (p. 107)

In constructing a social identity that yields a comfortable, prototypical image of the ideal identity, there are several variables that are critical. In a study of boys in Argentina and England, Dougherty, Eisenhart and Webley (1992) found that social identities play a critical role in the acquisition of knowledge. As such, social identities become inextricably linked with the formation of ideologies. As McKerrow (1983) has argued, ideology is formed in and through language. The process of naming (Burke, 1969) in construing prototypes is integral to casting one's knowledge of the other into usable form, and to thereby categorize the other as "same" or "different," as "significant" or "immaterial" to one's own interests. Gregg's (1971) perspective on the "ego-function of protest rhetoric" provides a rhetorical explanation of the process of developing positively valenced prototypes: discourse which serves to build in/group solidarity will be seen as relevant so long as it meets an individual's own sense of what is in her or his best interests within the social group.(1) Once the prototype is constructed, the sense of one's belonging or not to a group becomes much more clearly focused, as the following discussion suggests.

In/Out Group Power Relations

As Brewer's (1991) model of "optimal distinctiveness" implies, social identity and group loyalty are strongest for those whose categorizations simultaneously provide for a sense of belonging and a sense of distinctiveness. The sense of "losing one's self" in the group (deindividuation, depersonalization) is...

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