PARTICIPATION AND IDENTIFICATION WITH A NEW SOCIAL GROUP: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES FOR THE IDENTITY OF ORIGIN
The self is a malleable structure, capable of integrating new social identities. Research shows that participating in a new group predicts stronger identification with this group. However, previous literature does not specify the psychological mechanisms that could be responsible for this increase in identification with the new group, nor its consequences on the identity of origin. In the current article, we present a theoretical model in order to account for these missing explanations. More specifically, we propose that participating in a new group will activate 1) the need for coherence and 2) the perception of prototypicality. These two mechanisms promote stronger identification with the new cultural group. This stronger identification can, in turn, either be positively (i.e., an additive pattern) or negatively (i.e., a subtractive pattern) associated with the group of origin. In the current theoretical model, we propose that the relation between the new identity and the identity of origin depends on the perceived status and the perceived similarities between the groups. When great differences between groups are perceived, and when the new group is seen as having a high status, we expect a negative relation between identities to emerge.