How Long Can Cultural Events Elevate Group Identity Salience? The Mediating Role of Affective Adaptation

Chen, S.X.; Hui, C.-M.; Ng, J.C.K.; Guan, Y.

doi:10.1080/15298868.2017.1391874

How Long Can Cultural Events Elevate Group Identity Salience? The Mediating Role of Affective Adaptation

Chen, S.X.; Hui, C.-M.; Ng, J.C.K.; Guan, Y.

Authors

S.X. Chen

C.-M. Hui

J.C.K. Ng

Professor Yanjun Guan yanjun.guan@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Cultural events have been found to make one’s group identity temporarily more salient. How long such an elevated sense of identity can endure remains, however, an empirical question. Building upon the model of affective adaptation, we propose that the elevated sense of group identity may decrease quickly during a culturally important event, and this process is mediated by the decline of positive emotions during the event. Consistent with this prediction, a diary study (Study 1) with a Chinese sample observed that Chinese identity was very salient at the beginning of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and then was gradually neutralized during the event. Moreover, the dissipation of positive emotions during the event mediated temporal change of the salience of Chinese identity. An experiment (Study 2) further showed that positive emotions during national-identity-related events could create the initial elevation and subsequent decline of the salience of the group identity.

Citation

Chen, S., Hui, C., Ng, J., & Guan, Y. (2019). How Long Can Cultural Events Elevate Group Identity Salience? The Mediating Role of Affective Adaptation. Self and Identity, 18(2), 126-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2017.1391874

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Oct 6, 2017
Online Publication Date	Nov 6, 2017
Publication Date	2019-01
Deposit Date	Oct 27, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Nov 6, 2018
Journal	Self and Identity
Print ISSN	1529-8868
Electronic ISSN	1529-8876
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	18
Issue	2
Pages	126-143
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2017.1391874
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1345423

Files

Accepted Journal Article (429 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Self and Identity on 06 Nov 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15298868.2017.1391874.