Identity theory (IT) and social identity theory (SIT) are eminent research programs from sociology and psychology, respectively. We test collective identity as a point of convergence between the two programs. Collective identity is a subtheory of SIT that pertains to activist identification. Collective identity maps closely onto identity theory’s group/social identity, which refers to identification with socially situated identity categories. We propose conceptualizing collective identity as a type of group/social identity, integrating activist collectives into the identity theory model. We test this conceptualization by applying identity theory hypotheses to the “vegan” identity, which is both a social category and part of an active social movement. Data come from comments on two viral YouTube videos about veganism. One video negates prevailing meanings of the vegan identity. A response video brings shared vegan identity meanings back into focus. Identity theory predicts that nonverifying identity feedback elicits negative emotion and active behavioral response, while identity verification elicits positive emotion and an attenuated behavioral response. We test these tenets using sentiment analysis and word counts for comments across the two videos. Results show support for identity theory hypotheses as applied to a collective social identity. We supplement results with qualitative analysis of video comments. The findings position collective identity as a bridge between IT and SIT, demonstrate innovative digital methods, and provide theoretical scaffolding for mobilization research in light of emergent technologies and diverse modes of activist participation.

中文翻译：

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集体社会认同：使用数字数据综合认同理论和社会认同理论

身份理论（IT）和社会身份理论（SIT）分别是社会学和心理学领域的杰出研究计划。我们将集体身份作为两个程序之间的融合点进行测试。集体身份是SIT的一个子理论，与激进主义者的身份有关。集体身份与身份理论的群体/社会身份密切相关，后者指的是在社会上处于同一地位的身份类别。我们建议将集体身份概念化为一种群体/社会身份，将激进主义集体整合到身份理论模型中。我们通过将身份理论假设应用于“纯”身份来测试这种概念化，“纯”身份既是社会类别，也是积极的社会运动的一部分。数据来自两个关于素食的病毒式YouTube视频的评论。一部视频否定了素食主义者身份的普遍含义。响应视频将共享的纯素食者身份含义重新聚焦。身份理论预测，未验证的身份反馈会引起负面情绪和积极的行为反应，而身份验证会引起积极情绪和减弱的行为反应。我们使用情感分析和字数统计来测试两个视频中的这些原则。结果表明，认同理论理论假说适用于集体社会认同。我们通过对视频评论的定性分析来补充结果。调查结果将集体身份定位为IT和SIT之间的桥梁，展示了创新的数字方法，并根据新兴技术和激进主义者参与的多种模式为动员研究提供了理论支架。