Identity and Deprovincialization: Identity Complexity and Inclusiveness Encourage EU-Wide Behavioural Intentions via Reduced Intergroup Concerns and Increased Optimism

Abstract

This research aimed at identifying social psychological processes contributing to deprovincialising behaviours (Pettigrew, 1997), which support social integration in Europe. We tested whether EU residents’ sense of identity, defined as complex (Linville, 1982; Brewer & Pierce, 2005) and inclusive (Dovidio, Gaertner, & Saguy, 2009), orient them toward EU-wide behaviours by mitigating intergroup concerns toward crime, immigration, and terrorism – and by improving optimism about their future within the EU. European adults ('N' = 28,004; females 54.3%; age 'M' = 50.05, 'SD' = 18.34) residing in one of the 28 EU member states completed the 2014 Eurobarometer survey (Standard EB 81, 2014) and contributed to our key analyses. Mediation analyses confirmed that reduced intergroup concerns and general optimism acted as pathways to pro-Europe integration orientations associated with complex and inclusive identities. This work highlights the promising value of deprovincialization as a concept that imbues both a behavioural and a time dimension.

Keywords

• EU integration
• deprovincialization
• identity complexity
• identity inclusiveness
• intergroup concerns
• optimism