Abstract
The recent trend in group identity studies is to approach the matter from a multilevel perspective, ever since the Interactive Model of Social Identity Formation (Postmes et al., 2006) was proposed. However, there has been little consensus on the operational definition of group level group identity, hence group identity is yet to be adequately addressed at the group level. The aims of this study were: (1) to compare two operational definitions, one by Swaab et al. (2008), and the other by Ozeki and Yoshida (2009); (2) to identify the difference in two subscales of group identity, "Membership" and "Pride", at both the individual and group levels. A total of 358 university students (161 Male, 190 female, 7 unidentified) evaluated their group identity toward the department of their major, and its group entitativity and ingroup value. At the group level, Membership lead to shared group identity mediating group entitativity. At the individual level, those high on Membership perceived their ingroup were cohesive, with its members sharing group identity. At the individual level, perceived ingroup value predicted Pride, leading to membership. We developed a new group formation process model through group identity development from a multilevel viewpoint, integrating the result of this study and the Interactive Model of Social Identity Formation.
