Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In a fragmented and accelerated world of globalization and emerging nationalism, social and cultural psychologists can play an important role to investigate the national and superordinate identities. This study addresses the characteristics of European identification in Georgia, which is often thought to be on the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It checks for the potential identity predictors and tries to provide an explanation behind psychological motivators. A quasi-experimental design of one-way ANOVA with three conditions was employed to compare the strength of European identity among Georgian Erasmus students, those who travel visa-free to the EU/Schengen countries and the control group. Through an independent research project, original data were collected using online survey, which contained pre-existing identity scales and custom-made questions for personal experiences. A convenience quota sampling targeted those who have had a student status within past five years and 332 valid responses were analysed. The Erasmus students and visa-free travellers had a significantly higher European identification, when compared to the control group members. As expected, Georgian and European identities did not contradict each other, but there was also no significant correlation between the two. Regardless of group belongingness, European identification was highly endorsed alongside the national one. It was related to major personal experiences, migratory practices and competencies. Regression analysis identified a number of civic and cultural factors with a significant predictive value for the European identification. With help of social identity and world society systems’ theories and keeping in mind the context of cultural psychology, the results and limitations are discussed critically.
Author: Tornike Bakakuri
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2994976686