Positive Relationship Between Individuality and Social Identity in Virtual Communities: Self-Categorization and Social Identification as Distinct Forms of Social Identity.
Previous studies have reported conflicting results regarding the relationship between individuality and social identity, indicating this area requires further examination. This study constructed a research model to help understand the positive role of individualized behavior and social identity in virtual communities. The results of an online survey conducted to assess our theoretical research model indicated that social identity can be expressed in two ways: self-categorization and social identification. Furthermore, we found individualized behavior was positively related to social identification, while self-categorization was directly derived from social identification.
1 Postdoctoral Programme of China Center for Industrial Security Research, Beijing Jiaotong University , Beijing, China .
Tian-Chao
TC
Guo
2 School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University , Beijing, China .
Xuemei
X
Li
D000293:Adolescent; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D061108:Social Media; D060756:Social Networking; D055815:Young Adult
individuality; self-categorization; social identification; social identity; virtual communities