The phenomenon of self-categorization from motivational principles to shared representations: The investigation of 'humanity category' usage in the case of Alevis

In the social psychology discipline, the phenomenon of identity is evaluated both in terms of 'process' (as abstraction levels of self-categorization, dimensions of identity and implications of motives) and 'content' (as an object of social representation). The idea and the notion of 'humanity', which is expressed and shared by Alevis as showing the socio-historical and theosophical authenticity of Alevism can be seen as an example of the collective identity construction from a social-psychological perspective. The present study, through quantitative and qualitative approaches, focused on the formation of Alevis' identity and Alevis' usage of collective identity based on the humanity category in their self-categorizations. The main aim was to see which of the motivational principles (self-esteem, continuity, efficacy, distinctiveness, belonging, and meaning) would predict the superordinate, social, and inter-personal of self-categorizations in three identity dimensions (perceived centrality, affect, and enactment). In addition, stereotypical representations for 'in-group', 'out-group' and 'intergroup relationships' were also investigated. The study was conducted in Istanbul and Izmir with 142 Alevi participants (Mage = 37.4 and 64 of them were women). Findings from separate hierarchical regression analyses of scores from three levels of self-categorization on three identity dimensions clearly showed that the motivational background in the identity process may not be limited only to the 'self-esteem' motivation in general. For example, for participants who stated at least one identity element that referred to the notion of 'humanity' when defining their selves, the contributions of 'meaning', 'efficacy', 'continuity' and 'distinctiveness' motivations were found to be more significant in explaining the variance in the identity dimension scores than the self-esteem motivation. On the other hand, analyses of stereotype-based social representations showed that in- and out-group evaluations of participants were quite homogeneous and independent of whether they specifically referred to "humanity" category or the Alevi identity in their identity definitions. In terms of the Alevi identity elements as an example of social level self-categorization, the most descriptive motivation model for 'identification with the in-group' was found to be the four-motive model of intergroup relations; and the single contribution of the 'belonging' factor was determined. The results show that social representations regarding the Alevi identity do not have a clear distinctive effect, however, indicate that ethnic identity and mother tongue are factors that should be considered when working on this identity. Findings were discussed in terms of 'social identity' and 'social representations' approaches, and the scope/limitations of the present study were assessed. Keywords: identity motives, dimensions of identity, levels of self-categorization, identity elements/repertory, social identity, social representations, Alevis