Negational identification can unite people who cannot agree on positive identity

Evidence

History is replete with examples of people, nations, and civilizations uniting around who and what they are not. Even if individuals cannot agree on who they are, they can often agree on who or what they are not: they are not the barbarian, the primitive, the Oriental, or the fundamentalist (Purdue, 2005). In one captivating historical example, the role of negational identification has been seen as a critical force driving major shifts in the Iranian political identity, first as non-Sunnis in the 16th century and then as non-Jews with the emergence of Israel (Duara, 1997). The construction of Israel as the common enemy allowed previously competing groups (pre-Israel Shiites and Sunnis) to bond and relate to each other. This example demonstrates that negational identification can be a significant prelude to cooperation among formerly warring factions. — Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam D. Galinsky, and Miguel M. Unzueta, Negational racial identity and…, 19

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the core concept of negational identification — defining oneself by what one is not.
• XREF: Connects to in-group/out-group identity work in the We-They Engine thread, and to other accounts of enemy-based unity (e.g., Arendt on the Jews in ‘The Origins of Totalitarianism’). — connects to: Identity can be formed negationally by focusing on group non-membership. — Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam D. Galinsky, and Miguel M. Unzueta, Negational racial identity and…, 17; Negational identification unites out-groups through shared non-membership rather than shared membership. — Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam D. Galinsky, and Miguel M. Unzueta, Negational racial identity and…, 37; Negational identity may stem from low-status individuals’ need to feel superior (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• Negational identification unites out-groups through shared non-membership rather than shared membership. #expands (0.95) — Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam D. Galinsky, and Miguel M. Unzueta, Negational racial identity and…, 37
• Defining identity by who one is not produces out-group hate, not just in-group love #complicates (0.90) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1112
• Making negational identity salient shifts voting choices toward shared out-group members #exemplifies (0.88) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1115
• Intergroup warmth is a hypothesized mechanism for the negational identity effect #expands (0.85) — Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam D. Galinsky, and Miguel M. Unzueta, Negational racial identity and…, 27
• Negational identities produce both out-group derogation and in-group favoritism #complicates (0.85) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1112
• Identity is constructed through opposition to a continuously reinterpreted other #expands (0.85)
• The negational-identity experiment sampled Latino college students split into affirmational and negational conditions #exemplifies (0.82) — Chen-Bo Zhong, Adam D. Galinsky, and Miguel M. Unzueta, Negational racial identity and…, 31
• Identity is internally mediated by the non-identical #expands (0.80) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1223
• Negational identity may stem from low-status individuals’ need to feel superior #qualifies (0.75)