The multidimensional and dynamic nature of ethnic identity(1)

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Abstract
The present study explores the extent to which ethnic identity is multidimensional and susceptible to changes in social context. Two groups of Welsh adolescents were asked to write an essay either related or unrelated to English‐Welsh conflicts. They were then administered a multidimensional scaling questionnaire which involved having them make similarity judgments between various stimulus labels including certain Welsh and English social groups. It was found that both groups of subjects conceptualized the stimulus labels multidimensionally in terms of a Welsh‐English cultural dimension and a radical separatist‐conservative integrationist dimension. In addition, it was found that increasing the salience of intergroup conflict led Welshmen to closer affiliation with ingroups and an accentuated polarization of outgroups on the former dimension.