Social Identity Complexity: Who is "We"?

Given the recognition that individuals belong to multiple social groups, with multiple corresponding social identities, an important question to be addressed is how individuals combine these group identities when they define their subjective ingroup. More specifically, do multiple group memberships lead to more inclusive or less inclusive ingroups, when compared to single group identities? The concept of social identity complexity (Roccas & Brewer, 2002) is a new theoretical construct that refers to an individual's subjective representation of the interrelationships among his or her multiple group identities. Social identity complexity reflects the degree of overlap perceived to exist between groups of which a person is simultaneously a member. A method for assessing the complexity of an individual's multiple identity structure will be described, along with results of some preliminary studies testing the predictions that social identity complexity is related to higher importance of openness to change and universalism values, lower importance of conservatism and power values, and higher tolerance for diversity.