PI: Maciek Sekerdej
Grant no. 2017/26/E/HS6/00402 awarded by the National Science Centre. 2018-2023
What factors make national pride and attachment to one’s own nation take so many different forms? Why do national identifications lead some people to support integration, solidarity, civic attitudes and behaviours, but others to support intolerance, intergroup conflict, and ethnocentrism? What determines these relationships? How does love for one’s own country trigger such various consequences? This research project is aimed at answering these and related questions. Particularly, we are interested in the factors that shape critical citizenship, which is conceptualized as constructive patriotism that involves strong identification with, and love for one’s nation, but also critical reflection and the motivation to change the nation for the better.
Drawing on previous findings we expect that what shapes different forms of national attitudes is, first, how people see their own nation? How large is the discrepancy between the nation’s actual state and people’s ideal standards for the nation? Where do people see the nation’s most important flaws as being? Second, personal values are important. Do people care more about themselves or are they particularly committed to working for the common good? Are they conservative or open-to-change? Finally, how people perceive themselves is of importance for shaping attitudes towards one’s own nation. Do people think about themselves as being energetic, competent, and assertive individuals? Do people value loyalty, friendship, and communality? Do these various values differently affect how people relate to
their own nation?
We will measure the relationships between these factors and the different dimensions of patriotism in a series of questionnaires and experimental studies. The findings will help us to better understand the roots of different forms of national identifications, as well as their consequences. These issues are important to academics and non-academics alike. In light of recent humanitarian crises and conflicts, the question of maintaining harmonious international relations concerns us all. We hope that our research will contribute to a more accurate assessment of the surrounding social reality, as well as to the development of educational programs supporting cooperation and fighting prejudice and discrimination.
Publications:
Rupar, M., Jamróz-Dolińska K., Kołeczek, M., & Sekerdej, M. (2020). Is patriotism helpful to fight the crisis? The role of constructive patriotism, conventional patriotism, and glorification amid the COVID‐19 pandemic. European Journal of Social Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2777
Rupar, M., Sekerdej, M., & Jamróz-Dolińska, K. (2020). The role of national identification in explaining political and social civic engagement. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1368430220967975