“one of us”: Engagement with fandoms and global citizenship identification.

Abstract

Two studies investigated the relationship between fan group participation and global citizenship identification—self-identifying as a member of a global community with a sense of responsibility to act toward the betterment of that global community. In Study 1, surveys were given to members of a fandom that frequently engages in charity and values diversity, empathy, and helping. Surveys were also given to a comparison group: an online sample of Americans whose fan identities were not salient. In Study 2, surveys were given to undergrads that belonged to diverse fandoms (e.g., music, sport, TV show) and differed in the extent to which they were seen to value global citizenship. In both studies, participants who belonged to fandoms that valued global citizenship were more likely to self-identify as global citizens. This relationship was mediated by two factors: perceiving close others as valuing global citizenship and a sense of global awareness—an awareness of global interconnectedness. Identifying as a global citizen was also associated with greater endorsement of prosocial values such as diversity. Together, the results demonstrate a relationship between fandom participation and identity, attitudes, values, with behavioral implications.

University Environment and Global Citizenship Identification

“…Consistent with the notion of intentional worlds (Shweder, 1990), and the mutual constitution conception of culture (see Adams & Markus, 2004), everyday settings (e.g., home, school, work) containing individuals, artifacts (e.g., media, organizations), or cultural patterns that reflect and encourage global citizenship may cultivate global citizenship identification in those who engage those settings (Katzarska-Miller, Reysen, Kamble, & Vithoji, 2012;Plante et al, 2014;Reysen & Katzarska-Miller, 2013b). Theorists suggest that the socio-cultural environment of school is an influential part of students' development of global citizenship (Pike, 2008;Schattle, 2008;Young & Commins, 2002).…”

“…In turn, global citizenship identification predicts prosocial outcomes, including intergroup empathy (i.e., felt connection to others outside one's in group), valuing diversity (e.g., interest and appreciation for diverse cultures), social justice (e.g., endorsement of human rights and equality), environmental sustainability (e.g., concern for the natural environment), intergroup helping (i.e., desire to help others outside one's in group), and felt responsibility to act for the betterment of the world. Although this model has been replicated in subsequent research (Plante, Roberts, Reysen, & Gerbasi, 2014;Reysen, Katzarska-Miller, Gibson, & Hobson, 2013;Reysen et al, 2012), further research is needed to examine aspects of one's socio-cultural environment that may influence the model.…”

Ingroup Bias and Ingroup Projection in the Furry Fandom

“…Interestingly, while the results of Study 1 showed strong ingroup favoritism, as evidenced by the large effect sizes, the mean response on the explicit measure of ingroup favoritism in Study 2 was below the midpoint of the scale. Given the furry fandom's norms of inclusion and valuing diversity (see Plante et al, 2014b), such explicit statements may have resulted in lower endorsement, a finding illustrating the importance of considering the norms and values of a group as possible moderators of ingroup bias effects as assessed with explicit measures. Future research may find it useful to employ implicit measures of ingroup favoritism (e.g., reaction time measures), which could be compared to explicit measures to determine both the relationship between the two and the extent to which ingroup projection affects both implicit and explicit ingroup favoritism.…”

“…The community consists of artists, costumers (who wear mascot-like costumes called fursuits), writers, musicians, and fans of anthropomorphic writing and artwork (Plante, Roberts, Reysen, & Gerbasi, 2014a). Furries, far from a homogeneous group, are diverse, expressing their interest in anthropomorphism through roleplaying, writing, fursuit construction, and anthropomorphic art (Mock, Plante, Reysen, & Gerbasi, 2013;Plante, Roberts, Reysen, & Gerbasi, 2014b). Perhaps most important for the present research, most furries construct elaborate, animal-themed, alternate identities (i.e., fursonas) that they use to represent themselves to others in the fandom .…”

Effect of Framing of Reentry Program on Perceptions of Ex-Offenders

“…Research shows that individuals in one's everyday environment , the cultural environment itself (Katzarska-Miller, Reysen, Kamble, & Vithoji, 2012), and the social groups in which one is embedded (Plante, Roberts, Reysen, & Gerbasi, 2014) predict greater global citizenship identification (and prosocial outcomes). To accomplish this, instructors can emphasize a global citizen identity, create a separate community ran section of the jail or prison for program enrollees to teach civic duties (this method is currently used in some jails), and organize partnerships with civic and activist organizations that aid others, the environment, or strive to mitigate global problems.…”