Bridges in social networks: Harnessing dual identity to improve interethnic relations

Project Information

DUALNETS

Grant agreement ID: 101043732

DOI

10.3030/101043732

EC signature date 18 July 2022

Start date 1 September 2022

End date 31 August 2027

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 999 894,00

EU contribution

€ 1 999 894,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DUALNETS (Bridges in social networks: Harnessing dual identity to improve interethnic relations)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Improving relations between ethnic minority and majority groups is one of the most pressing needs in modern societies. This project will test a new theory: that such relations can be improved by minority members who identify with both their ethnic group and the national majority group, because these dual identifiers can create social bridges between communities. However, not all dual identifiers are recognized as such by others, and misperception may undermine the bridging that dual identifiers can accomplish. This project proposes that (a) dual identifiers’ relationships with members of both groups are signals of their dual belonging, but that the degree to which these signals are picked up depends on people’s perception of the structure of their social networks, (b) that perceiving dual identifiers improves intergroup attitudes and relationships, and (c) that these effects occur most likely under specific situational and social psychological conditions. Thus, this project advances the interdisciplinary fields of intergroup relations and network science by moving away from the problematic assumptions of previous work that people are always fully aware of others’ dual identities and relationships. We develop and test a pioneering methodology to measure perceptions of people’s ethnicity and their relationships in social networks. Survey experiments and a two-wave longitudinal school study are conducted to (1) detect how perceived relationships in social networks affect recognition of dual identifiers, (2) uncover whether and how perceiving dual identifiers (as social bridges) improves interethnic relations, (3) discover factors that prevent or facilitate the effect of dual identifiers, and (4) to discover how (perceptions of) cultural backgrounds affect (youths’) daily experiences. Next to the theoretical innovation, the focus on the consequences of perceived social networks will break new ground in social network analysis. The findings will lead to new approaches for facilitating the development of positive interethnic relations.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The DUALNETS project has carried out several activities to reach the aims of the project. First, to detect whether and how dual identifiers are recognized as dual identifiers, we conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with Dutch vocational school students. This gave us relevant insights into how young adults mentally construct the social relations in their school class and that it is very difficult for them to ascribe dual identities to their classmates. To further achieve this aim, we collected online survey data using experiments to examine (1) the role of the social context in which dual identifiers might be recognized as such, and (2) whether identity signals (religious symbols, national symbols, and high or low-status clothing) influence whether people with a migration background are seen as either members of the national majority and/or ethnic minority group. The images used in these surveys were created with AI and we experimentally tested if the effects of (not) mentioning this influenced the results. The first set of experiments has a principle acceptance for a journal as a registered report. Second, we have developed a new interactive software to collect (perceptions of) network data. The tool, named SICCEN (Software Interface for Collecting Complete and Egocentric Networks), was designed in co-creation with game design students of a vocational training program (the main target group of our research) and developed with an external programmer and with a programmer from our university. We piloted the tool in secondary school classes and demonstrated it to the social network community. The tool will be used for data collection in school classes in 2024/2025. Third, to determine when dual identifiers can(not) affect interethnic relations) we have published an academic article in which we find that while many adolescents with a migration background feel belonging to two cultural groups (dual identity), they are not seen as such by their peers. Most of their peers ascribe them only belonging to their ethnic minority group. Fourth, to uncover whether and how dual identifiers affect interethnic relations, we are writing a scientific article on the intergroup consequences of contact with dual identifiers. We are using newly collected population-based ego-centered network data from the Netherlands and existing complete network data from Germany. Additionally, to achieve this aim, we are writing an article on the role dual identifiers play in promoting inter-group relations in inter-ethnic school friendship networks. We aim to contribute theoretically to the literature by examining how dual identifiers' self-identification influences both their own preferences and others' preferences for friendship choices within inter-ethnic social networks. Fifth, we created a strong collaboration with the MBO Raad, which is a nationwide organization representing vocational schools in the Netherlands. They assist us with the big data collection in school classes in 2024/2025 and they will help us with the dissemination of our findings. Finally, we organized an academic workshop on dual identity and biculturalism.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

First, we consider the development of the new software to collect perceptions of social networks and ethnicity, SICCEN, as significantly advancing the social network research field. It is the first software that can measure social relationships (including perceptions of social relationships) with a graphical interface on smartphones. This has practical benefits for data collection and also opens possibilities to use state-of-the-art statistical methods (for example to examine cognitive social structures and perceptions of others’ ethnicity or attitudes) to analyze samples that were never analyzed in such ways. Second, the findings in our published article are a breakthrough. It is the first study to show that while many adolescents with a migration background are dual identifiers, they are not seen as such by their peers. This is a crucial starting point for the DUALNETS project. Finally, we are the first to show that people rely on social signals (the ethnicity of one’s friends) to make inferences about other people’s ethnic/national belonging. This is one of the basic premises of our project and a breakthrough in research that has thus far only focused on signals such as skin color. In another set of experiments, we are also the first to show that people pick up on identity signals through the choice of clothing. This advances research on people's perceptions.