Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Defining American National Identity

An Exploration into Measurement and Its Outcomes

Bibliographic Data

ID11046469
AuthorsPhoebe Bui (0000-0001-5313-4633, London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume52
Issue1
Pages3-21
Publication date2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNationalities Papers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/nps.2021.79
OpenAlexW4280586166
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited44

Scholars of American identity have typically concluded that Americans more widely endorse civic values than ascriptive ones in surveys, though IATs suggest that there are robust associations between race and American identity. In addition to this apparent contradiction, these studies share similar methodological limitations: the discrepancy between reported attitudes and real-world behavior. Though these methods are well-cited in the wider literature, attitudes are often conflated to be synonymous with behavior in American identity scholarship. I argue that it is necessary to study how Americans conceive of their national identity in different situational contexts. Using the complementary techniques of semi-structured interviewing and qualitative vignettes, I explore and compare the ways in which 10 American graduate students make sense of their national identity in a series of abstract and concrete settings. Results of a multi-method text analysis approach demonstrate that: 1) there are a multitude of components not currently being discussed or measured; 2) the invocation of American identity components depends on their setting; 3) the ways in which components are characterized are just as important as their invocation; and 4) the difficulty expressed by participants to define a singular American identity underscores the continued salience of the multiple traditions thesis

Aesthetics · Cognitive psychology · Conflation · Epistemology · Identity (music · Invocation · National identity · Political science · Salience (neuroscience · Scholarship · Situational ethics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

  • The Paradox of Continuity in Nigerian Foreign Policy Amid the Claimed Absence of National Identity

    Open Access•Nomeh Kanayo Anthony•African Studies•2026

  • Border and Immigration as Etiological Myth in U.S. Right-Wing Politics

    Open Access•Arthur D Soto-Vásquez•Communication Studies•2026

  • Normative convergence between global health security and universal health coverage

    Open Access•Arush Lal, Clare Wenham et al.•Globalization and Health•2025

  • Multi-Method Qualitative Text and Discourse Analysis

    Open Access•A Alejandro, Longxuan Zhao•Qualitative Inquiry•2024

  • Toward integrative triangulation in discourse-historical approach

    Open Access•Xuri Tang, Jing Li•Discourse & Society•2024

  • Immigration and the American Ethos

    Open Access•Morris Levy, Matthew Wright•Immigration and the American Ethos•2020

  • Who Counts as an American?

    Open Access•Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth Theiss‐morse•Who Counts As an American?•2009

  • Unequal egalitarianism

    Open Access•Margaret Wetherell, Hilda Stiven et al.•British Journal of Social…•1987

  • The Meaning of American National Identity

    Jack Citrin, Cara Wong et al.•Social identity, intergroup…•2001

  • Strong claims and weak evidence

    Hart Blanton, James Jaccard et al.•Journal of Applied Psychology•2009

  • Liberal Tradition in America

    Louis Hartz•Liberal Tradition in America•1991

  • Americanism in the Twenty-First Century

    Open Access•Deborah J Schildkraut•Americanism in the Twenty-First…•2010

  • An American Dilemma

    Gunnar Myrdal, Myrdal Gimar et al.•American Dilemma•2017

  • Successful Qualitative Research

    John Jamieson, Braun et al.•QMiP Bulletin•2014

  • Studies in the Theory of Ideology

    John Thompson, John B Thompson•Studies in the Theory of Ideology•1984

  • Racists,” “Class Anxieties,” Hegemonic Racism, and Democracy in Trump’s America

    Open Access•E Bonilla-Silva•Social Currents•2018

  • Sampling in Interview-Based Qualitative Research

    O C Robinson•Qualitative Research in Psychology•2013

  • Using vignettes in qualitative interviews as clues, microcosms or provokers

    Open Access•Jukka Törrönen•Qualitative Research Journal•2018

  • I wanna tell you a story

    Christine Barter, E Renold•International Journal of Social…•2000

  • Opening Pandora's Box

    Thomas F Gieryn, Nigel Gilbert et al.•Contemporary Sociology A Journal…•1985

  • Postethnic America

    Philip Gleason, David A Hollinger•Journal of American History•1996

  • Attitudes vs. Actions Versus Attitudes vs. Attitudes

    Howard Schuman•Public Opinion Quarterly•1972

  • Imagined communities

    Benedict Anderson•Imagined communities•1991

  • Defining American Identity in the Twenty-First Century

    Deborah J Schildkraut•The Journal of Politics•2007

  • American Identity and the Politics of Ethnic Change

    Jack Citrin, Beth Reingold et al.•The Journal of Politics•1990

  • Alternative Measures of American National Identity

    Open Access•Matthew Wright, Jack Citrin et al.•Political Psychology•2012

  • Boundaries of A merican Identity

    Open Access•Que‐lam Huynh, Ton Devos et al.•Political Psychology•2015

  • What Does It Mean to Be an American? Patriotism, Nationalism, and American Identity After 9/11

    Open Access•Qiong Li, Marilynn B Brewer•Political Psychology•2004

  • Race, prejudice and attitudes toward redistribution

    Open Access•Allison Harell, Stuart Soroka et al.•European Journal of Political…•2016

  • The Upside of Accents

    Open Access•D J Hopkins•British Journal of Political…•2015

  • Belonging In a “Christian Nation

    Open Access•Carly M Jacobs, Carly Jacobs et al.•Politics and Religion•2013

  • Using the IAT to predict ethnic and racial discrimination

    Frederick L Oswald, Gregory Mitchell et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•2015

  • Predicting ethnic and racial discrimination

    Frederick L Oswald, Gregory Mitchell et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•2013

  • American = White

    Ton Devos, Thierry Devos et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•2005

  • Using a Qualitative Vignette to Explore a Complex Public Health Issue

    Open Access•Michaela Jackson, Paul Harrison et al.•Qualitative Health Research•2015

  • Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis

    Open Access•Hsiu-Fang Hsieh, Sarah E Shannon•Qualitative Health Research•2005

  • The Erosion of American National Interests

    Samuel P Huntington•Foreign Affairs•1997

  • Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz

    Open Access•R M Smith•American Political Science Review•1993

  • The "American Creed" and American Identity

    R M Smith•The Western Political Quarterly•1988

  • More than Prejudice

    Open Access•Eduardo Bonilla-Silva•Sociology of Race and Ethnicity•2015

  • Putting it in context

    Open Access•Nicholas Jenkins, Michael Bloor et al.•Qualitative Research•2010

  • Immigration, Citizenship, and the Nation-State in France and Germany

    Open Access•William Rogers Brubaker•International Sociology•1990

  • Considering the Vignette Technique and its Application to a Study of Drug Injecting and HIV Risk and Safer Behaviour

    Open Access•Rhidian Hughes•Sociology of Health & Illness•1998

Unique citing works5
Citations per year2,5
Citation span2024 - 2026 (3)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 5
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae