Verifica di teorie motivazionali dell'identificazione con il proprio gruppo tramite modelli di equazioni strutturali.

In this work we tested the validity of three theories of identification with the ingroup: social identity theory, subjective uncertainty reduction theory, optimal distinctiveness theory. The study was carried out in a factory; participants were workers and clerical stuff, and the instrument was a questionnaire. The effects of the motivations, that the three theories consider, respectively: the need for self-esteem, the need for reduction of subjective uncertainty, the need for perceiving one-self included but, at the same time, defined by distinct attributes, were tested using structural equation models. It was found that identification only depends on the degree to which belonging satisfies the need for self-esteem. This variable totally absorbs the effects of the other motivations. Identification, in its turn, positively influences ingroup evaluations and fosters intragroup prosocial behaviors.