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Many societies have seen a polarization in their social exchanges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are frequently seen arguing online, and even in the real world. by understanding how to promote identity integration among polarized group members, we could contribute to the social harmony in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, reducing and defusing the "us vs. them" mindset could provide useful in promoting efficient health measures among those who remain skeptical. The present research is thus designed to further the understanding of the mechanisms behind identity integration.

Canadians who are born in another country can struggle to find their place and voice in their new country. In fact, they can be a victim of discrimination, which prevents them from feeling Canadian and decrease their political participation (Bilodeau et al., 2020; Oskooii, 2020). However, when immigrants feel that they belong to their country of origin and their new country, that is that they identify to all of their cultural identities, they are more likely to participate in the political life (Scuzzarello, 2015). Few studies have investigated how the difference between the identification levels to the country of origin and the new country impacts political participation. According to the cognitive-developmental model of identity integration, having similar levels of identification is crucial to adapt to the social context and to fully integrate the country of adoption (Amiot et al., 2007). In other words, having similar levels of identification to the country of origin and to Canada, that is to see the cultural identities as integrated (Amiot et al., 2007), should be associated with more political participation. Thus, the current research is aimed to investigate the relationships between discrimination, levels of identification and political participation.

International audience

Immigrants experience identity shifts; they can identify with the new cultural group and, sometimes, identify less with their group of origin. Previous research suggests that participation in the new cultural group predicts these two identity shifts. However, these studies have exclusively used correlational methodologies. Furthermore, previous research ignored that when a group is negatively valued, individuals may not identify with it, even after participating in it, to preserve a positive social identity. This article tests with an experimental methodology whether participation recreated the identity shifts previously identified (greater identification with the new group and lower identification with the group of origin when perceiving dissimilarity). Furthermore, it tested how a group's value impacted these identity shifts following participation. Immigrants in Quebec (N = 184) either participated in Quebec's culture (watched hockey) or did not (watched basketball). Quebec's value was manipulated by changing whether Quebec won, tied, or lost the game. Compared to watching basketball, watching Quebec's team win or tie showed the hypothesized identity shifts, illustrating the importance of the new group's value when participating.

Globalization impacts the identities of millions. This research first investigates whether participating in a new cultural group predicts higher identification with it while remaining in one’s group of origin. Second, it tests whether the association between identification with the new group (following participation) and with the group of origin depends on the perceived similarity between groups. Studies 1 and 2 (in Kyrgyzstan) showed that participating in the American group predicted greater identification with Americans. This, in turn, positively predicted identification with Kyrgyz in contexts promoting similarities; a negative association between identities emerged when similarities were not promoted (Study 2). Studies 3 (in Kyrgyzstan) and 4 (in Canada) replicated these findings measuring similarity and with a repeated measures methodology (Study 4).

Dramatic social change (DSC) is the new normal, affecting millions of people around the world. However, not all events plunge societies into DSC. According to de la Sablonnière (2017, Front. Psychol., 8, 1), events that have a rapid pace of change, that rupture an entire group's social and normative structures, and that threaten the group's cultural identity will result in DSC. This perspective provokes important unanswered questions: What is the chance that a DSC will occur if an event takes place? And, when will other societal states arise from such events? Addressing these questions is pivotal for a genuine psychology of social change to emerge. The goal of this article was to describe a methodology that attempts to answer these questions via a probabilistic decision tree within a Bayesian framework. According to our analysis, a DSC should occur 6.25% of the time that an event takes place in a stable society (68.75% of the time for incremental social change, 12.5% for inertia, and 12.5% for stability). The Bayesian probabilistic decision tree could be applied to specific event and thus serve as a guide for a programmatic study of social change and ultimately inform policymakers who need to plan and prepare for events that lead to DSC.