Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TURK PSIKOLOJI DERGISI, cilt.40, sa.95, ss.46-67, 2025 (SSCI)
For some minorities, living under constant threat for an extended period requires a solution. It is evident that long-oppressed minorities often possess belief systems rooted in an inclusive notion of humanity. This study examines whether shared humanity serves as public discourse material for an ethno-religious minority group like Alevis, who have suffered collective victimhood for centuries, to prove that they share the same "symbolic universe of values" with the majority, or whether it genuinely occupies a central place in their identity driven by specific motivations. It explores which motivational principles (self-esteem, belonging, meaning, continuity, and efficacy) are active at superordinate, social, and interpersonal levels of self-categorization, based on perceived centrality. Conducted with 142Alevi participants, the study involved expressing 8 identity elements each in response to the question "Who are you?" and rating their perceived centrality and motivational levels. The findings showed that 9.6% of the identity elements are at the superordinate abstraction level of self-categorization. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the motivational background of the identity process was not limited to self-esteem, supporting the tenets of Motivated Identity Construction Theory, and demonstrated that the role of motivational principles can vary in relation to levels of self-categorization. Among participants who referred to shared humanity at least once in their identity repertoire, the motives of "meaning" and "continuity" positively predicted the perceived identity centrality. Findings are discussed in relation to social psychological perspectives and Alevism studies literature.