Using Culture and Identities to Improve Models of Action by Andrew Ashton Miles Departm

171 Pages·2015·4.63 MB·English

Using  Culture  and  Identities  to  Improve  Models  of  Action  
by  
Andrew  Ashton  Miles  
Department  of  Sociology  
Duke  University  

Date:_______________________  
Approved:  

___________________________  
Stephen  Vaisey,  Supervisor  

___________________________  
Linda  George  

___________________________  
Lynn  Smith-­‐‑Lovin  

___________________________  
Kieran  Healy  

Dissertation  submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  
the  requirements  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  
of  Philosophy  in  the  Department  of  
Sociology  in  the  Graduate  School  
of  Duke  University  

2015
ABSTRACT  
Using  Culture  and  Identities  to  Improve  Models  of  Action  
by  
Andrew  Ashton  Miles  
Department  of  Sociology  
Duke  University  

Date:_______________________  
Approved:  

___________________________  
Stephen  Vaisey,  Supervisor  

___________________________  
Linda  George  

___________________________  
Lynn  Smith-­‐‑Lovin  

___________________________  
Kieran  Healy  

An  abstract  of  a  dissertation  submitted  in  partial  
fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  
of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Department  of  
Sociology  in  the  Graduate  School  of  
Duke  University  

2015
Copyright  by  
Andrew  Ashton  Miles  
2015
Abstract
Recent  work  in  cultural  sociology  has  provided  important  insights  into  the  
processes  underlying  behavior,  but  does  not  adequately  address  the  role  played  by  
situations  in  shaping  action.  Research  also  emphasizes  process  at  the  expense  of  content,  
helping  us  see  how  motives  can  shape  action,  without  specifying  which  motives  matter.  
This  project  addresses  these  shortcomings  by  synthesizing  work  on  culture  and  action  
with  perspectives  from  sociological  social  psychology,  psychology,  and  the  study  of  
morality.  I  argue  that  identities,  values,  and  morality  are  forms  of  culture  that  can  
motivate  action,  and  that  identities  and  values  in  particular  help  to  explain  consistencies  
in  behavior  across  different  contexts.  I  illustrate  these  general  claims  in  three  papers,  
included  as  chapters  2  through  4.    
In  chapter  2  I  argue  that  a  person’s  most  salient  identities  form  a  core  self  that  is  
perpetually  active  across  situations,  and  that  behavioral  consistency  occurs  because  
people  are  motivated  to  act  in  ways  that  are  consistent  with  this  core  self.  However,  a  
person’s  ability  to  successfully  enact  an  identity  in  a  given  context  also  depends  on  
possessing  the  necessary  cultural  skills  and  competencies.  I  illustrate  the  plausibility  of  
my  model  using  two  published  ethnographic  studies.    
In  chapter  3  I  argue  that  values  also  shape  a  wide  range  of  behaviors,  operate  
across  many  contexts,  and  can  be  processed  quickly  and  automatically,  consistent  with  

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current  models  of  culture  and  action.  Using  data  from  25  European  nations  and  a  new  
hybrid  propensity  score/fixed  effects  methodology,  I  find  that  values  predict  15  self-­‐‑
reported  behaviors  that  occur  in  a  variety  of  substantive  domains  (e.g.,  family,  religion)  
and  across  25  countries,  but  that  which  behaviors  values  predict  depends  on  the  national  
context.  I  strengthen  the  case  for  causality  and  draw  a  link  to  automatic  cognitive  
processing  using  a  real-­‐‑time  decision  task  from  a  large  online  survey.    
In  chapter  4  I  use  two  nationally  representative  samples  of  the  United  States  to  
show  how  various  forms  of  moral  culture  are  distributed  across  social  and  demographic  
categories.  This  lays  a  foundation  for  future  work  by  providing  insight  into  the  moral  
motivations  that  can  shape  behavior  for  members  of  different  social  groups.    
Taken  together,  these  studies  underscore  the  claim  that  culture  matters  for  
behavior  and  lay  the  groundwork  for  future  research  on  culture  and  action.

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Dedication

To  my  dear  wife  Kelley.  Thanks  for  putting  up  with  me!  

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Contents
Abstract  ..........................................................................................................................................  iv

List  of  Tables  .................................................................................................................................  xi

List  of  Figures  ..............................................................................................................................  xii

Acknowledgements  ...................................................................................................................  xiii

1.  Introduction  ...............................................................................................................................  1

2.  Addressing  the  Problem  of  Cultural  Anchoring:  An  Identity-­‐‑Based  Model  of  Culture  
in  Action  .........................................................................................................................................  3

2.1  Past  Treatments  of  the  Problem  of  Cultural  Anchoring  .............................................  4

2.2  Components  of  the  Model  ...............................................................................................  9

2.2.1  People  have  identities  and  try  to  behave  in  identity  consistent  ways  .................  9

2.2.2  Situations  and  identities  interact  to  activate  identities  ........................................  11

2.2.3  Salient  identities  form  a  core  self  that  directs  and  control  the  operation  of  less  
salient  identities  ..................................................................................................................  13

2.2.4  Resources  are  necessary  to  verify  identities  ..........................................................  15

2.3  An  Identity-­‐‑Based  Model  of  Culture  in  Action  ..........................................................  18

2.4  Evidence  for  the  Identity-­‐‑Based  Model  of  Culture  in  Action  ..................................  26

2.5  Conclusion  .......................................................................................................................  29

3.  The  (Re)genesis  of  Values:  Examining  the  Importance  of  Values  for  Action  .................  36

3.1  Dual-­‐‑Process  Models  and  the  Problem  of  Content  ....................................................  38

3.2  Values  Past  and  Present  .................................................................................................  40

3.3  Values  and  Action:  Theory  and  Evidence  ...................................................................  42

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3.4  Values  as  Content  for  Models  of  Culture  and  Action  ...............................................  48

3.5  The  Current  Study  ..........................................................................................................  50

3.6  Analyses  with  Cross-­‐‑National  Data:  Testing  the  Extensity  of  Value-­‐‑Behavior  
Relationships  .........................................................................................................................  51

3.6.1  Data  ..............................................................................................................................  51

3.6.2  Values  Measures  ........................................................................................................  51

3.6.3  Behavior  Measures  ....................................................................................................  53

3.6.4  Contextual  Measure  ..................................................................................................  55

3.6.5  Controls  .......................................................................................................................  55

3.6.6  Analyses  ......................................................................................................................  59

3.6.7  Results  .........................................................................................................................  60

3.6.8  Validity  Check:  Varying  the  Number  of  Strata  .....................................................  66

3.6.9  Discussion  ...................................................................................................................  68

3.7  Analyses  with  Real-­‐‑Time  Decision  Data:  Causality  and  Dual-­‐‑Processes  ...............  70

3.7.1  Data  ..............................................................................................................................  70

3.7.2  Study  Design  ..............................................................................................................  70

3.7.3  Values  Measures  ........................................................................................................  73

3.7.4  Analyses  ......................................................................................................................  73

3.7.5  Results  .........................................................................................................................  75

3.7.6  Discussion  ...................................................................................................................  78

3.8  General  Discussion  and  Conclusions  ...........................................................................  80

4.  Demographic  Correlates  of  Moral  Differences  in  the  Contemporary  United  States  ....  86

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4.1  Operationalizing  Morality  .............................................................................................  90

4.2  The  Current  Study  ..........................................................................................................  92

4.3  Methods  ............................................................................................................................  93

4.3.1  Data  ..............................................................................................................................  93

4.3.2  Socio-­‐‑Demographic  Predictors  ................................................................................  94

4.3.3  Morality  Variables  .....................................................................................................  95

4.3.4  Analytic  Strategy  .......................................................................................................  97

4.4  Results  ..............................................................................................................................  99

4.5  Discussion  ......................................................................................................................  108

5.  Conclusion  ..............................................................................................................................  113

Appendix  A:  Coding  Details  For  Values  Study  ....................................................................  115

A.1  ESS  Behavior  Measures  ...............................................................................................  115

A.2  ESS  and  Online  Survey  Values  Measures  ................................................................  116

A.3  Personal  Freedom  Scores  for  ESS  Analyses  .............................................................  119

Appendix  B:  Value  Structure  for  Pooled  European  Social  Survey  Data  (2nd  wave)  ........  120

Appendix  D:  Propensity  Score  Models  ..................................................................................  125

D.1  Analyses  Using  Cross-­‐‑National  Data  .......................................................................  125

D.2  Analyses  Using  Real-­‐‑Time  Decision  Data  ................................................................  129

Appendix  E:  Details  on  Value  Estimates,  ESS  Analyses  .....................................................  131

Appendix  F:  Magnitude  of  Value  Estimates  Compared  to  Other  Predictors,  ESS  Analyses
 ......................................................................................................................................................  133

Appendix  G:  Descriptive  and  Coding  Information  for  Moral  Differences  Study  ...........  136

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G.1  Coding  Details  for  Morality  Measures  .....................................................................  136

References  ...................................................................................................................................  142

Biography  ...................................................................................................................................  157

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