Ego Identity: Effects of Ethnocentrism, Ethnic Identification, and Cognitive Complexity in Israeli, Oriental, and Western Ethnic Groups

This study investigated the relationship of ego identity to ethnocentrism, ethnic identification, and cognitive complexity. A sample of 378 Israeli high school students were administered: (a) the Adolescent Ego Identity Scale, (b) Ethnocentrism and Ethnic Group Identification Scale, and (c) Role Repertory Test. In a four-way analysis of variance, low as compared to high ethnocentric persons were higher in ego identity. Persons with high as compared to low ethnic identification were higher in ego identity. An inverted U-shaped relationship was found between ego identity and cognitive complexity only for the Western group. Ego identity, however, was related to the interaction of ethnic group, ethnocentrism, and ethnic identification, indicating the importance of considering all three ethnic variables simultaneously. While ethnocentrism was related to ego identity in both ethnic groups, ethnic identification was related to ego identity only in the Oriental group, among whom those with low ethnocentrism and high ethnic identification achieved the highest ego identity score. A social-personality explanation was used to interpret the results.