Crosspcultural Research on Correlation between Social Identity Complexity and Attitude to Ambiguity in Russia and Italy

The article introduces results of cross-cultural research of social identity complexity in connection with attitude to ambiguity as one of the cultural differences' factor. This research is based on S. Roccas & M. Brewer concept of Social Identity Complexity (2002), cultural measures by G. Hofstede, and the Schwartz Value Survey by S. Schwartz. The main hypothesis of the research is that there is a positive correlation between the level of social identity complexity (SIC) and the attitude to ambiguity. The sample included Russian and Italian students aged 19—22, n = 93. With the help of a special questionnaire developed for this research we found significant correlation between intolerance to ambiguity (including specific reasons of intolerance) and low level of SIC. We also found significant correlation between emotional com- fort of ambiguity situations and high (positive corr.) and middle (negative corr.) levels of SIC. The cultural specificity of those correlations was also discovered: cognitive aspect seems to be more important for the Russian part of the sample, and emotional — for the Italian part. We can conclude that the researched connection is culturally universal in general, but has its specificity in the Russian and Italian cultures.

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