Does social identity theory underlie relational demography? A test of the moderating effects of uncertainty reduction and status enhancement on similarity effects

Relational demography research has its roots in social identity theory. However, prior research has not directly tested the effects of the two primary motives of social identification; uncertainty reduction and status enhancement. In this study, we examined the moderating effects of these motives on the relationship between demographic similarity and individuals’ affective reactions toward their work group. Uncertainty reduction, which we operationalized as self-continuity, moderated the relationship between race similarity and cohesiveness. In addition, status enhancement moderated both race and gender similarity effects on the group outcomes. We discuss implications of our findings for theory and research.