This dissertation draws on three complementary studies to explore the malleability, structure, and political dimensions of ethnic identity. The first study probes the structure of ethnic identity by analyzing how people prioritize various identity attributes (e.g., ancestry, language, religion) through advanced multidimensional scaling techniques. It finds that ethnic identity is multifaceted and context-dependent, with no single attribute universally defining ethnic groups. The second study investigates the stability of beliefs about ethnic group boundaries among Black, White, and Latino-identifying adults in the U.S., revealing that individuals’ conceptions of the boundaries of their group are largely resistant to short-term, top-down policy interventions. The third study examines how different ways of framing of ethnic identity in policy — such as viewing ethnicity as defined by inherited, fixed traits versus more cultural and behavioral traits — affect support for affirmative action, demonstrating that White Americans' support is sensitive to how ethnicity is defined, while Black and Latino Americans’ views remain stable. Together, these works contribute to a deeper understanding of how ethnic boundaries are constructed, how they endure, and how different conceptualizations of identity influence both individual and policy-level outcomes.

Author

• Schmotter, Caleb H.

Language

• en

Keyword

• Affirmative Action
• Experiments
• Ethnicity
• Survey Methods

Date created

• 2025

Type of Work

• Dissertation

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Political Science

Degree

• Ph.D.

Advisor

• Hale, Henry

Committee Member(s)

• Lewis, Janet I
• Kramon, Eric

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/47429b03r