Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Publication Date

Fall 5-2-2024

Abstract

Emergency response organizations operate in an increasingly complex environment and could benefit from further understanding of culture. While there is not a single measure of culture, Social Identity Theory (SIT) examines the effect of group informed identities on individual perceptions and group participation. The purpose of this study was to explore SIT as it relates to emergency response organizations. A survey was shared with responders across the United States; a total of 397 responses were collected and analyzed. Social identification and groupness scores were relatively high (Mean = 5.40 on a scale of 1-7; Mean = 7.29 on a scale of 1-9). There were effects on social identification based upon gender and leadership status. Results from this study have implications on performance, diversity, leadership development and selection, and recruitment and retention. The results promote the continued comparison between athletics and emergency response, and the expanded use of social identification

Keywords

Social Identity Theory, culture, fire department, groupness, emergency response organization, emergency responder

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Physical Education, Sports and Exercise Science

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Todd Seidler

Second Committee Member

Dr. John Barnes

Third Committee Member

Dr. Edward Horne

Fourth Committee Member

Dr. David Scott

Download

Share

COinS