| Title |
Whitfield, Mitch_MPC_2021 |
| Alternative Title |
A Dark Tetrad of Reality: Assessing the Ideology of Involuntary Celibates |
| Creator |
Whitfield, Mitch |
| Collection Name |
Master of Professional Communication |
| Description |
The online community of Incels, a portmanteau for "involuntary celibates," has gained recognition and reputation based on an increase in associated violence. To expand understanding Incels' perspective of reality, the psychological personality measure, Dark Tetrad, was appropriated within the communication discipline in analyzing Incel discourse. Using Social Identity Theory, a qualitative content analysis was performed to identify frequencies between Incel ideological rhetoric and Dark Tetrad constructs dependent on digital platform, either Incels.co or YouTube. Results indicated that Incel members projected out-group rhetoric on Incels.co, while members projected in-group rhetoric on YouTube. Additionally, the commentary Incels discussed contained predominately Misogyny, Fatalism, Narcissism and Machiavellianism ideology. By analyzing ideology through communicative discourse, this thesis was able to assess and account for a diverse range of beliefs among members within the Incel ideological movement, along with introducing a way to apply Dark Tetrad towards communication research. |
| Subject |
Communication; Social media |
| Keywords |
Incels; Ideology; Dark Tetrad; YouTube; Discourse; Social Identity Theory |
| Digital Publisher |
Stewart Library, Weber State University |
| Date |
2021 |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
The author has granted Weber State University Archives a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce their theses, in whole or in part, in electronic or paper form and to make it available to the general public at no charge. The author retains all other rights. |
| Source |
University Archives Electronic Records; Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. Stewart Library, Weber State University |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s6x3xera |
| Setname |
wsu_smt |
| ID |
96831 |
| Reference URL |
https://digital.weber.edu/ark:/87278/s6x3xera |
