Value congruence within voluntary associations A social psychological extension of social capital theory

Value Congruence within Voluntary Associations. A social psychological extension of social capital theory. Social capital theory assumes that the interaction within voluntary associations leads to the development of generalised trust, norms of reciprocity and the strengthening of networks of civic engagement. Social psychological research however does not offer any evidence for the introduction of qualitatively new values within a group as a result of intragroup interaction. This line of research does document the existence of processes of value congruence within groups. An analysis of Belgian survey data (n=1341) demonstrates a negative relation between feelings of ethnocentrism and membership of voluntary associations on an aggregate level. Closer analysis suggests that not all kinds of association have this effect, but only associations with highly educated members, and therefore presumably initially low levels of ethnocentrism. This finding supports the social psychological theory on context specific socialisation effects, while it offers little support for the thesis on generalised socialisation which is prevalent in the social capital debate.