Various psychological theories about the development of personal identity

MAINLY FOR TEACHERS There is no need to study this carefully; just get a quick impression of what the points of focus of the theories are.

The purpose of this page is to show how many, often rather complicated, theories there are about the development of personal identity. The recommendation is to note this situation and then forget it -- because a simpler but more useful theory or framework will be described in the next subsection; and this will be used for explaining and interpreting a number of identity-related issues.

Theories of identity from the perspective of identity health (Do not worry about the references. if you are interested in any, they can be found in the second chapter on identity in the book Reasons for living)

Types of theory of identity and self

Particular theories of identity and self

Any major focus on internal categories (psychological construction with continuity over time)

Any major focus on external or cultural categories (social roles, public features, cultural reference points)

Preliminary ideas on the notion of ‘identity health' implicit in, or related to, the theories

A. Public, social features

Identity as a public feature

  

Social roles

When the individual is comfortable with the social roles taken; the appropriateness of social roles needs evaluation within a framework of values.
 

Multiple social identities (Rosenberg and Gara 1985)

  

Description of identity in terms of multiple social roles and cultural reference groups

Ability to take on an idiosyncratic combination of social roles which satisfy the needs of the individual.

B. Psychological constructs with continuity over time

Erikson's developmental tasks (1963)

Presumes a continuity of personal ‘identity proprietorship'; finds evolving answers to the question ‘Who am I?' in a sequence of developmental tasks that the individual has to negotiate across the life cycle.

Experimentation with social roles, together with an attempt to harmonise these internally.

Satisfactory completion of developmental tasks, e.g. achieving ‘ego integrity', ‘intimacy', ‘interdependence', ‘autonomy'. Building a meaningful self-understanding and worldview with successful resolution of psychological conflicts.
 

William James (1890)

I and Me as components of self – as ‘knower' and ‘self-known'.

Involvement in roles becomes part of the self as ‘known'.

Maintenance of sense of continuity over time. Satisfactory development of distinctness and volition, together with meaningful material, spiritual and social ‘constituents'.
 

Robert Kegan's stage theory of development of the self (1982)

The evolution of self through a series of structural-developmental stages where self-understanding operates in modes distinctive of each stage. Stages include ‘incorporative' self, ‘impulsive' self, ‘imperial' self and ‘interpersonal' self.

Social interaction and finding roles within the community are part of the raw materials for self-development.

As the individual matures and develops personal competencies, he/she negotiates change progressively from stage to stage. Satisfactory progression through stages of development towards a more interdependent self.
 

Self-esteem theory (1970s, see Kohn, 1994)

An undifferentiated notion of self-regard which may be high or low. Self-concept (self-image) which is positive or negative.

Self-esteem is influenced by social interaction.

Achievement of high self-regard and self-assertiveness.

C. Psychological constructs with a dynamic multiplicity of components and a focus on ‘organisation of knowledge' as a key factor.

Complexity of images (Rhodewalt & Morf 1995)

Self interpreted in terms of multiple images.

  

Collection of images which satisfy the individual.

These theories address the ways individuals process and organise information in the interpretation of self.

Mental representations (Kihlstrom & Cantor 1984)

Self interpreted in terms of mental representations.

  

A self-description which is found satisfying and which meets personal needs.
 

Facets (Marsh 1986)

Self interpreted as a combination of different facets (aspects which embody qualities and action).

  

An individually satisfying combination of facets. Facets need to be comprehensive to cover all aspects of life.
 

Goals (Brandstädter & Rothermund 1994)

Self interpreted in terms of life goals to be achieved. Self is motivated by aims for life.

Goals will include some social roles.

The achievement of particular life goals.
 

Tasks (Sheldon & Emmons 1995)

Self interpreted in terms of multiple developmental tasks.

  

Satisfactory completion of particular developmental tasks.
 

Possible selves (Markus & Nurius 1986)

Self interpreted in terms of interactions between different possible expressions of the self.

  

A satisfying sense of self achieved through combinations of attributes from different possible selves.
 

Private, public and collective selves (Triandis 1989)

The self interpreted in terms of interaction between understandings of the individual, his/her public expression and the identities of the groups in which the individual participates.

The public and collective selves can be reference points for the individual's sense of identity.

A satisfying sense of self derived from internal and external representations.
 

Actual, ought, and ideal selves (Higgins 1987)

Self interpreted in the light of perceived discrepancies between different expressions of the self. Difference between the ideal self and what appears in practice.

  

The satisfying resolution, to some extent, of discrepancies between perceptions of the actual self, the ideal self and the morally desirable self.

D. Psychological constructs with a dynamic multiplicity of components and a narrative perspective.

Narrative theory of identity (Bruner 1986; Cohler 1982; Gergen & Gergen 1988; Hermans 1996a,b; McAdams 1993; Sarbin 1986; Thomae 1988; Tomkins 1987)

The world and personal experience are given meaning as parts of a narrative or autobiographical structure. A history of ‘episodic' events influences self-understanding.

Cultural elements contribute to the experience of individuals and stimulate narrative interpretation.

A sense of satisfying meaning is derived from narrative understanding of self and experience.
 

Paul Ricoeur's narrative perspective on identity

Identity development is an autobiographical process; it is derived psychologically from personal reflection – primarily a process of interpretation (hermeneutics).

The individual interprets identity through interaction with community narratives.

Achieving an ongoing, satisfying narrative which helps interpret the individual's sense of self and experience.
 

The narrative perspective of the polyphonic novel as proposed by Bakhtin (see Hermans & Kempen 1993).

Going beyond the I as ‘author' and me as ‘actor' to a plurality of relatively independent narrative perspectives.

  

Allowing multiple ‘voices' to have a say in understanding the narrative of the self.
 

The dialogical self (Hermans, Kempen & Van Loon 1992)

Self is understood and expressed through a dynamic multiplicity of relatively autonomous ‘I positions' which interact through dialogue.

Dialogical relationships for identity can extend to others.

Through dialogical relationships (mainly internal) the individual's identity achieves a ‘multivocal' quality. A number of distinct and semi-autonomous voices are allowed to have a say in the self-expression of the individual. Success in dialogue between the different identity voices. This would also include conflict that is not always resolved.

E. Psychological constructs which emphasise the influence of culture or others on the development of identity

CH Cooley's idea of the ‘looking glass self' as developed in the symbolic interactionist school of sociology (Cooley 1998,from work written at the turn of the century; see also Blumer 1969)

The image of self is in part derived from reflections of the self that an individual encounters through interaction with others.

Social interaction has a major influence on self-understanding. How individuals are viewed and treated by others has a significant bearing on their acquisition of values, beliefs, and sense of self.

Achievement of a satisfying image of self that is in harmony with the culture.

A common initial reaction to a summary like the one above is perplexity at seeing so many theories of identity – and this is not a complete list. As the scholar Hermans noted, the contemporary situation is characterised by ‘increasing multivoicedness in self and society, a development unprecedented in the history of the human mind'. People find themselves awash with a multiplicity of proposed ways of ‘being yourself', all of which seem to have easily accessible resources for helping them achieve it.

Yet, in spite of this apparent cultural richness, there is evidence of alarmingly high levels of alienation and lack of meaning. The problem is not so much the multiple voices per se, but the way people respond to the contemporary situation. Hermans felt that dialogue was the crucial element for finding meaningful relationships between ‘unity' and ‘multiplicity'; he rightly pointed out that a retreat towards unity and ‘fixed-ness' of identity, and away from multiplicity was not an appropriate solution for the times. We suggest that dialogue is important, but not enough; what is also needed is the evaluation of what is proposed for identity. But this cannot be done in a value-free way, hence the importance of establishing a baseline position on what constitutes identity health.

Within the limitations of this exercise, issues are raised by questions about what constitutes identity health within the different theoretical frameworks. Most of them appear to say little explicitly about identity health – we make this judgment tentatively because we have only a elementary knowledge of many of the theories. However, most of them seem inclined towards a notion of identity health that is more concerned with the successful engagement in psychological processes than with the acquisition of desirable identity content. By content is meant qualities of self that can be evaluated in ethical terms – that is, an evaluation of how identity meets individual needs and how it might impact on others. At first sight, most of the theories seem to presume a value-free position as regards the content dimension to identity health.

Even where social interaction was an influential factor in the theories, the focus was predominantly psychological and on the individual. Hence, when interpreting what each theory might imply for identity health, it was difficult to avoid using the phrase ‘satisfying for the individual' as the ultimate criterion. In one sense this ultimacy is natural, because it is the province of the individual to make such judgments. However, this may lean towards narcissism if identity health were to be judged exclusively by what pleases individuals or meets their personal needs. Other more objective, community-related values are also needed for the moral evaluation of identity.

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