Journal article
Values As the Core of Personal Identity: Drawing Links between Two Theories of Self
Social psychology quarterly, Vol.66(2), pp.118-137
06/01/2003
DOI: 10.2307/1519843
Abstract
Personal identity is an underanalyzed level of the self, often regarded erroneously as too idiosyncratic for proper social psychological analysis. The two dominant theories of self-identity theory and social identity theory mention but rarely explicate the concept of personal identity. In this paper, I address this gap by making two moves; one conceptual and one empirical. First, I argue that values are a cohesive force within personal identity. Conceptualizing values as the core of one's personal identity leads toward understanding the cohesion experienced among one's various social identities. In the second, empirical move, I use measures of a key dimension along which values are arrayed (self-enhancement vs self-transcendence) to illustrate how a values-based conception of personal identity influences the formation of a roleidentity. Specifically, theoretically relevant values along the self-enhancement/self-transcendence dimension are significant predictors ofthe volunteer identity, even when previous measures of the identity are controlled. I conclude by discussing the utility of values for studying a level of the self often considered too ideographic for sociological analysis. 3 Tables, 1 Figure, 103 References. (Original abstract - amended)
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Values As the Core of Personal Identity: Drawing Links between Two Theories of Self
- Creators
- Steven Hitlin - U Wisconsin, Madison, WI, US
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Social psychology quarterly, Vol.66(2), pp.118-137
- DOI
- 10.2307/1519843
- ISSN
- 0190-2725
- eISSN
- 1939-8999
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/01/2003
- Academic Unit
- Sociology and Criminology
- Record Identifier
- 9984306249802771
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