Many Selves, Multiple

Identities

Mary Christine B. Luzande

MAEd-EM
 Identity

Sense of self that an individual

develops from childhood
onwards, this assists the
individual to distinguish himself
from the others in the society.

Social Identity Theorist Tajfel

and Turner in 1979 argued that
there are two broad classes of
identity.
Classes of identity that
define different types of
self
Social Identity which defines
self in terms of group membership

Personal Identity which

defines self in terms of
idiosyncratic personal relationships
and traits.
 Forms of Self
Marilynn Brewer and Wendi
Gardner (1996)
1. The individual self based on
personal traits that differentiate the
self from all others
- Highlights ones unique side.

2. The relational self based on

connections and role relationships
with significant others
- Highlights ones interpersonal side

3. Collective self based on group

membership that differentiates us;
from them
In-group
- group to which individual
belongs
- us
ex: religion, gender, culture
etc.

Out-group
- group which an individual
does not belong
- them
How can we distinguish
between our selves and
our identities?
Identity attributes Relationship
attributes
Social Collective Self Collective relational
Identity Attributes shared with self
others that differentiate Attributes that define
the individual from a how the self as an
specific outgroup, or ingroup member
from outgroups in relates to specific
general others as ingroup or
outgroup members.
Personal Individual Self Individual relational
Identity Attributes unique to self
self that differentiate Attributes that
the individual from defines how the self
specific individuals, or as a unique individual
from other individuals relates to others as
in general individuals
 The search for self-
coherence
Although we may have
diversity of discrete
selves, we also have a
quest:

To find and maintain a

reasonably integrated
picture of who we are.
Strategies to construct a coherent
sense of self
(Baumeister, 1998)
1. Restrict your life to a limited
set of contexts.
2. Keep revising and integrating
your autobiography to
accommodate new identities.
3. Attribute changes in the self
externally to changing
circumstances, rather than
internally to fundamental
changes in who we are.
Thank
You!!!