Identity Theory

Identity and Professionals

Bey-Ling Sha, Natalie T. J. Tindall, and Ting-Ling Sha (2012) argued that professional identity can be considered in two ways: the “extent to which practitioners may identify with the public relations profession” (p. 77) and a holistic examination of the identity attached to the field. Regarding the former, Katerina Tsetsura (2010) explored the application of social construction to public relations thought and practice, finding that “social construction can establish a theoretical basis for understanding public relations as an activity and as a field, and for understanding the identity of the working professionals, the institutions they represent, and the people affected by that construction process” (p. 163). Regarding the latter perspective, B.-L. Sha et al. (2012) used B.-L. Sha's avowed and ascribed identities to define the identities of the practice of public relations. Public relations via academic and practical avowed definitions is defined as a professional practice that is both ethical and managerial, while the professional identities ascribed by news media and critics to public relations are negative.

Identity Theory and Situational Theory

Constraint recognition, level of involvement, and problem recognition—the three independent variables of the situational theory—traditionally are used to predict whether information seeking or information processing occurs with certain publics. These variables do not fully predict active communication behavior, according to Linda Aldoory and Bey-Ling Sha (2007). One forgotten—and understudied—variable in situational theory is referent criterion, which consists of identity, previous experience with the situation, and cultural norms. Understanding the cultural axes and identity continua that various publics operate under is critical in the creation of useful messages. Recent scholarship reinvigorated the use of the situational theory of publics’ abandoned variable—the referent criterion—to understand how culture can affect the retention and reception of messages, integrating the idea of intersectionality as a way to better segment and create messages for audiences, and how practitioner's avowed and ascribed identities transform organizational communication strategies.

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