Psychology of Self and Identity

The study of self and identity has a long and storied history in the field of psychology. William James began the discussion by commenting on the distinctions between the I and Me at the beginning of the field. Since then, the study of self and identity has exploded into one of the more researched topics within psychology. However, the discussion of the self did not begin with the field of psychology; it began long before that time. In the beginning, the self was considered to be a simple and uninteresting conceptpeople were not much aware of themselves and their thoughts. Over the centuries, people's view of the self has morphed from this basic view into a complex, multifaceted structure that operates at a level that the individual does not always perceive. This evolution of self was made possible by philosophic and technological advances throughout human history that begged to be applied to how people viewed the self.

The self as conceptualized in modern times is capable of much more than simply being a physical being within space, as was once conceived in medieval Europe. As viewed today, the self comprises three aspects, which are linked to a person's ability to assess his or her identity. The first major aspect of the self is reflexive consciousness. In the most basic terms, reflexive consciousness refers to an individual's ability to be self-aware. Second, the self is capable of being an interpersonal being where information of the self is gained from interactions with others. Because people do not exist in a social vacuum, it is important that individuals be able to define who they are with reference to those around them. Finally, the self is capable of executive functioning. This is the most complex and least understood of the three aspects but allows the self to act upon the world by expressing choices and decisions that interplay with the world around an individual. These three aspects allow an individual to express his or her identity as expressions of the self.

People are able to express identity based on two primary sources of information: information from within and information beyond. Identity from within is based heavily on the component of the reflexive consciousness within the self. Here, people draw a sense of identity from information about their own beings through mood, self-knowledge, and expectations. Gaining identity from beyond is based heavily on the interpersonal aspect of self where information from others is used to gain information about the self. Of note, because the self is capable of gathering information from others to create an identity, identity can come from interactions with others, or the perception of others, on a one-on-one basis as well as from larger conglomerations of people, such as groups and organizations.

This entry focuses on how aspects of the self allow individuals to take information from multiple sources to create identities. The sources of identity considered here are information within, information from the other, and information from the collective. The information that is provided by these three sources may not always produce a consistent identity between the sources or within any one source. Inconsistencies may arise, so mechanisms to create a coherent sense of self from these potentially differing identities exist. These mechanisms are discussed throughout the entry and in the final portion of the entry.

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