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Identity Configurations: A New Perspective on Identity Formation in Contemporary Society
Author(s) -
Schachter Elli P.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00260.x
Subject(s) - identity (music) , cognitive dissonance , sociocultural evolution , identity formation , perspective (graphical) , psychology , context (archaeology) , social psychology , construct (python library) , narrative , personal identity , social identity approach , sociology , epistemology , self concept , social identity theory , aesthetics , computer science , social group , anthropology , philosophy , paleontology , linguistics , artificial intelligence , biology , programming language
This paper deals with the theoretical construct of “identity configuration.” It portrays the different possible ways in which individuals configure the relationship among potentially conflicting identifications in the process of identity formation. In order to explicate these configurations, I analyzed narratives of identity development retold by individuals describing personal identity conflicts that arise within a larger context of sociocultural conflict. Thirty Jewish modern orthodox young adults were interviewed regarding a potentially conflictual identity issue (i.e. their religious and sexual development). Their deliberations, as described in the interviews, were examined, and four different configurations were identified: a configuration based on choice and suppression; an assimilative and synthesizing configuration; a confederacy of identifications; and a configuration based on the thrill of dissonance. The different configurations are illustrated through exemplars, and the possible implications of the concept of “configuration” for identity theory are discussed.