Jan E. Stets

Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory

In social psychology, we need to establish a general theory of the self which can attend to both macro and micro processes, and which avoids the redundancies of separate theories on different aspects of the self For this purpose, we present core components of identity theory and social identity theory and argue that although differences exist between the two theories, they are more differences in emphasis than in kind, and that linking the two theories can establish a more fully integrated view of the self The core components we examine include the different bases of identity (category/group or role) in each of the theories, identity salience and the activation of identities as discussed in the theories, and the cognitive and motivational processes that emerge from identities based on category/group and on role. By examining the self through the lens of both identity theory and social identity theory, we see how, in combination, they can move us toward a general theory of the self In contrast to Hogg and his colleagues (Hogg, Terry, and White 1995), we see substantial similarities and overlap between social identity theory and identity theory. We think that this overlap ultimately will cause these theories to be linked in fundamental ways, though we do not think that time has

Trust and commitment through self-verification

This research examines how self-processes and trust influence the development of commitment in society, thereby making social order possible. The central thesis is that the process ofself-verification leads directly and indirectly, through positive emotions and trust, to the development of committed relationships, positive emotional attachments, and a group orientation; all of these are characteristics of a stable social structure. At the same time, self-verification results in the accomplishment of the meaning structures and resource flows that define social structures. In the current study, we test the self-verification-commitment process with respect to the spousal identity for newly married couples during the first three years of their marriage. The results support the central thesis and underscore the importance of self-processes and trust in building and maintaining social structure.

The Marriage License as a Hitting License: A Comparison of Assaults in Dating, Cohabiting, and Married Couples.

There are many studies of marital and dating violence. However, methodological differences between these studies make it difficult to determine differences in the nature and extent of physical assault between marital status groups. This paper helps fill that gap by analyzing data from two surveys: a study of 526 dating couples at a large midwestern university, and a study of a national probability sample of 5005 married and 237 cohabiting couples. The results show that cohabiting couples have a higher rate of assault than dating and married couples. These findings persist after controls for age, education, and occupational status are introduced. Violence is also more severe in cohabiting than dating or married couples. A number of factors may account for the more frequent violence in cohabiting relationships. These include social isolation, the issue of autonomy and control, and the investment in the relationship.

Handbook of the sociology of emotions

Introduction.- Section I: Basic Processes.- The Classification of Emotions.- The Neuroscience of Emotions.- Gender and Emotions.- Section II: Theories.- Power and Status and the Power-Status Theory of Emotions.- Cultural Theory and Emotions.- Ritual Theory and Emotions.- Symbolic Interactionism, Inequality, and Emotions.- Affect Control Theory.- Identity Theory and Emotions.- Self-Theory and Emotions.- Emotion-Based Self Theory.- Psychoanalytic Sociological Theories and Emotion.- Social Exchange Theory and Emotions.- Emotion in Justice Processes.- Expectation States Theory and Emotion.- Evolutionary Theory and Emotions.- Section III: Select Emotions.- Love.- Jealousy and Envy.- Empathy.- Sympathy.- Anger.- Grief.- Moral Emotions.- Section IV: Emotions in Social Live.- Emotions in the Workplace.- Emotions and Health.- Emotions and Social Movements.

Gender Identity, Self-Esteem, and Physical and Sexual Abuse in Dating Relationships

This paper examines the roles of gender identity and self-esteem in both physical and sexual abuse in dating relationships. A sample of heterosexual college dating relationships is examined. Data are collected on both inflicting and sustaining physical and sexual abuse for men and for women. No support is found for the long-held theory that abuse is a result of compulsive masculinity. Instead, in accordance with identity theory, we find that physical and sexual abuse are associated with the playing out of a less masculine (more feminine) identity for both males and females. In addition, low self-esteem appears to be associated with inflicting physical abuse for men and sexual abuse for women only in a spurious fashion: both low self-esteem and inflicting abuse result from a more feminine gender identity. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Social Psychology Quarterly, 1988. Copyright

Bringing Identity Theory into Environmental Sociology

In an effort to explain pro-environmental behavior, environmental sociologists often study environmental attitudes. While much of this work is atheoretical, the focus on attitudes suggests that researchers are implicitly drawing upon attitude theory in psychology. The present research brings sociological theory to environmental sociology by drawing on identity theory to understand environmentally responsive behavior. We develop an environment identity model of environmental behavior that includes not only the meanings of the environment identity, but also the prominence and salience of the environment identity and commitment to the environment identity. We examine the identity process as it relates to behavior, though not to the exclusion of examining the effects of environmental attitudes. The findings reveal that individual agency is important in influencing environmentally responsive behavior, but this agency is largely through identity processes, rather than attitude processes. This provides an important theoretical and empirical advance over earlier work in environmental sociology.

The Moral Self: Applying Identity Theory

This research applies identity theory to understand the moral self. In identity theory, individuals act on the basis of their identity meanings, and they regulate the meanings of their behavior so that those meanings are consistent with their identity meanings. An inconsistency produces negative emotions and motivates individuals to behave differently to produce outcomes that will better match their identity meanings. A two-part survey and laboratory study were conducted to investigate the application of identity theory to the moral self. The findings are consistent with identity theory predictions. In the survey that addresses past experiences, we find that individuals’ moral identity guides their behavior. When an identity discrepancy emerges between moral identity meanings and perceptions of themselves in a situation, negative feelings are experienced. These same effects are observed when these individuals are placed in an immediate moral dilemma in the laboratory. Overall, the results reveal how identity theory helps explain the individual as a moral entity.

Gender, control, and interaction

This research examines gender as status, and gender and control (which share the meaning of dominance) as identities by analyzing negative and positive behavior of married couples whose task is to resolve disagreements in their marriage. On the basis of recent extensions of expectation states theory dealing with emotion-based behavior, we hypothesize that husbands will be more likely than wives to use negative behavior in conversation. On the basis of identity theory and the meanings of emotion-based behavior, we also hypothesize that those with a more masculine and more dominant control identity will be more likely to use negative behavior in interaction, and that those with a more feminine and less dominant control identity will be more likely to use positive behavior. We test these predictions on a representative sample of newly married couples, using videotaped conversations. Although the results are consistent with predictions from identity theory, they are inconsistent with predictions following from the extension of expectation states theory. Specifically, wives rather than husbands employ more negative behavior in conversation. The results, paradoxically, are different for being female than for being feminine, and different for being male than for being masculine; nonetheless, we argue that understanding the implications of gender as both status and identity helps to resolve the paradox.

Contextual Factors Surrounding Conflict Resolution While Dating: Results from a National Study

This research uses a national representative sample of persons who date and examines the processes surrounding the use and receipt of rational, verbally aggressive, and physically aggressive tactics in disputes. It also addresses whether verbal and physical aggression vary by gender, age, social classs, and alcohol consumption. The results show that women are at least as likely as men to engage in physical disputes. The young, lower class, and those who drink before a conflict are also more prone to physical aggression. The context surrounding aggressive incidents reveals that verbal aggression may be the seed of physical aggression, and that aggressive as well as nonaggressive behavior is reciprocated in kind.

Psychological aggression in dating relationships: The role of interpersonal control

This research examines the relatively unexplored area of psychological aggression in dating relationships. One causal factor of particular interest is interpersonal control, that is, the degree to which one person controls another in a relationship. Data are collected on men and women inflicting and sustaining psychological abuse in heterosexual college dating relationships. The results show that interpersonal control is an important predictor of psychological aggression.