Abstract
In psychological terms, the formation of identity is a key developmental milestone. However, the construct of identity, the way in which a sense of identity is attained and whether it is best understood as the ‘essence’ of a person, or as a socially constructed phenomenon, are matters for theoretical debate. This article considers a number of perspectives on identity formation that emanate from the social sciences and psychotherapeutic literatures. Having reviewed these perspectives, the author suggests some opportunities that might exist for fruitful discussion between psychology and theology relating to the development and maintenance of an adaptive sense of self.


Introduction

Within a human sciences context, the subject of identity can be seen as one where a number of disciplines intersect. To engage with the topic in any meaningful way involves considering the contributions of developmental, cognitive and social psychology as well as drawing on psychotherapeutic and sociological perspectives, each of which illuminates a different aspect of how we come to know and define ourselves. Whilst it is beyond the scope of this paper to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on identity, the aim is to explicate some key themes around which the psychological and the theological disciplines might connect for meaningful discussion and debate.

Towards an understanding of identity

Within the field of psychoanalysis, the individual’s arrival at a stable sense of identity reflects the successful navigation of a developmental journey in which the child moves away from a symbiotic fusion with mother towards a state of psychological autonomy – a process that has been termed separation-individuation and which Margaret Mahler defines as our ‘psychological birth’.

The notion of ‘birth’ implies a beginning rather than a final destination. This is perhaps a useful way of understanding the construction of identity – namely, not as a fixed entity contained within us, but rather an on-going psychological task whereby the individual must achieve a sense of balance between those characteristics of the self that are stable, and those that are in a state of flux.

From a lifespan perspective, certain stages are associated with particularly marked shifts in self-concept, such as toddlerhood, starting school, adolescence, and the transition to old age. At these times, the need to maintain a balance between what is stable and what is changing can pose particular emotional and psychological challenges.

Psychologist Erik Erikson (e.g. 1980) understood life-span development as comprising eight distinct developmental stages, each of which poses a particular dilemma which the individual has to resolve in order to make the transition to the next stage. At the heart of each dilemma is the need to resolve a conflict between two opposing forces. For example, in adolescence, the dilemma facing the individual is defined as ‘identity vs role confusion’. The onset of puberty heralds the emergence of sexual maturity whereby the young person must adapt to a changing body and potentially unsettling new feelings. There is also an expectation that the adolescent will take on more adult responsibilities including making decisions about their educational and occupational futures. Yet they must continue to operate in a society which imposes limits on adolescent autonomy and withholds the entitlements of independence afforded to adults.

Assimilation, accommodation and equilibration

How can we understand the individual’s journey during these transitional phases? In his theory of intellectual development Piaget (1950) proposed that in early life, a critical developmental task is arriving at an understanding of our environment that facilitates our adaptation to it. This task is achieved through our active participation in, and interactions with, the world around us.

Piaget also believed that we pass through distinct stages and that our intellectual development undergoes predictable qualitative changes. He proposed that the processes by which these changes occur are assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. When we are able to make sense of a new experience in terms of our current understanding of the world, we are assimilating this information into our existing ‘schema’. Schema can seen as analogous to software in that they represent the sophisticated and complex ‘programmes’ of the mind through which we perceive, interpret and organise our experience in order to make life more predictable and, therefore, safe.

As long as we are able to manage new experiences through assimilation, we are likely to remain in a state of balance or equilibrium. However, if our existing schema prove unfit for purpose, we are forced into an uncomfortable state of disequilibrium. To restore a sense of balance, our schemas must accommodate – that is, our model of the world must be revised or upgraded in some way to match the experience confronting us. This process restores a sense of balance and new information can, once again, be assimilated. It is through the process of equilibration that our development proceeds.

Assimilations, accommodations, disequilibrium and equilibration occur throughout life. However, for some individuals this process may occur in a sub-optimal way. For example, in working with psychopathology, cognitive and schema-focused therapies aim to identify and modify those enduring beliefs about self, others and the world that inhibit healthy adaptation and functioning. In such cases, a person’s schema are deemed to be rigid and overly negative and the aim of therapy is to build healthier core beliefs that enable greater flexibility and choice. Our schema prime us to act and react in certain ways, but they do not always serve us well.

A systemic view of identity formation

Many of the dominant theories within psychology and psychotherapy have examined identity formation in the context of individual development. However, there can be little doubt that human beings derive a sense of identity from the social, political, cultural, economic worlds in which they are immersed and the communities to which they regard themselves as belonging - or indeed, from which they are excluded.

In his examination of how communities constitute sources of human flourishing, Etzioni (2009) argues cogently that individual identity is deeply connected to community and argues for the impossibility of considering ourselves apart from the communities in which we are embedded.

A more systemic examination of identity enables us to consider both the opportunities and challenges to which this can give rise. Deuchar (2009) for example, highlights how gang membership provides young people with a sense of identity, providing social support structures and a sense of belonging for those who live on the fringes of society. We might hypothesise that an additional function of gang membership is one of providing rites of passage and initiations into adulthood. This of course raises questions about how we initiate the young members of our community and whether, currently, our society provides young people with adequate ‘rites of passage’ that enable them to transition effectively into the adult world. (Some, for example, would argue that teenage suicides, substance abuse and gang warfare can all be interpreted as young people’s unsuccessful attempts at self-initiation in the absence of more adaptive, socially sanctioned alternatives; see Plotkin, 2003.)

Mair (2000) suggests that we can usefully consider the ways in which our identities are shaped through the analogy of a tribe. The life of a tribe (whether that tribe is a gang, an occupational group, a social club or indeed, a spiritual community) is sustained through the particular stories by which it justifies its place in society. Specifically, Mair proposes that each ‘tribe’ has its own set of conventions for telling its particular brand of story. It asserts its uniqueness by communicating (overtly or covertly) that its ‘stories’ are a closer approximation of some truth or ideal than those of others.

In a similar vein, Bruner (1987) proposed that members of a given community are equipped with a ‘library of scripts’ which inform its members how to think and act. This library of scripts determines judgements about what constitutes acceptable values, conduct and choices – and what values, conduct and choices would not be permissible.

The notion that identity is achieved through tribal membership, and that tribal membership is sustained through equipping its members with a ‘library of scripts’, paves the way for thinking about identity from a different perspective – namely, one that is based in the narratives we construct about ourselves and others.
 
In a recent publication (Corrie, 2009), I observed how, in previous eras, one’s identity was seen in relatively simplistic terms. A person possessed a single identity through which others could know them as good or bad. In this sense, the self was seen as a stable entity at the core of an individual’s personality.

However, in the modern world, our identities are far less straightforward. Today, we are bombarded with a bewildering array of often contradictory ideas about who we are and how we should live. Technology allows us to communicate with the far side of the world in a matter of seconds, exposing us to versions of reality very different from our own. In our multicultural society, the diverse range of beliefs about the nature of identity are challenging long-established beliefs about what is and isn’t acceptable; we are having to consider how we negotiate these differences in order to live together harmoniously.

The philosopher Michel Foucault believed that, in the context of modern living, the most appropriate way to view identity is as an on-going creative project that gradually evolves through the stories we construct about ourselves, other people and the world around us. Many psychologists share this view, claiming that authenticity is achieved when we see ourselves as the authors of our lives, rather than as characters merely acting out the drama of stories constructed by past events. In this sense, an individual’s quest for identity becomes one of clarifying and where necessary, redefining their story.

Interpreted in this way the processes of assimilation, accommodation and equilibration, described earlier, can be redefined as a process of examining and re-evaluating one’s story. Similarly, working towards modifying unhelpful schema and building more adaptive alternatives, could be reinterpreted as a process of rewriting one’s own story. An additional way of expanding our stories and has been offered by psychologist Susan Harter (2005) who encourages the nurturing of ‘positive false self attributes’. Positive false self attributes refer to those qualities, choices and actions that are not currently part of how we define ourselves but which might equip us with greater story-telling potential. As she explains, pretending can be a form of experimentation that broadens our sense of possibility. New behaviours rarely feel authentic to begin with, but with practice can become so. Through acting in different ways, we can begin to shape new stories that enable us to move between current selves and desirable false selves without compromising our values.

Opportunities for dialogue and some implications

Having reviewed ways in which the search for identity has been approached within the social sciences and psychotherapies, I would like to propose three areas in which the social sciences and spiritual communities might connect for further discussion. These are:

1. Identity formation and rites of passage

As noted previously, the opportunities for initiation into the adult world provided to the young members of our community are limited, particularly in the West. Some have argued that this represents a significant failing in our social system (Plotkin, 2003). At the same time, Erikson warns that if we are forced into ‘premature foreclosure’ – that is, if we are forced to make decisions about ourselves, our lives and our allegiances too early - we may be rendered vulnerable to identity confusion in later life. Significantly, he would include any attempts at indoctrination into any social or religious group as having the potential to limit the adolescent if it forces them into a narrow identity over one that is inclusive and embracing.

Questions arising from these issues might usefully include:

• Do religious leaders and teachers have a role to play in initiating, supporting and nurturing an individual’s identity? If so, what might this be?
• What ‘rights of passage’ should religious communities offer their young members? How best can this be achieved without resulting in the premature foreclosure of which Erikson warns?

2. Identity as narrative: Re-examining ‘self as story’

It is impossible to remove ourselves totally from the influence of the social, economic, cultural and political systems in which we are immersed. However, the opportunity to suspend, however temporarily, our habitual responses to the pressures of modern living are important in enabling individuals to reflect on the impact of their ‘tribal allegiances’ and how such allegiances might lead to wise and unwise choices.

The opportunity to consider afresh the library of scripts in which we have been indoctrinated – including those that encourage us to ‘yoke’ our sense of worth to money, professional accomplishment, appearance and material possessions of all kinds – may provide a unique opportunity to revisit and where necessary revise those scripts and promote a new type of authorship of one’s life and choices.

• To what extent should religious communities support their members with re-examining and where necessary revising stories about themselves and others?
•  What are the dominant ‘scripts’ within each community and how might these prove enabling and disabling for its members?
 
3. Identity crisis and change

Discovering and examining our sense of identity at any point in our lives requires a radical self-honesty: what is discovered in the process is not always comfortable. Cherished ideas and ideals about the self and one’s values that once worked well, may need to be revised. The timing of this task is not always of our own choosing but may come about through life transition, crisis or changes thrust upon us, such as redundancy, bereavement or illness. As schema theory suggests, we do not like our views of ourselves disrupted. We are primed to seek stability, including stability in our sense of ourselves and typically, any challenge to our identity is perceived as a threat and evokes uneasiness or distress. Times of such transition are, therefore, rarely welcomed but nonetheless contain an implicit invitation to encounter ourselves through fresh eyes. As Plotkin (2003) argues, the task is to “…deepen individuality and its expression whilst at the same time, transcending our identification with that individuality” (p.34).

•  How can religious communities facilitate the deepening and expression of individuality?
•  How best can they equip their members to respond to periods of crisis, transition and change in identity?
•  What is their role in assisting those who are navigating the emotional consequences of a challenge to their sense of identity?

Conclusion

As human beings, our sense of identity speaks to the heart of what we value most about ourselves. However, identity is not a fixed destination and one of the challenges facing each of us is how to negotiate a balance between those aspects of ourselves that are stable and those that constantly change.

Identity is a multifaceted component of our humanness. It is both the essence of an individual and a social construction created within cultures that impose enabling and disabling conditions on membership. For these reasons, a sense of identity cannot be achieved once and for all time; it must be revisited and redefined over the course of an individual’s lifetime if it is to remain sufficiently robust to withstand the challenges of living.

It is also possible – and perhaps advantageous – to consider identity as a distinct form of authorship. As Mair (2000) observes, the, “stories of past ages live through us and make us aware and blind; competent and incompetent within the limits they define” (p.343). By considering what it means to be the authors of our lives, we might be able to appreciate the impact of some of the stories we have told about ourselves and where these have resulted in unhappy endings, to finally be able to rewrite them.

References

Bruner, J. S. (1987). Life as Narrative. Social Research, 54 (1):11-32
Corrie, S. (2009). The Art of Inspired Living. Coach Yourself with Positive Psychology. London: Karnac.
Deucher, R. (2009). The outsiders. RSA Journal, Autumn, 24-27.
Erikson, E.H. (1980). Identity and the Life Cycle. New York: Norton.
Etzioni, A. (2009). Strength in numbers. RSA Journal, Autumn, 24-27.
Harter, S. (2005). Authenticity. Handbook of Positive Psychology, edited by C.R. Snyder and S.J. Lopez (Eds). Oxford University Press.
Mair, M. (2000). Psychology as a discipline of discourse. European Journal of Psychotherapy, Counselling and Health, 3 (3): 335-347.
Piaget, J. (1950). The Psychology of Intelligence. London: Routledge Kegan Paul.
Plotkin, B. (2003). Soulcraft. Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche. Novato, California: New World Library.