Project Description. The proposed research will examine the active influence of close relationship contexts on identity development processes. Identity control theory provides a useful framework for examining identity microprocesses that influence the maintenance and change of identity. Inputs to the identity control system that shape individual identities include self-perceptions and personal identity standards, as well as the responses of others to the individual's behavior. Both laboratory and field settings will be used to consider the measures used to assess identity standards and the other central components of the identity control system. Research procedures that can best capture the dynamic nature of identity processes will also be designed. A laboratory procedure will be used to assess mutual identity shaping processes occurring within a range of close relationship contexts. Specifically, planned identity disruptions (i.e., challenges to currently held identity beliefs) will be used as a means for initiating the identity control processes to be examined. This examination will promote knowledge about how people contribute to the stability and change of both their own identities and the identities of their close relationship partners. A field setting will be used to assess identity development as individuals and their relationship partners experience transitions, such as the transition to work/college or the transition to marriage. Identity processes will be examined at multiple points in time to note linkages between identified identity processes and the subsequent identity changes that occur as social role identities are formed and modified. The study of identity processes in both laboratory and field settings will increase knowledge about identity development, highlighting the important role that parents and peers play in the facilitation of an individual's construction of identity. %%% Project Justification. The proposed research examines how close relationship partners, such as family members and friends, influence a person's identity development. The findings from previous research indicate that identity is formed through interpersonal relationships, and that parents and peers tend to support individuals' self-conceptions -- both positive and negative. Laboratory and field settings will be used to consider how identity shaping processes occur in close relationships, and to determine what outcomes result from these processes. A laboratory procedure will be used to assess identity shaping processes occurring within a range of close relationship contexts (such as parent-adolescent, dating partners, newly married spouses). A field setting will be used to develop an approach that will make it possible to assess identity development over time. People will be assessed at multiple points in time to learn how interactions with others are linked to changes in identity that occur as people acquire new social roles, such as paid work or marriage. The study of identity processes in both laboratory and field settings will increase knowledge about identity development, highlighting the important role that parents and peers play in the facilitation of a person's construction of identity. This research will also promote understanding of problems in identity development processes and may have implications for how interactions within close relationships can be improved to promote healthy identity development.
