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Identity
An International Journal of Theory and Research
Volume 14, 2014 - Issue 2
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Original Articles

Identity Processing Styles and Value Orientations: The Mediational Role of Self-Regulation and Identity Commitment

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Pages 96-112 | Published online: 13 May 2014
 

Abstract

Recent research has found systematic associations between identity processing styles (how individuals negotiate the process of identity formation) and value orientations (personal views about what values and goals should be pursued). This investigation evaluated the hypothesis that these relationships would at least in part be mediated by individual differences in self-regulation and self-defining commitment. Consistent with previous research, an informational identity style was positively associated with values that transcended selfish interest whereas a normative style was positively associated with values that emphasized security and tradition. A diffuse-avoidant identity style was positively associated with values that highlighted self-interest. As hypothesized, a number of the relationships were mediated by the commitments the participants held and their levels of self-regulatory resources. The more self-defining the participants considered their commitments to be, the more likely they were to endorse traditional values or those that transcended their own self-interest. High levels of self-regulation were associated positively with traditional values and negatively with values that promoted self-indulgence and self-promotion. The role values, commitments, and self-regulatory resources may play in how individuals approach or avoid constructing and maintaining a sense of identity is considered.

Notes

1The measure was based on theoretical views that self-defining commitments have to be internalized to provide people with a perceived sense of personal meaning and direction (e.g., Erikson, Citation1968; Ryan & Deci, Citation2000). The measure is conceptually similar to what Luyckx et al. (Citation2006) referred to as identification with commitment. In Ryan and Deci's (Citation2000) theory of self-determination, however, commitments that individuals identify with are postulated to be more self-defining than those that are introjected, but less so than those that are integrated. Therefore, to minimize confusing the different ways the term identification is used, we refer to self-defining commitments. Although we assume that self-defining commitments have to be internalized to provide a sense of meaning and purpose, those perceptions are considered to be an outcome of an internalization process and not a direct measure of that process per se. For instance, we do not assume that the measure distinguishes what Ryan and Deci (Citation2000) refer to as introjected commitments, which are postulated to be partially internalized, from those that have been actively identified with or those that have been consciously considered and thoroughly integrated.

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