Identity Process Theory: Identity, Social Action and Social Change

We live in an ever-changing social world, which constantly demands adjustment to our identities and actions. Advances in science, technology and medicine, political upheaval, and economic development are just some examples of social change that can impact upon how we live our lives, how we view ourselves and each other, and how we communicate. Three decades after its first appearance, identity process theory remains a vibrant and useful integrative framework in which identity, social action and social change can be collectively examined. This book presents some of the key developments in this area. In eighteen chapters by world-renowned social psychologists, the reader is introduced to the major social psychological debates about the construction and protection of identity in face of social change. Contributors address a wide range of contemporary topics - national identity, risk, prejudice, intractable conflict and ageing - which are examined from the perspective of identity process theory.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Kay Deaux; Part I. Introduction: 1. Social psychological debates about identity Rusi Jaspal; 2. Identity process theory: clarifications and elaborations Glynis M. Breakwell; Part II. Methodological Issues in Identity Process Theory Research: 3. Qualitative approaches to research using identity process theory Adrian Coyle and Niamh Murtagh; 4. Quantitative approaches to researching identity processes and motivational principles Vivian L. Vignoles; Part III. Integrating Theoretical Frameworks: 5. On the meaning, validity and importance of the distinction between personal and social identity: a social identity perspective on identity process theory Samuel Pehrson and Stephen Reicher; 6. Identity and social representations Glynis M. Breakwell; 7. Identity processes in culturally diverse societies: how is cultural diversity reflected in the self? Xenia Chryssochoou; 8. Identity integration, psychological coherence and identity threat: linking identity process theory and notions of integration Catherine E. Amiot and Rusi Jaspal; 9. Values and identity process theory: theoretical integration and empirical interactions Anat Bardi, Rusi Jaspal, Ela Polek and Shalom Schwartz; Part IV. Identity Process Theory and Social Change: 10. Toward a social psychology of social change: insights from identity process theory Roxane de la Sablonnière and Esther Usborne; 11. Collective identity and intractable conflict Neta Oren and Daniel Bar-Tal; 12. The role of perceived threat and identity in Islamophobic prejudice Marco Cinnirella; 13. Places, identities and geopolitical change: exploring the strengths and limits of identity process theory John Dixon, Kevin Durrheim and Andrés Di Masso; 14. Old age and its challenges to identity Dario Spini and Daniela Jopp; 15. Religion, identity and mental health Kate Miriam Loewenthal; 16. Identity threat and resistance to change: evidence and implications from transport-related behaviour Niamh Murtagh, Birgitta Gatersleben and David Uzzell; 17. Making sense of risk: the role of social representations and identity Julie Barnett and Konstantina Vasileiou; Next steps: 18. Epilogue Glynis M. Breakwell.

About the Author :
Dr Rusi Jaspal is Lecturer in Psychology and convenor of the Self and Identity Research Group at De Montfort University, Leicester. He has published widely on identity process theory, intergroup relations, and the media. His research spans across multiple cultural and geographical contexts, including the UK, India and Israel. Dr Jaspal is the author of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism: Representation, Cognition and Everyday Talk (2013). Professor Dame Glynis M. Breakwell has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath since 2001. In the 2012 New Year Honours List she was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire for her work in higher education. She is a member of the Council of the Economic and Social Research Council and chairs its Research Committee. Her research has focused on leadership, identity processes and risk management and she has published more than twenty books, including The Psychology of Risk (2007). She is the originator of identity process theory.

Review :
'This timely volume represents an exciting and refreshing contribution to the important ongoing debates exploring the psychology of identity, and helps bridge the gap between European and North American research traditions.' Fathali M. Moghaddam, Georgetown University, Washington DC