Identity Change

AbstractIdentity change refers to change in the meanings of the identity standard. It also may refer to changes in the characteristics of identities, that is, changes in identity prominence, salience, commitment, and dispersion. The hierarchical arrangement of identities within a person means that the meanings in an identity standard are a function of the errors of one or more identities higher in the hierarchy. Four sources of identity change are discussed. These include changes in the meanings in the situation that cannot be counteracted by an identity, identity conflict when two identities have different standards, behavior that contradicts the meanings of the identity standard, and adaptive changes in identity meanings when interacting with others in a mutual verification context.