Advancing Identity Theory, Measurement, and Research

Jan E. Stets is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Sociology and Director of the Social Psychology Research Laboratory at the University of California, Riverside. Professor Stets is a sociological social psychologist who works in the areas of self and identity, emotions, morality, and social exchange. She uses identity theory to understand individuals' self-views, emotions, and moral sensibilities within and across situations. Her research primarily employs experimental and survey designs, and her analytic approach is quantitative. She is the author of 12 books, 100 articles and book chapters, and numerous grants. Her books have been translated into Japanese, Croatian, Polish, and Chinese. Her Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions received the 2008 Outstanding Contribution Award from the ASA Section on Emotions. She received the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASA Emotions Section, and the 2020 Cooley-Mead Award for Distinguished Scholarship from the ASASocial Psychology Section. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is past director of the Sociology Program at the National Science Foundation, past co-editor of Social Psychology Quarterly, and past chair of the ASA Section on Emotions, the ASA Section on Social Psychology, and the ASA Section on Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity. Ashley V. Reichelmann is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Associate Director of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech. Reichelmann is a sociological social psychologist whose work focuses on racial identity, collective memory, and intergroup relations. She uses identity theory to understand how self-views about one's racial group affect intra- and inter-group perceptions, policy support, and behavior. Her research equally employs quantitative and qualitative methods, including survey-based experiments and in-depth interviews. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation. Her articles have appeared in Social Psychology Quarterly, Advances in Group Processes, American Behavioral Scientist, Public Opinion Quarterly, Race and Social Problems, and Sociological Inquiry.K. Jill Kiecolt is Professor Emerita in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech. She is a sociological social psychologist whose research is broadly concerned with identities and well-being. She uses identity theory, stress process theory, and a social structure and personality framework, and most often analyzes existing surveys. She has published research and theory on numerous aspects of identity, including racial/ethnic identity, gender identity, multiple identities, identities and well-being, and identity change, both intentional and from participation in social movements. Her work has appeared in Social Psychology Quarterly, Society & Mental Health, The Sociological Quarterly, Social Science Research, and Personal Relationships, and in numerous edited volumes.

• Part I Introduction.- Overview of Advancing Theory, Measurement, and Research in Identity Theory.- Part II Theory and Measurement.- Conceptualizing Identity Prominence, Salience, and Commitment.- The Importance of Where: Place Attachment, Religious Identity, and Religious Behavior.- Assessing and Improving Measures of Identity Salience.- Exploring Current Gender Meanings: Creating a New Gender Identity Scale.- Part III Research: Individual Processes and Outcomes.- The Mental Health Consequences of Sexual Identity–Behavior (In)Consistency.- The Nonverification of a ‘Good-Looking’ Identity: Comparing Discrepancy Effects from General Others’ and Romantic Partners’ Appraisals of Attractiveness for Mastery and Anxiety.- Materiality of Identity.- Identity Theory and the Role of Pleasure in the Construction of Sexual Selves.- Normative, Counter-Normative and Transitional Identities and Self-Esteem.- Multiple Identities: The Parent Identity, Gender Identity, and Happiness.- Student, Mexican American Student, or White Student?: The Relative Influence of Identity Prominence on Academic Outcomes and Self-Feelings.- Black/Latinx Scientist or Black/Latinx and Scientist? Identity Integration, Threat, and Wellbeing among Minority STEM Students.- Ethnic Identity Achievement, Identity Verification, and Ingroup Bias among Latinos.- The Structure of Racial Identity: Comparing Non-Hispanic White and Black Americans.- Call Out Our Own for Political Incivility? Shared vs. Oppositional Partisanship in Perceptions of Name-Calling and Deception.- Please Don’t Go: How Group Identity and Endorsement Affect Retention in a Reciprocal Exchange Network.- Part V CONCLUSION.- Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions for Advancing Theory, Measurement, and Research in Identity Theory.