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life and for the options most attractive for choosing; and the level of the
individual’s devotion to the choice made. Depending on the level taken on
each axis, the identity status is assigned. The scientist proposes four identity
statuses that allow describing the state of the identity development as of the
time of assessment.
Those having high levels in both dimensions are in the state of
realized identity: They have completely studied the ideological and
professional opportunities available to them and undertaken liabilities.
Those having the high level of research, but low level of devotion are in the
state of moratorium: their identity is developing, but is still inconsistent.
Those having the low level of research, but high level of devotion are in the
state of foreclosure: These people have undertaken ideological and
professional liabilities without independent considering them. In his
description of the foreclosure identity status, J. Marcia demonstrates a close
interrelation of his conception with the ideas of psychoanalysis: The
commitments of the individual in the foreclosure status represent the
prolongation of his or her dependence on children’s identifications.
Individuals in the foreclosure state, due to lack of will, internalize
the expectations of their families or their community. Finally, those having
the low levels in both dimensions are in the state of diffuse identity: As a
rule, they do not demonstrate much interest in objectives, values, or
ideology 11. As noted by S. Schwartz, the most of those criticizing the
identity status paradigm hold that it is useful for attempting to build up a
character typology rather than for elaborating the process of
development 12. Most works relating to the above conception, after the first
descriptive work by J. Marcia 13, were of correlational nature; their purpose
was to relate the identity status with one personal variable or another. In the
course of such research, it turned out that the realized identity status related
to better developed decision-making skills, while the foreclosure identity
11
Marcia, J. E. Identity in adolescence // J. Adelson, Handbook of adolescent
psychology. New York: John Wiley, 1980, P. 159–187.
12
Schwartz S. J. The evolution of Eriksonian and neo-Eriksonian identity theory
and research: A review and integration // Identity: An International Journal of
Theory and Research. 2001. Vol. 1. N. 1. P.7–58.
13
Marcia, J. Ego identity status: Relationship to change in self-esteem, «general
maladjustment» and authoritarianism // Journal of Personality, 1967. Vol. 35. №1.
P.118–133.
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
21
status related to rigidity and closed-mindedness, authoritarianism, and
sentimentalized relashionship on parents. Identity studies developed on the
basis of E. Erikson’s and J. Marcia’s works turned out to be fruitful in terms
of studying various aspects of identity, such as identification process,
identity style, identity capital, and identity configurations14.
The concept of identity as a product of social interaction was
developed within the social studies of the Chicago School of Symbolic
Interactionism, the ideas of which were built through the entire 20th century.
Human references and values are built as a kind of reflection to the certain
actions of other people and environment. A person recognizes symbols by
assigning specific meanings to them and responds to them, while forming
his or her behavior and identity. In the course of his or her socialization, an
individual learns to recognize hostile and friendly symbols and perceive
interactions towards him or her by building mindfully responsive
interactions.
In case of friendly, supportive interations carrying the necessary
symbolic content, the individual aiming for comfort would build up his or
her identity respectively. A correctly formed identity allows the individual
to stay within the field of the symbols chosen and to confirm his or her
identity with interactions. In 1902, Ch. Cooley (Cooley, 1902) proposed the
Looking Glass Self conception, according to which the personality of an
individual was buit using the ‘self-reflections’ obtained by the individual as
a result of his or her social interactions with other people.
It means that, when interacting with other people, a person seems to
be able to put him or herself into perspective and decide what is acceptable
and what is not. A person seems to be reflected in the others’ relation to
him or herself, is like reproduced, and understands in the course of
interaction who he or she may be. According to that, he or she adapts his or
her behavior, views, and values, i.e. builds up his or her identity 15. Based
on the works by Ch. Cooley and J. Baldwin (Cooley; Baldwin) 16, George
Herbert Mead (Mead, 1934) turned to developing his own theory of self-
14
Marcia, J. E. Development and validation of ego-identity status // Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 1966. Vol. 3. N. 5. P. 551–558.
15
Cooley, C. H. Human nature and the social order. New York: Scribners, 1902,
P. 21–36.
16
Baldwin, J. M. Social and ethical interpretations in mental development: A study
in social psychology. New York: Macmillan, 1897.
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
22
development that was based, first of all, on the processes of social
interaction 17. His ideas laid the foundation of Chicago and Iowa Schools of
Symbolic Ineractionism, which differ in some methodological matters.
The representatives of Chicago School started to develop the idea
of ‘self conception’; according to them, the ‘self-conception’ is a person’s
insight into him or herself, which is a subjective reflection of others’
opinions. Emphasis on identity as a product of social interaction is a
significant contribution made by this school of thought.
Within this theoretical school, a person is formed while interacting
with other people. In general, this is true, since initially, before being
socialized, an individual has no ideas of the social reality, its laws, and
peculiarities, as well as of what is in store for him or her, what requirements
he or she will have to meet, and how he or she will have to behave in order
to meet with universal approval.
In the interaction with the initial institutions of socialization, such
as family, nursery, pre-schools, and primary and secondary schools, an
individual starts understanding his or her role and place within the society
and that there are certain requirements, meeting which would allow him or
her to adapt within the relevant social environment.
Even at this stage, the individual learns to see him or herself from
‘outside’, through the approval of his or her actions by parents, teachers,
instructors, and peers, or through disapproving expressed where his or her
behavior does not meet their expectations. From this, the individual strives
to know him or herself and to understand what he or she is, his or her
internal intentions and motives, and to what part of the society he or she
belongs. This is how his or her identity is formed completely, as well as his
or her role behavior and attitudes, in accordance with the current situation
within the external environment.
The theory of social interactionism was further developed within
E. Goffman’s theory of dramaturgy that emphasized the performative
aspects of individuality and the plurality of social identities. According to
this school, a personality is not permanent structure, it has its social origin
and is built up within a dialog (Goffman; 1988). According to E. Goffman’s
theory, every individual plays his or her role in society. The individual may
change this role depending on certain conditions requiring from him or her
17
Mead, G. H. Mind, self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1934.
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
23
some specific behavior. The environment is a stage, on which the individual
is putting up his or her performance.
The approval from the ‘audience’, i.e. other people, supports his or
her role intentions and allows him or her to maintain and develop the social
identity trends intended. Negative response from the ‘audience’ decreases
the individual’s efforts to forming one role image or another and makes him
or her start thinking of what should be changed, how to please, what to
work on, how to improve him or herself, or, perhaps, whether it is worth of
changing the audience as a whole.
Correspondingly, the dialog with others is built up within the
dramaturgy by presenting one’s role and expecting approving or
disapproving feedback, which is reflected on the degree of identity to one
group of ‘spectators’ or another. It should be noted that E. Goffman’s
theory of dramaturgy is still actual today. Indeed, every individual plays his
or her role, and this is the professional role at work, the parental role within
the family, the role of believer in religion, etc.
When identifying him or herself as a committed believer, a family
man or woman, and a good parent, and playing the above roles,
the individual faces approving response, which strengthens his or her values
and references. And, vice versa, when facing disapproving feedback on
such roles, the individual may develop an identity with other population
groups 18.
Phenomenon of social identity in the age of postmodernity
is studied within the framework of the postnonclassical scientific paradigm.
Within the postnonclassical meaning of social identity, the selfdetermination of an individual is strengthened, being loaded with the
deliquescence of society, which dynamically influences the person’s social
references. In the modern theories of social identity of H. Tajfel and
J. Turner, J. Turner’s self-categorization theory, and S. Stryker’s Role
Identity Theory, along with specifying the content of that phenomenon, the
relativity, conventionality, and flexibility of a person in making his or her
decisions are described 19.
18
Goffman, E. (1988) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Russian edition.
Moscow: Progress. 304 p. (In Russian).
19
Stryker, S. Traditional symbolic interactionism, role theory, and structural sym-
bolic interactionism theory / S. Stryker // Handbooks of Sociological Theory / ed.
By J. Turner. Plenum publishers. N.Y.: Kluwer Academic. 2002.
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
24
Social identity was also further studied within social psychology.
Most studies in E. Erikson’s traditions were placed within developmental
psychology, while social psychology started research in identity in another
way. First of all, this took place due to H. Tajfel's social identity theory and
J. Turner’s self-categorization theory, both developed in the latter half of
the 20th century and contributing to the increasing popularity of identity
studies with social psychologists. They represent the cognitive approach to
studying the identity and consider it as a cognitive pattern determining
one’s behavior. This direction became an alternative for the developmental
psychology conception of E. Erikson and J. Marcia, focusing on building
the model of personal development.
H. Tajfel’s and J. Turner’s studies were also focused on the matters
of group membership and social categorization. H. Tajfel’s conception
mainly emphasized the separation of social and individual processes within
human life, both united, however, within the same continuum.
At one pole of this continuum, there is social behavior determined by
intergroup relations (choosing this pole, the individual is based in his or her
actions or judgments on his/her or other people’s belonging to a certain
group); at the other pole, there is his or her social behavior determined by
interpersonal relations (choosing this pole, the individual emphasizes
his/her or the other’s uniqueness, as well as individual characteristics that
do not depend on their group membership).
Choice of the location within the continuum made by a person to
explain one situation or another will be mediated by the factors of various
nature, such as system of values or self-concepts. Identifying those factors
and their influence became the purpose of many studies based on this
conception. According to J. Turner’s conception, the interrelation of social
and personal identities turns out to be realized in the following manner:
“The group identity actualization must inevitably ‘retard’ attitudes and
behavior generated by personal identity, and vice versa”.
Social identity, according to H. Tajfel and J. Turner, is described as
the person’s aspect that occurs from the person’s awareness of his or her
membership in a group or groups and is based on the value and emotional
importance of this membership for the individual. This means that the
individual assosiates him or herself with a certain group of
people/individuals. He or she realizes that their actions and his or her views
have a high degree of identity, which brings them together. Mentally, or
even actually, he or she becomes the member of a certain social group in an
‘official’ manner. As a generator, it becomes a reference for the individual
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
25
in his or her actions and behavior. For fear of being excluded from or
deprived of his or her right to by identified with a certain group, the
individual meets certain requirements and performs certain rituals and
symbolic actions commonly recognized in the social environment chosen.
J. Turner, developing the individual’s social identity theory, defines
a group as a social category. When belonging to a given social category,
there will not be any direct interaction among its members. For instance, an
individual does not need to interact with the other members of the group for
the ethnic or gender category. The self-categorization theory crystallized
later describes the way of how an individual builds up the process of his or
her self-identification through associating him or herself with certain
categories. Thus, H. Tajfel and J. Turner 20 suppose that social identity is
the person’s ideas of him or herself, the origins of which is determined by:
First, the knowledge of his or her membership of groups or categories;
second, the axiological estimation thereof; and third, the emotional
acceptance or denial of this group or category.
However, a kind of a weak point in their views should be noted.
Namely, it is the fact that there is no need for interacting with the other
members of a certain communion or social group to form one’s identity.
Taking the same example of ethnic identity: An individual must realize his
or her ethnicity at an early age or not take this matter seriously at all.
A certain ethnic identity is or is not developed from one’s interaction with
his or her family and other people. At an early age, when communicating
his or her parents and age-mates, a person starts realizing his or her
belonging to a certain ethnicity and a certain social class 21. Thus, a problem
remains of whether interaction with the other members of the group is
necessary or not in forming the basics of an individual’s social identity,
values, and views.
H. Tajfel’s social identity theory suggests that an individual always
strives to maintain a positive social identity that ensures a harmonious
image of one’s social self and supports one’s stable ideas of him or herself.
Positive identity is maintained due to comparing the membership groupwith
20
Turner, J.C. Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory./
J.C. Turner, M. A. Hogg. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. 276 p.
21
Tajfel, H., Turner, J.C. An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In: Austin,
W.G. and Worchel, S. eds.) The social psychology of intergroup relations.
Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1979. P. 33–47.
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
26
other relevant groups and using certain techniques, in case of the negative
estimation of the membership group. Maintaining a positive identity is also
supported by various techniques, such as individual mobility, social
creativity, i.e. re-evaluation of criteria for comparing the groups, and social
competition, i.e. “direct assigning the desired characteristics to one’s own
group and opposing them to the comparison group 22”. The notion of ‘social
identity’social identity is also integral with a larger relationship – social
identity and its transformabilities are interrelated with the level of the
stratification of society: The stronger the stratification is, the stronger is the
individual’s group affiliation.
The period of social changes, producing social instability and
changes in the values of social categories, may lead to identity crises. Social
identity is also affected by the characteristics of a group, such as its
homogeneity, and those of intergroup relations, such as the degree of its
differentiation from other groups. In addition, J. Turner, an Australian
social psychologist and H. Tajfel’s colleague, proposed the theory of social
categorization, in which the features of a group are analyzed as “the
common features of individuals who describe themselves in terms of the
same social categorization”.
J. Turner interprets social identity as “the total amount of personal
identifications that are specific social categories internalized into the
cognitive component of the self-concept”. J. Turner proposed his own
theory of the interaction of social and individual components at the level of
human identity. He proposed three levels of abtraction that determine
generalizations taking place in the course of self-categorization: A highest
level (categorization of the self as a human), a middle level (categorization
of the self as a member of group), and a lowest level (personal identity).
H. Tajfel and J. Turner represent the European approach to
studying social identity, which emphasizes belonging to a group as the key
factor of intergroup conflicts. This approach became an alternative for the
American approach to understanding intergroup relations, which
22
Rasskazova, E.I. (2014) Identichnost kak samotozhdestvennost: individualnyye
variatsii tsennosti zavershennosti, razvitiya i sotsialnogo priznaniya identichnosti
[Identity as Self-Relation: Individual Variations in the Value of Closure,
Development, and the Social Recipience of Identity]. In: Rasskazova, E.I.,
Tkhostov, A.Sh., and Yemelin, V.A. (eds.). In: Bulletin of the South Ural State
University. Series: Psychology. Vol. 7. N. 4. P. 13–19. (In Russian).
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
27
emphasizes either individual personal variables or material interest conflicts
and resource competition 23. Due to the emphasis on the key role of social
categorization in cognition and behavior, the authors of the social identity
theory overcame successfully the dependence on focusing on the individual
cognition considered out of any context, on which many approaches to
identity are based within the framework of personality studies 24.
However, even though the role of social context and culture are
strengthened within this theory, experiments that had substantiated the
social identity theory, such as the known experiment conducted by H. Tajfel
for identifying the minimal group paradigm, were performed in laboratory
setting and with groups created artificially. In the interpretation of the
results, the broad social and cultural context was not considered, which
induced a number of researchers to put forth a number of critical comments
that emphasized the insufficiency of the role of culture in the studies of
identity in both American and European traditions.
Focusing on human-centered approach (in the American approach)
and on the passivity of an individual in the face of a group (European
approach), in their opinion, resulted in losing the idea of the diversity of
cultures existing in the world, having limited through that the concept of
identity. Of the three identity dilemmas considered above, the problem of
differentiation/integration is most developed in the identity studies in social
psychology.
Processes of differentiation, such as the development of autonomy
and uniqueness, and integration, such as relations to others, are considered
within the cognitive approach studies as an intergroup problem. Strategies
are considered, which the group members take to restore the status of their
own identity, such as introducing new criteria, attempts to come closer to a
higher-status comparison group, etc. Within the social identity theory, the
phenomena were studied, such as outgroup hostility or ingroup favoritism,
both closely connected to social identity and appearing, according to
H. Tajfel, during categorization of the self as a member of one group or
23
Mirimanov, V.B. (1997) Iskusstvo i mif. Tsentralny obraz kartiny mira [Art and
Myth. The Central Pattern of a World View]. In: Mirimanov, V.B. Moscow:
Soglasiye. 328 p. (In Russian).
24
Mankovskaya, N.B. (2000) Estetika postmodernizma [Aesthetics of
Postmodernism]. In: Mankovskaya, N.B. St. Petersburg: Aletheia. 348 p.
(In Russian).
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
28
another. However, there is an opnion today that ingroup favoritism is an
artifact of the experiment procedures, not a universal tendency.
Ingroup favoritism does not manifest where there are various
criteria (if people are able to refer to them) 25. Outgroup hostility can also
be interpreted as a result of an imposed comparison by one criterion. Out of
laboratory setting, there can be situations where groups are viewed as equal,
but different. It is also possible that an outgroup is viewed positively by a
less significant criterion, which can be interpreted as a manifestation of
indirect discrimination.
An illustration for the ambiguity of these phenomena is the effect of
positive-negative asymmetry in social discrimination, described in
M. Brewer’s study, which consisted in the fact that ingroup favoritism was
not registered when distributing punishments instead of awards. According
to the interpretation of the authors, outgroup hostility in distributing
punishments is below the justice standards. Such results underline the need
for analyzing the situation in terms of its regulatory structure 26.
Thus, interpreting the situation and using special strategies must be
additionally analyzed by researchers. In the the overwhelming majority of
investigations in differentiation, the participants are not allowed to explain
their behavior by themselves. Instead of that, they are requested to rank
some statements or distribute the items selected by the researchers as
belonging to one intergroup strategy or another.
When choosing the meanings read by the participants from the
questionnaire statements, no situational context is taken into consideration.
Participants usually fill out the questionnaires being alone, which results in
a tendency to consider the relations between an individual and the others
(or even between individuals) rather as unidirectional relationship.
Morover, phenomena occurring in a specially created laboratory setting are
generalized, and the multi-valuedness of strategies, possibility to change or
combine them, as well as the contextuality of applying them get lost.
Understanding social identity as related to belonging to social
categories played an important role in developing identity concepts in
sociology. However, the problem of identity as an independent formation
25
Tajfel, H. Social identity and intergroup relations / H. Tajfel // II European
studies in social psychology. 1982. P. 15–40.
26
Brewer, M.B. The social self – On being the same and different at the same time
// Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1991. Vol. 17. N. 5. P. 475–482.
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
29
remained unsolved. In H. Tajfel’s approach, social identity is considered as
a ‘concept’ (self-concept), which results in interpreting it as a stable
formation, i.e. a substantiated phenomenon. Nevertheless, the special
features of group membership are always reviewed in accordance with
historical and local conditions; the people’s relation to social groups
changes, as well.
The meanings assigned to social categories also change with the
time and in different social contexts. These points resulted in shifting
identity understanding from ‘concept’ to ‘constructing’, and from the result
to the process. The role of language processes in these categorization
processes is of key importance, because they are used to construct, discuss,
and coordinate the categories of membership 27.
In parallel with H. Tajfel’s and J. Turner’s theoretical insights in it,
the identity theory was developed by S. Stryker. According to this
researcher, social identity acts as a set of individual role identities, each of
which, in its turn, corresponding with the role position of a person within
the society.
The characteristics of social identity are dually expressed in
S. Stryker’s works. A human develops his or her social role behavior
through the prism of his or her own personal attributes. However, when
following one role or another, he or she is based on the expectations of
other people. Thus, the self-identification of a person takes place within a
personal role environment, which better describes the phenomenon under
study as individual social identity satisfying the self-expression drive 28.
Therefore, the significance of possible changeability in social selfidentifications through choosing the subjective performance of roles and the
importance of the relativity of identifying oneself with certain groups or
categories of individuals are emphasized in the works of modern
researchers.
27
Kutkovaya, E.S. (2015) Sravnitelny analiz diskursivnogo i narrativnogo
podkhodov k issledovaniyu identichnosti [Comparative Analysis of Discoursive
and Narrative Approaches to Research in Identity]. Dissertation in support of
candidature for a psychology degree. In: Kutkovaya, E.S. ed. Moscow. 272 p.
(In Russian).
28
Stryker, S. Traditional symbolic interactionism, role theory, and structural sym-
bolic interactionism theory / S. Stryker // Handbooks of Sociological Theory / ed.
by J. Turner. Plenum publishers. N.Y.: Kluwer Academic, 2002.
RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY
30
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