Selfidentities

Self-identities refer to the internalized conceptions that people use to define themselves. They encompass personal attributes, values, roles, and social categories such as gender, ethnicity, nationality, or occupation. Self-identities help organize experiences, guide behavior, and provide a sense of continuity over time.

Identity is dynamic and context-dependent. People often hold multiple identities that may be differentially activated in various situations. The formation of self-identities is influenced by family, culture, education, peers, media, and institutions, and it unfolds through ongoing processes of reflection, feedback, and social interaction. Individuals engage in identity work to adopt, modify, or resist labels to fit their self-conception and social expectations.

Scholarly work distinguishes personal identity—one’s sense of being a unique individual—from social identity, which derives from group memberships such as nationality, religion, or profession. Narrative identity is a related concept that describes how people construct a life story to provide coherence and meaning to their experiences. Self-identities intersect with self-concept, which includes self-esteem and self-efficacy, and with self-schemas that organize knowledge about the self.

Implications of self-identities are broad. They influence choices, relationships, coping strategies, and responses to social feedback or discrimination. Identity-related dynamics are central to fields such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, and organizational studies, and are considered in contexts ranging from adolescence to adulthood and from personal development to social policy.