Currently, I'm working under a research group that conceptualizes the "self" as a complex phenomena that manifestates itself in diferent self-referents such as self-concept, self-esteem, self-development and self-image. It includes, and establishes the relationship between, 4 of the principal macro-theories in social psychology (i.e. social psychoanalysis, cognitive theories, symbolic interactionism and humanist psychology). It has been used in different research and fields (i.e. sports, youngsters), and opened to expansion.

In a few words, if you conceptualize self as a complex phenomena, then you can avoid the classical dicothomy between essentialism (one and solid identity for all the life-span) and total fluidity, mutiple/unity, conflict/harmony, as it is all at the same time .

When it comes to the cultural identity, it can beconceptualized as a set of autodescriptions (e.g. i'm french, i'm republican), that are originated in a cultural context that prescribes me what means to be french and who/how is"the other", "the alter" "the foreigner", altogether with a self-esteem evaluation (e.g. this descriptions are positive for me as it is accepted by muy community and the mass-media of my country).

I invite you to look over the articles written by Frederic Munné (founder of the Social Psychology departament at the University of Barcelona), Nuria Codina, and Jose Vicente Pestana.

If you are interested and/or have any doubts, do not hesitate to contact me for further information.

Greetings,

Joan GC Cantero

Thanks for your thorough answer. In your conceptualization of the self in its four aspects, are there multiple versions of the self in relation to different contexts, relations, development paths etc. (similar to the dialogical self theory)? Can the different identities be understood as an aspect of the self-image?

Best wishes, Simon

Definitions are often contestable for such commonly used terms. There's been some interesting work from Dave Snowden coming from discourses on knowledge management & sense-making. He has developed the "Cynfein Framework" as a means of making sense of the various contexts we finds ourselves in where "cynefin" is a Welsh word that indicates the mix of "belongings" a person may have in terms of identity & place (eg, in terms of role as parent, friend, student, professional, etc & in terms of group affiliation - religious, cultural, team, etc). Eitenne Wenger has also done a lot of work in the area of Communities of Practice & social learning systems in which identity is conceived in terms of an "ongoing negotiation".

There are a couple of golden oldies that might be helpful to you:  

Ethnic Identity: Strategies of Diversity by anthropologist Anya Peterson Royce, IU Press 1982.

Folklorist Richard Bauman has done important work on what he calls the "performance of identity."

You are right, identity and self overlap in the psychological literature. If I had to distinguish, I would say that the self refers mainly to individual properties as they are seen and understood by the individuals themselves (particularly when we deal with the "self-concept"), whereas the identity refers more to characteristics that are not always seen by the individuals, be they unconscious (when we say, for example "I don't know why, but I always find myself in the same situation") or be they social or cultural and therefore somewhat hidden.

Self and identity can be multiple. Psychologists insist on the differences between idealized self, social self, true self, for example, and I am sure you are aware of multiple selves theories. Now, if one defines identity via the notions of unity and/or unicity, as often done, there cannot be, by definition, a multiple identity. There is only multiplicity in time. But it is a question of definition, and it is therefore a bit arbitrary. Hope this helps.

Working in the articulation between psychoanalysis and anthropology, I tried to analize that question in "What are we talking about when we talk about identity?", in C, Westin et all., edits, in Identity Processes and Dynamics in Multi-Ethnic Europe, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, IMISCOE Research, 2010, 313-358. Self (the substantive is not in use in certain european languages), is a concept coming from the american phenomenology, promoted by a philosopher, G. H. Mead (in Mind, Self and Society), opposing the structural-dynamic concept of unconscious ego and its identifications, in Freud. Identity is a much more complex concept referring processes of differentiation coming from 'nature' (age, sex, race, etc.) or constructed in personal relations (since the first years of life) or in political terms (religion, nation, region, ideology, etc.), used in narcissistic confrontations.