CHAPTER 4
Understanding,
Navigating, and
Managing Our
Identities
Learning Objectives
• To understand the relationship between self-concept and
identity
• To learn more about the characteristics that constitute identity
• To understand that we all have multiple identities
• To understand the collective nature of some of our identities
• To understand more about our regional and national identities
• To become acquainted with studies by Geert Hofstede and
others that identify the values associated with national
identities of Canada and other countries
• To learn about how people experiment with their identities
• To understand the implications and impact of this
experimentation with identities
Learning Objectives
• To understand the importance of having our identities
validated by others
• To become acquainted with a definition of impression
management
• To learn more about the differences in how low and
high self monitors approach impression management
• To become acquainted with five common impression-
management strategies
• To learn more about online impression management
strategies
• To acquire some tips for navigating and managing
identities
Who Are You? Your Identity
• Identity refers to one’s public or presenting self,
which includes characteristics that allow others
to recognize you:
oPhysical (e.g., appearance & athletic abilities)
oSocial (e.g., competence in relationships)
oAcademic (e.g., intellectual qualities)
oEmotional (e.g., qualities re feelings)
Multiple Identities
• Multiple identities related to roles: e.g., university
student, daughter, son, hockey player, friend,
employee, activist, etc.
Multiple Identities
As much as being Indian is my identity, that is
not all I am. I am not just an “Indian”; I am a
woman, a business student, an artist, a writer,
an adventurer, and a sensitive yet bold person
who cannot be summarized in one word.
Aarti Shaw
[Link]/oiss/essay/essays05/[Link]
Which labels did you
use to describe yourself?
Social or familial relationships
(parent, son, daughter, friend)
Which labels did you
use to describe yourself?
• Cultural or linguistic affiliations (Canadian,
French, Russian, Polynesian, etc.)
Which labels did you use
to describe yourself?
• Occupation (student, government employee,
public relations officer, dancer, nurse, etc.)
Which labels did you use
to describe yourself?
• Natural abilities (athlete, artist, writer)
Which labels did you use
to describe yourself?
• Physical qualities (height, weight, build)
Which labels did you use
to describe yourself?
• Intellectual attributes (intelligent, slow)
Which labels did you use
to describe yourself?
• Attitudinal or behavioural attributes (hard-
working, independent, caring, optimistic, shy,
critical)
Which labels did you use
to describe yourself?
• Belief systems (religious, political, vegetarian,
pacifist)
Navigating Multiple Identities
with Collective Dimensions
Our multiple identities have a collective
dimension; we share parts of our identities with
groups:
oGender, ethnic, and racial identities
oRegional and national identities
oReligious identities
oLinguistic and cultural identities
The Challenges of Navigating
Black, Brown, & Mixed-Race Identities
Understanding Aboriginal Identity – YouTube
I moved to the US from Kenya. I never fully realized I was Black until I had a son | CNN
[Link]
(Identity issues related to persons who are mixed race)
Interview with Amrit Kaur (HBO “Sex Lives of College Students” and “The Queen of My
Dreams” (the latter about personal challenges in navigating a Brown identity)
For optional reading and viewing of personal stories related to racial identities, see
CBC News | Being Black in Canada.
For optional reading and viewing of Canadian indigenous stories and experiences, see
CBC News | Indigenous.
Shared National Identities:
Russia vs. Ukraine
What Do Studies Reveal
about National Identities?
Multinational Studies
by Geert Hofstede
• Administered psychological inventories to 116,000
employees working in multinational corporation with
offices in 40 countries
• Took six years to complete original (1980) study;
repeated study in 2001
• Found in original study that employees varied on four
cultural dimensions
Multinational Studies
by Geert Hofstede
1. Power distance – extent to which we believe those in
power should look and act powerful
2. Uncertainty avoidance – how much we accept and
need rules, bureaucracy, clear delineation of
responsibilities
3. Individualism-collectivism – extent to which we see
individuals as primary resource for decision making
and problem solving
4. Achievement-nurturance – extent to which we value
stereotypically masculine traits vs. stereotypically
feminine traits
Power Distance – extent to which we
believe those in positions of power
should look and act powerful
Multinational Studies by
Hofstede (1980, 2001)
1. Power distance – extent to which we believe those in
power should look and act powerful
2. Uncertainty avoidance – how much we accept and
need rules, bureaucracy, clear delineation of
responsibilities
3. Individualism-collectivism – extent to which we see
individuals as primary resource for decision making
and problem solving
4. Achievement-nurturance – extent to which we value
stereotypically masculine traits vs. stereotypically
feminine traits
Uncertainty Avoidance – how much we
accept, value, and need rules, bureaucracy,
and clear delineation of responsibility
Multinational Studies by
Hofstede (1980, 2001)
1. Power distance – extent to which we believe those in
power should look and act powerful
2. Uncertainty avoidance – how much we accept and
need rules, bureaucracy, clear delineation of
responsibilities
3. Individualism-collectivism – extent to which we see
individuals as primary resource for decision making
and problem solving
4. Achievement-nurturance – extent to which we value
stereotypically masculine traits vs. stereotypically
feminine traits
Individualism-Collectivism -extent to which
we see individuals as primary resource for
decision making and problem solving
Multinational Studies by
Hofstede (1980, 2001)
1. Power distance – extent to which we believe those in
power should look and act powerful
2. Uncertainty avoidance – how much we accept and
need rules, bureaucracy, clear delineation of
responsibilities
3. Individualism-collectivism – extent to which we see
individuals as primary resource for decision making
and problem solving
4. Achievement-nurturance – extent to which we value
stereotypically masculine traits vs. stereotypically
feminine traits
Achievement-Nurturance - extent to which
we value stereotypically masculine traits
vs. stereotypically feminine traits
How Did Canadians Score?
• Canadians scored:
o slightly below average on power distance
o well below average on uncertainty avoidance
o very high on individualism
o well above average on achievement orientation (masculine
vs feminine dimension in Hofstede’s first studies)
• The US, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, and
Australia were clustered with Canada.
Canadian vs. American Values
• Top five Canadian • Top five American
values values
1. Family 1. Patriotism
2. Respect 2. Achievement
3. Peace 3. Competitiveness
4. Freedom 4. Caring
5. Helping others 5. Dominance
Communication Canada survey (2002)
How Do We See Ourselves
in Comparison to Americans?
• Despite perceived differences, Canadians see themselves
as more like Americans than like people in other
countries.
• 55 per cent believe Canadian values are similar to those of
Americans; however, Canadians see themselves as more
compassionate, peace-loving, and egalitarian.
• Rokeach theorized that some values and beliefs are more
important than others to us and that the most important,
associated with self-identity, are located at the center of
our value system.
Rokeach – Belief Systems
Rokeach’s Belief Structure:
Foundation of Identity
• Type A beliefs – beliefs related to physical reality (“This is
a tree” or “I am Joe Smith”)
• Type B beliefs – ego-centered beliefs that require zero
consensus (“I am intelligent” or “I am unintelligent”)
• Type C beliefs – authority beliefs (“I attach credibility to a
religious figure or an organization)
• Type D beliefs – beliefs derived from authority figures (“I
support environmental initiatives promoted by
Greenpeace”)
• Type E beliefs – beliefs about arbitrary and
inconsequential matters of taste (“I like my steak rare” or
“I prefer Nike products”)
What Happens to Identities
When Belief Systems Are Threatened?
• Our most important beliefs reside at the centre of our
value system.
• When someone threatens these central beliefs, our
identities and sense of self undergo change.
o Credible threats to Type A beliefs can destroy self-identity.
o Credible threats to Type B beliefs can destroy self-concept.
o Credible threats to Type C beliefs can destroy authority
systems—and by extension, societies
• Anthropological studies (e.g., stone axe and digging stick
cultures) demonstrate that entire societies can disintegrate
when belief systems, linked to our personal and societal
identities, are destroyed.
Experimenting with Identities
• May colour our hair or change our style of dress
(physical identity)
• May assume a new name on Twitter (social identity)
• May enter a new field of studies (academic identity)
• May practise being more controlled and less emotional
(emotional identity)
Experimenting
with Online Identities
• May create alternate identities on blogs, Instagram,
Snapchat, Facebook, Liker, Skype, Twitter, Tic Toc,
YouTube, Craigslist, dating sites, and other
• 50 per cent of Internet users have pretended to be
someone else on some occasion.
• Adolescents are most likely to use the Internet to
experiment with identities.
• Lonely adolescents experiment more than those with
active social lives.
Experimenting with Online Identities
• We may knowingly post unrealistic photos or
exaggerate claims—lie about weight or height.
• Sometimes we lie to conceal stigmas such as a history
of mental illness or a health condition.
Experimenting with
Online Identities
• Sometimes online identities reflect
our ideal selves—who we would like
to be (e.g., thinner or non-smoker).
• Sometimes our online identities
reflect our historical selves—
the persons we once were but may
no longer be (e.g., jogger or athletes)
We run the risk of losing trust and credibility
when others discover exaggerations or
misrepresentations.
What is the Impact of Experimentation?
Internalizing behaviours can lead us to manifest the
same personalities in offline as in online lives. Orson
Scott Card says, “Perhaps it’s impossible to wear an
identity without becoming what you pretend to be.”
But there are costs. . . .
When Experimentation Goes Rogue
Catfishing refers to online misrepresentation of identity. To read more about catfishing--
why people catfish and examples of celebrities and others caught in catfishing--go to the
following links.
[Link]
Validating our Identities
• Self-verification theory says we want others to see us as
we see ourselves; we depend on others to validate our
identities.
• Lack of validation can force us to abandon an identity
(Milton Rokeach, case study of the “three Christs”).
• In other situations, validation of a pseudo or inauthentic
version of ourselves creates issues (case of Marilyn
Monroe).
Who was Marilyn?
Self-Verification Theory
• “Everything was fine when the music was playing. When people were
laughing, and clapping, and shouting for more. But I knew I was tanking.
Even when I was on the stage, and having fun—I was tanking. Some nights I’d
go back to the dressing room, and look in the mirror, and I’d realize that I
don’t even exist. Nobody’s clapping for Stephanie. They’re clapping for
Tanqueray. And sometimes I’d get so depressed thinking like that, I’d just
start crying. I’d feel like running away and hiding from everyone. At least
when I was a kid, I could crawl under the card table with my dolls. But that
pretend shit wasn’t working anymore. I was too old to fake like someone cared
about me. But whenever I started to fall apart, I’d pull myself together and
think about how lucky I was to be Tanqueray. At least I was successful. At
least I had a career. At least when I’m Tanqueray, and I’m around people, I
make them smile. I make them laugh with my stupid jokes. They’re not trying
to hurt me. But Tanqueray never came home with me. She always stayed out
on the stage. It was Stephanie that walked out the back door, and nobody
cared about her. Nobody except for Carmine.” (Humans of New York)
•
Spies Who Adopt New Identities
• Spies often have high profile jobs in home country, which make
them attractive recruits for espionage assignments.
• When forced to go into hiding, their new identities almost
always involve lower profile jobs, which pay less and offer less
status to people who often became spies for ego reasons or for
money or out of revenge.
• In new identities, the ex-spies find it difficult to adjust and see
themselves in a new way or to accept how others are seeing
them; some take risks and reassume old identities.
• Sometimes children of spies, unwilling to accept their new
identities, go on social media against advice of parents.
Source: [Link]
secret-defector-program/[Link]
What is Impression Management?
Impression management or the way we create impressions
in the eyes of others:
• Occurs in varied contexts (friendships, family, romantic,
and professional)
• Reflects largely unconscious and natural part of everyday
interactions
• Takes situations and occasions into account
• Involves conscious or unconscious monitoring of how
others respond to us
• Occurs in online and offline settings
[Link]
management
Low Self Monitors
• Low self monitors do not pay
much attention to how others
perceive them and don’t care
about managing perceptions.
o They expect you to take them as
they are.
o They don’t try to manage
perceptions.
o They rely on their own values to
guide behaviour.
o They behave in the same way
across different contexts (e.g.,
family, work, recreational).
o They make good researchers and
project members.
High Self Monitors
High self monitors pay attention to the opinions of others and engage in high levels of
impression management.
o They alter their behaviours to fit the situation.
o They are likely to be the person you want them to be.
o They are harder to read or predict because they assume different roles.
o They can influence people to follow their lead.
o They make good managers.
Common Strategies for
Managing Impressions
• Self-promotion
• Ingratiation
• Intimidation
• Exemplification
• Supplication
Contexts: Family, friendships, romantic relationships,
professional relationships.
Self-Promotion
Strategies
• Emphasize competencies, abilities, or
accomplishments
• Emerge from desire to be respected, admired, and
seen as likeable and knowledgeable
• Take form of talking proudly about experience,
education, talents, value to organization, and/or
accomplishments
Ingratiation Strategies
• Use compliments, flattery, and other behaviours to get
favourable responses from others (e.g., doing personal
favours for colleagues or bosses)
• Show interest in personal lives of colleagues
Exemplification
Strategies
• Attempt to gain respect by displaying sincerity,
devotion, and responsibility
• Take forms such as arriving early or staying late
at work, appearing busy at all times, or going to
the office on weekends
• Run the risk of making the person appear
hypocritical and manipulative
Supplication Strategies
• Attempt to get sympathy and attention by presenting
oneself as in need of help
• Emphasize newness to job or organization or other
reason for doing badly at some task
• Attempt to evade work by playing dumb or appearing
incompetent
Intimidation Strategies
• Try to provoke unease in others
• Display little or no concern with being liked
• Show desire to establish control
• Take form of dealing forcefully or reacting strongly or
aggressively with colleagues
• Lower the likability of the strategist but counter the
impact of aggressive personalities
Managing Impressions
in Online Environments
• Channels include Facebook, Twitter, Tic Toc, Instagram,
Zoom and Teams, instant messaging, email, blogs, dating
sites, etc.
• Messages may be verbal (e.g., texting) or nonverbal (e.g.,
photos).
• Communication may be synchronous (same
time/different place) or asynchronous (different
time/different place).
• Risks occur when people manipulate impressions in
contexts related to the workplace (e.g., hiring).
Theories Related to Online
Impression Management
• Social Presence – Relates to extent to which we sense
another’s presence in an online interaction
• Social Information Processing – Relates to how we
process info in collaborative settings like social media
• Hyperpersonal – Relates to use of online cues to
construct idealized views of another person
Tips for Navigating and
Managing Identities
• Recognize that not everyone is like you, and not everyone
shares your values.
• Be aware of goals and contexts when using impression
management strategies.
• Do not include false information on your resumé.
• When travelling abroad, take time to learn about the
culture.
• Be sensitive to rules of etiquette in online environments.
• Develop good communication skills.
• And finally, consider some of the positive aspects of
online fake identities when it comes to controlling your
social profiles.