Measurement of Commitment to Role Identities

Commitment to social identities has been postulated as a central organizing feature of the self-system, yet the only widely used instrument for assessing identities is the Twenty Statements Test. Wylie has criticized the use of the test as a measure of self because of its failure to provide reliable and valid results. An alternative method of assessing commitments is describedd in the present article, and the validity of this new method is tested. Study 1 demonstrates that a 23-item index can be used to assess commitment to a number of diverse iden- tities. Commitment scores based on the index correspond to the placement of identities in a hierarchy of importance based on subjective rank orderings. In Study 2, a multitrait-multimethod matrix is created to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of the 23-item index for the identities of peer, religious participant, romantic partner, and family member. The correlations between commitment to each of these four identities and related attitude measures are also reported.

[1]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  Current concerns in occupational stress , 1982 .

[2]  S. Jackson,et al.  Commitment to Self-Identification: A Sociopsychological Approach to Personality , 1979 .

[3]  W. Mcguire,et al.  Salience of ethnicity in the spontaneous self-concept as a function of one's ethnic distinctiveness in the social environment. , 1978, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[4]  Linda A. Wood.  Loneliness, Social Identity and Social Structure. , 1978 .

[5]  S. Stryker.  Developments in "Two Social Psychologies": Toward an Appreciation of Mutual Relevance * , 1977 .

[6]  F. Cancian,et al.  What Are Norms?: A Study of Beliefs and Action in a Maya Community , 1975 .

[7]  H. Eysenck.  The self concept, vol. 1. A review of methodological considerations and measuring instruments : Ruth C. Wyte: University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1974. v + 433 pp. $12.50 , 1974 .

[8]  Ego identity status and response to conformity pressure in college women. , 1973, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[9]  Michael J. Kavanagh,et al.  Issues in managerial performance: Multitrait-multimethod analyses of ratings. , 1971 .

[10]  Z. Rubin.  Measurement of romantic love. , 1970, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[11]  S. Stryker.  Identity Salience and Role Performance: The Relevance of Symbolic Interaction Theory for Family Research , 1968 .

[12]  G. Āllport,et al.  Personal religious orientation and prejudice. , 1967, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[13]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .

[14]  George J. McCall,et al.  Identities and interactions , 1966 .

[15]  W. A. Scott,et al.  Values and organizations : a study of fraternities and sororities , 1965 .

[16]  D. Campbell,et al.  Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. , 1959, Psychological bulletin.

[17]  H. Kelley.  Salience of Membership and Resistance to Change Of Group-Anchored Attitudes , 1955 .

[18]  M. Kuhn,et al.  An empirical investigation of self-attitudes. , 1954 .

[19]  H. Kelley,et al.  The Resistance to Change of Group-Anchored Attitudes , 1952 .

[20]  T. Newcomb,et al.  Readings in Social Psychology , 1948, Teachers College Record.

[21]  M. Sherif,et al.  An outline of social psychology , 1948 .

[22]  E. Miller.  Handbook of Social Psychology , 1946, Mental Health.

[23]  S. Fiske,et al.  The Handbook of Social Psychology , 1935 .