Relationship between social and personal identities: Segregation or integration.

Abstract

Recognition that self-representation includes both social and personal identities raises questions about the cognitive organization of these elements. Two models of identity structure are compared: (a) a segregation model (D. Trafimow, H. C. Triandis, & S. G. Goto, 1991), which assumes that (social)identities and (personal) attributes are two distinct categories, and (b) an integration model (K. Deaux, 1992), which proposes that identities and attributes often coexist in a limited set of cognitive structures. Clustering of self-relevant information in free recall was used to assess cognitive organization in a sample of 57 students. Identities and attributes clustered separately at greater-than-chance rates, consistent with the segregation model. More detailed analysis of recall data, in which individual patterns of association between identities and attributes were considered, provides stronger support for an integration model of self-representation.