Who Am I?

I’m no scholar of literacy criticism, but The Hunger Games seemed to me to be a parable regarding social control via class conflict (e.g., advantaged kids have been training for games since birth, versus literally starving kids who have had no time to prep given they must forage constantly), to perpetuate the plutocracy. Read More

The Handbook of Identity Theory and Research just arrived at my library – and it looks great! The editors have done an excellent job of incorporating work on identity from a range of theoretical perspectives, and from multiple disciplines. Read More

Your best friend just told you that although he is losing patience with his girlfriend who complains about her job all the time yet doesn’t take any steps to do anything about it, he is confident that if he just gives her time, she will change. Is this likely? Will she change? Read More

Are you curious?

Curious about other people's religious beliefs? Do you find yourself wondering what it means to be democrat, republican, progressive, and conservative? Are you interested in film, music, dance, theatre, and photography? Do you like to travel whenever you can? Are you interested in trying new foods? Do you pay attention to your feelings? Read More

Today, we consider #2: Instability. Read More

Your situation is not unusual, especially as people live longer than ever before, and continue to work longer than ever before. Read More

Yesterday I felt confident about being a history major, but today I’m not so sure. I’m thinking I should maybe do something more practical, like engineering. The more I talk to people and the more I read about careers that are in demand, the more I change my mind. I thought that when I turned 20, I would have all this figured out, but so far that’s not the case. Read More

‘Tis the most popular season to give.

But it can be difficult at any time of the year to make contributions to the all of the solicitations we receive. This is particularly true in the face of an economy that is inflicting financial pain on so many lives while the government provides little, if any, social safety net. Read More

Without a doubt.

By voting we exercise our right to express our voice, no matter how small, about how our government can and should function. Without voting, there is no democracy. Without democracy, there is plutocracy or rule by the wealthy, rather than by all. Read More

Traditionally, the five milestones of adulthood have been completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying, and starting a family. Read More

This mandate from Ancient Greece suggests there are benefits to developing an identity; advantages that are clear when we consider that the research evidence on the identity achievement status shows it is associated with greater well-being, personal growth, self-acceptance, optimism, more successful resolution of later stages in Erikson's theory, reduced anxiety, etc.And there are many paths th Read More

Art has the power to help us better understand our selves, so it was to my great delight when a friend sent me this wonderful online "Exploring Identity in Art" exhibit. This is beauty for its own sake, and as a means of self-exploration.

Enjoy!:

http://www.riverhunt.org/an-exploration-of-identity-through-art/

  Read More

In our last post, we learned how Rachel could go about bridging the gap between her current self and her ideal self simply by browsing different occupational titles related to art, her passion in life. Read More

The holiday season is here, which provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon this past year. The process of taking stock of where we are -- and where ultimately we would like to be in the future -- is also a key component of identity, because introspection is a necessary prerequisite for a mature identity.  Read More