Article summary of Who am I and what am I going to do with my life? Personal and Collective Identities as Motivators of Action by Eccles - 2009 - Chapter

Introduction

This article is about the expected value perspective of identity and the formation of an identity. According to the author there are two basic types of self-perception, namely (a) a perception that is associated with skills, traits and competences and (b) a perception that is related to personal values ​​and goals. This article focuses on the influence of identity on choices, or motivated actions. A distinction can also be made between two types of identity, personal identity and collective/social identity. The author sees personal identity as the aspect that makes you feel that you are unique and she also calls it the ME self . Collective identity is seen as the qualities that you personally find important and that strengthen the ties with groups and relationships. The author also calls collective identity the WE self . She also thinks that choices that are made help to form an identity. The article also discusses the development of identity. According to the author, identity changes due to changes in situations.

Identity is something that has been built up by motivation. The author has compiled a social cognitive model with her colleagues. This model is the expectancy value model or motivated behavioral choice. The model is about different types of behavioral choices, tasks, and activities. Choices that are important for life (e.g. study choice, friendships) are linked to two types of beliefs, (1) individual expectations of success and (2) the importance or value of different options that the individual can choose between (subjective) task value. These beliefs are related to cultural norms, social roles, and social experiences; personal experiences and their interpretation and memories; personal ability, talents, personality and temperament; and personal beliefs and attitudes towards business. All of these factors predict personal expectations about future success and about the personal subjective value of the options.

The author also thinks that the two aforementioned beliefs also contribute to the formation of the ME and WE self . The development is influenced by at least two processes. First of all, every cultural group has a picture of how the order of development tasks and experiences should proceed. This exposes individuals to different situations with different standards. Secondly, every individual gets better at choosing social contexts and experiences that helps them shape their own beliefs. These beliefs are closely linked to the prominence, centrality and content of many different personal and collective/social identities. The author thinks there are a number of beliefs about who you are and who you want to become.

Are expectations and personal competence mediators of performance-based choices? The expectation of success and self-assurance in your abilities to succeed have long been seen as important mediators of behavioral choices. People usually make choices that they feel confident about or that they expect to be most successful. The model predicts that self-understanding of your ability and understanding of task difficulty are the most important psychological predictors that determine whether you expect success. Self-understanding of your ability and your expectation of success have such a great coherence that it is difficult to separate it. Self-insight is formed by comparison, interpretation of processes and consequences, social influences, learning processes, exchange of information about skills. All these sources of information help to form different components of your ME self . These components can (de)motivate behavior again if they are activated. So there is a constant development going on as long as people gain more experiences.

Subjective task values

Subjective task values motivate the choice between activities. Important choices you make in life are influenced by the options available and how much you value them. The author (and therefore also the model) states that the subject task values ​​are directly related to personal and collective/social identity and to identity formation. Subjective task values are qualities that contribute to different choices, the chance that someone will choose the option or not.

Subjective task values are influenced by four factors:

1. Interest value: The value of the interest based on the amount of pleasure a person experiences from an activity/certain behavior. Ultimately, it can develop in such a way that it becomes part of the ME self. It can therefore develop from something that is simply an interest to something that is really accessible (see also attainment value).
2. Attainment value: The image about your own identity consists of different components, views about your own (a) personality and abilities, (b) goals and plans, (c) image about the division of roles between men and women, (d) instrumental and terminal values, (e) motivations, (f) ideal image about how someone should be, (g) image about what is appropriate behavior in different situations. These components influence the attainment values, or the goals that the individual considers important to achieve. Individuals want to make choices that suit their identity.
3. Utility value: This is similar to the attainment value, but it is a task that someone wants to accomplish, because it influences a slightly less personal goal.
4. Perceived cost: Participating in a certain activity can entail costs, such as a waste of time, social consequences or issues such as fear of failure.

According to the model, there is a connection between the personal values and the achievement-related choices. Various studies have found evidence for this. For example, people who are primarily focused on the person choose a study in which this also occurs and people who are primarily interested in physics choose a study in which physics is repeated. This works both ways. The value 'helping people' therefore also predicts that someone with this value will not opt ​​for a physics study.

Resume

Beliefs about yourself (about your ability and the subject task value) have a lot of influence on the choices that are made. These two factors help to form an identity, which in turn leads to your behavior in general. The attainment value certainly influences in part the degree of self-insight and the behavioral choices that are made. These two processes also influence each other, so that an identity can be formed.

Subjective tax values also influence which activity is being participated. They should also influence the development of individual competencies. Different competencies should also influence the development of subjective task value , because (repeated) success or failure in a task influences whether someone likes the task.