We attempt here to interrelate various theories of identity 1 and to describe how various social contexts and cognitive motives influence the process of identity change. Although many strands of literature describe identity dynamics, two are considered primary: identity theory (Stryker 1980;Stryker and Serpe 1982) and social identity theory (Tajfel 1981;Tajfel and Turner 1986;Turner et al. 1987). Recent literature has tried to combine these two paradigms by comparing the distinct contexts and motives that each theory proposes (Deaux and Martin 2003;Hogg and Ridgeway 2003;Hogg, Terry, and White 1995;Stets and Burke 2000). Two views of social context emerge: category and network. Both are alluded to in theory but lack clear operationalization and empirical study. Similarly, two views on motives emerge: internal standards of self-efficacy and external standards of self-verification. Both of these are related to identity dynamics but left somewhat unconnected to social contexts (Elliot 1986).We develop a novel way to operationalize category and network contexts in order to link contexts to motives, and we argue that they jointly influence processes of identity change. We establish these links by analyzing unique data on thousands of students in a natural setting, namely the high school. These students report nearly complete information on their social networks, identity perceptions, and crowd affiliations over time (Brown 1990). Using these data, we develop formal tests which establish a macro-to-micro-level argument that particular network and category contexts are associated with motives of self-efficacy and self-verification, and thereby influence the process of identity transformation.In this paper we interrelate different theories of identity and describe how various social contexts and cognitive motives influence the process of identity change. We consider two competing theories about the linkage of contexts with motives for identity change: the effect of category traits, based on social identity theory, and the effect of social networks, based on identity theory. To explore these relations, we use data collected on more than 6,000 adolescents at six high schools in two consecutive school years. Multilevel logit models reveal a strong relationship between contexts and perceived identity imbalances, and a strong effect of identity imbalance on identity change. More important than category traits are the social network characteristics of prominence, homogeneity, and bridging; these form social contexts that affect perceptions of identity imbalance, and the perceptions in turn lead to a heightened incidence of identity change.289

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Although attitudes toward homosexuality have been widely studied over the past 30 years, few studies have scrutinized the interaction effects between gender and race, and gender and religiosity, on attitudes toward homosexuality. This article analyzes US data from the fifth wave of the World Values Survey, collected in 2006 – a nationally representative sample of individuals residing in the United States. Contrary to previous research, no significant interaction is found between gender and race on attitudes toward homosexuality. This finding challenges conventional thinking on essentialized differences regarding racial groups and their attitudes toward homosexuality. The interaction between gender and religiosity, though, suggests that religiosity has a greater effect on women’s attitudes than men’s. Finally, the article shows that most of the difference in attitudes toward homosexuality between men and women is explained by differences in gender role beliefs.

The imbalanced sex ratio of the population in China has become a serious problem for the society. In recent decades considerably more male babies than female babies have been born in China due to people's preference for having male children. This trend is more prominent in rural areas than in urban areas. In this paper, we try to understand why rural areas have stronger son preference than urban areas. We hypothesize that the relationship between residential location and son preference is mediated by education, son's economic and cultural utilities, gender role beliefs, and patriarchal beliefs. To test these mediation effects we use the data from Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2006. The results indicate that the stronger son preference in rural areas is explained by lower educational level and the perception of son's economic and cultural utilities. It is not explained by gender role beliefs or patriarchal beliefs. In concluding remarks we offer suggestions for policy makers.