Identity Motives Underlying Desired and Feared Possible Future Selves

Vignoles, Vivian L.; Manzi, Claudia; Regalia, Camillo; Jemmolo, Sergio; Scabini, Eugenia

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00518.x

Cited by 91 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Goals are more specific and contextualized than possible selves (Oyserman and Markus 1990), and possible selves may be motivating even if they are unattainable Nurius 1986, Markus et al 1990). Importantly, possible selves play a key role in intentional change (Boyatzis and Akrivou 2006, Dunkel 2000, Ibarra 1999, Vignoles et al 2008) and self-development (Lord and Brown 2004), and possible selves offer opportunities to create identities that deviate from current reality Kunda 1986, Markus andNurius 1986).…”

Section: The Role Of Follower Possible Selves In Vision Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An Image of Who We Might Become: Vision Communication, Possible Selves, and Vision Pursuit

Stam

Lord

Knippenberg

et al. 2014

Organization Science

115

149

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We propose a model of vision communication that emphasizes the mediating role of follower collective possible selves—that is, self-conception in terms of what the collective (team, organization) which one is a member of may become in the future that can be held by individuals but can also be shared by multiple individuals. Our model is the first to provide an integrative account of how vision communication may stimulate the pursuit of the vision by individuals and collectives, and it complements and extends prior research in three important ways. First, in contrast to an earlier emphasis on the role of individual perceptions of the current self, our model puts perceptions of the future self at the forefront. It captures how vision communication can invite social sharedness of these perceptions, thus doing justice to visions’ nature as images of a future for the collective. Second, in contrast to earlier work on vision communication focusing on general indicators of leadership effectiveness, our model puts what is arguably the most important outcome for vision communication center stage: vision pursuit, the followers’ actions aimed at making the vision reality. We argue that the creation of collective possible selves by followers is crucial for vision communication because collective possible selves explain how vision communication relates to vision pursuit. Third, our model also addresses aspects of vision communication that may facilitate the processes through which visions become internalized as possible selves, and it captures the processes through which such possible selves become shared among members of a collective and lead to collective vision pursuit.

show abstract

Section: The Role Of Follower Possible Selves In Vision Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, as the collective possible self is associated with a positively evaluated collective, the follower will regard it as more desirable (cf. Vignoles et al 2008). …”

Section: Values and Intermediate Goals Scholars Have Argued That Vismentioning

confidence: 99%

An Image of Who We Might Become: Vision Communication, Possible Selves, and Vision Pursuit

Stam

Lord

Knippenberg

et al. 2014

Organization Science

115

149

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, if a woman perceives herself as ''emotional,'' and fears that she may become even more emotional after becoming mother, this identity element can be said to assume a central position in her feared possible future identity structure. Vignoles et al (2008) have shown that people can report their desires and fears about how existing content will be restructured following assimilation of a new identity element, and that desires and fears about identity restructuring reflect core identity motives as do desired and feared possible future selves. Clearly, this raises interesting questions about the role of these possible future identity structures in the identity accommodation process.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…For example, if a woman's identity before the transition to parenthood includes the role of ''daughter,'' this identity element could gain or lose importance relative to other elements in her subjective identity structure, after she becomes a mother. Extending this concept of subjective identity structure, we developed the concept of possible future identity structures (see also Vignoles, Manzi, Regalia, Jemmolo, & Scabini, 2008), referring to the importance an individual gives to each of his/her current identity elements in his/her expected, desired, and feared future selves. For example, if a woman perceives herself as ''emotional,'' and fears that she may become even more emotional after becoming mother, this identity element can be said to assume a central position in her feared possible future identity structure.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Accommodating a new identity: Possible selves, identity change and well‐being across two life‐transitions

Manzi

Vignoles

Regalia

2009

Euro J Social Psych

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examined the role of desired, feared, and expected possible future identity structures in the restructuring of identity after two life transitions. A longitudinal study was conducted on 86 young adults during the transition from school to university and 143 adults during the transition to parenthood. In both samples, pre-transition desires and expectations about the restructuring of identity predicted post-transition actual identity structures. Post-transition emotional wellbeing was higher among those whose post-transition identity structures more closely matched their initial desires and less closely matched their initial fears, and among those who reported a greater magnitude of identity change. We propose that possible future identity structures play an important role in the identity accommodation process during life-transitions, and that they have significant implications for well-being. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Identity changes during the life span are fundamental aspects of human development and aging (Cross & Markus, 1991). Existing studies suggest that long-term self-concept change takes place especially in response to major changes in role and situational demands (Banaji & Prentice, 1994). Such changes are often associated with periods of life-transition (Kerpelman & Lamke, 1997). These crucial periods are instigated by a variety of factors, which may be related to family life (e.g., marriage, childbirth, bereavement) or to educational and socio-economic activities (e.g., finishing school, retirement, starting a new job). During a transition period, a person has to reorganize his/her social roles, and to cope with temporal and structural changes in daily life, which will often be associated with changes in identity structure (Cigoli & Scabini, 2006).In this paper, we describe a longitudinal study of identity change over two different life-transitions: The transition to parenthood and the transition from school to university. Our particular focus was on the role of possible selves in guiding the processes of identity change. Possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986) are the component of identity that reflects the perceived prospects of the individual. They include those selves that individuals expect to become (expected selves), would like to become (desired selves) or are afraid of becoming (feared selves). Like the actual self, they consist of organized self-views derived in part from representations of the self in the past and in part from perceived expectations from others (Stryker & Serpe, 1994), but they are conceptualized in the future. Because of this future context, possible selves represent the potential for change in the self-concept.Previous research into possible selves and long-term change has typically focused on change in particular, single identity elements, such as acquiring or losing a new social role (e.g., Dunkel, Kelts, & Coon, 2006;King & Raspin, 2004). Thus, studies have examined the assimilation of new elements into identity, without considering the restru...

show abstract

“…As we have discussed, individuals form a variety of identities, in part in order to satisfy one or more motives [23], but not all identities are relevant in all situations, and people tend to cater their identity communication depending on the context or audience [50]. Thus, following the logic in the preceding paragraphs, identities that are perceived as relevant in a given situation will be most likely to be communicated.…”

Section: H2: Identities That Satisfy An Individual's (A) Selfverificamentioning

confidence: 99%

(Virtual) Identity Communication: Motivations and Contextual Factors

Thatcher

Wilson

Brown³

2017

Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2017)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Identity Motives Underlying Desired and Feared Possible Future Selves

Cited by 91 publications

References 45 publications

An Image of Who We Might Become: Vision Communication, Possible Selves, and Vision Pursuit

An Image of Who We Might Become: Vision Communication, Possible Selves, and Vision Pursuit

Accommodating a new identity: Possible selves, identity change and well‐being across two life‐transitions

(Virtual) Identity Communication: Motivations and Contextual Factors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About