A cluster-analytic approach to identity style classification: Four seems to be better than three

Abstract

In their previous study Crocetti, Berzonsky, and Meeus evaluated the usefulness of empirically-based methods of classification in the process of distinguishing subgroups characterized by different identity styles. They suggested that the four-cluster solution best reflected intra-individual differentiation. One of these groups had not been predicted in Berzonsky’s identity style theory – the group of individuals high in both the normative and the informational style. The aim of this study was to replicate this observation and to expand the perspective of Crocetti et al. to include the emotional functioning of individuals from the different clusters. We were interested in the differences between individuals who predominately used particular identity styles with respect to the personal identity processes (exploration and commitment), the proneness to experience the negative emotions of shame and guilt, and the more general difficulty in regulation of negative emotional states. The participants of the study were 202 Polish university students between the age of 19 and 27. The obtained results showed that the four-cluster solution was the most optimal one. The differences between individuals with different identity styles are presented and discussed.     

Age-Related Differences in Identity Style: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

The Identity Style Inventory–Revised for a Sixth-Grade Reading Level (ISI-6G) was administered to samples of community college students (N = 99) and middle school and high school students (N = 320). Tests of between-groups differences indicated that the college sample had a significantly lower mean diffuse-avoidant score on the ISI-6G than the middle and high school sample. In terms of actual assignment to identity styles, college students were significantly more likely to be classified as informational or normative, while the younger students were more likely to be diffuse-avoidant. The mean ages of participants for each of the three identity styles were compared, and it was found that diffuse-avoidant participants had the lowest mean age (15.54 years), while individuals with an informational orientation had the highest mean age (17.20 years). Results suggest that, in general, identity style evolves with age and maturity and the general trajectory or progression involves movement away from a diffuse-avoidant orientation. Findings are discussed in terms of current knowledge of neurocognitive development during adolescence and early adulthood.     

New knowledge for old credences: Asymmetric information search about in-group and out-group members

Three experiments examined how people gather information on in-group and out-group members. Previous studies have revealed that category-based expectancies bias the hypothesis-testing process towards confirmation through the use of asymmetric-confirming questions (which are queries where the replies supporting the prior expectancies are more informative than those falsifying them). However, to date there is no empirical investigation of the use of such a question-asking strategy in an intergroup context. In the present studies, participants were asked to produce (Study 1) or to choose (Studies 2 and 3) questions in order to investigate the presence of various traits in an in-group or an out-group member. Traits were manipulated by valence and typicality. The results revealed that category-based expectancies do not always lead to asymmetric-confirming testing: whereas participants tended to ask questions that confirmed positive in-group and negative out-group stereotypical attributes, they used a more symmetric strategy when testing for the presence of negative in-group or positive out-group traits. Moreover, Study 3 also revealed a moderation effect of in-group identification. The findings point to the role played by motivational factors associated with preserving a positive social identity. Possible consequences of these hypothesis-testing processes in preserving a positive social identity for intergroup relations are discussed.     

Testing hypotheses about other people: The use of historical knowledge

Three experiments were conducted to examine the use of historical knowledge to test contemporary hypotheses about the personal attributes of other people. In the first and second experiments, participants read an extensive account of events in one week of the life of a woman named Jane. Two days later, they used this previously learned information to test hypotheses about Jane's suitability for one of two jobs: either the rather extraverted job of real estate salesperson, or the rather introverted job of research librarian. In their hypothesis-testing activities, participants first reported all those previously learned facts that they regarded as relevant to assessing Jane's suitability for the job under consideration, and then reported their judgments of her job suitability. Participants reported greater amounts of hypothesis-confirming than hypothesis-disconfirming factual material. Moreover, having tested hypotheses about Jane's suitability for one job, participants judged her to be better suited for that job than for the other job. In the third experiment, participants framed hypotheses for assessing job suitability and defined the task of testing these hypotheses. Participants framed hypotheses in terms of those attributes whose presence would confirm the hypotheses and defined the hypothesis-testing task as one of preferentially collecting hypothesis-confirming evidence. The nature and consequences of confirmatory hypothesis-testing strategies are discussed.     

时间距离对于验证性信息加工的影响

研究基于解释水平理论考察时间距离对于验证性信息加工的影响, 即在个体和组织决策情境中, 人们倾向于偏好选择和高估与自身观点和决策相一致的信息, 而不是非一致性信息。通过4个情境决策实验, 研究结果一致表明近期决策会提高信息搜寻和评估中的验证偏差, 而远期决策会降低它们的验证偏差, 知觉到的决策确定性在其中起到部分中介作用(实验1b)。解释水平(实验2)和期许性/可行性表征(实验3)分别在时间距离对验证性信息加工的影响中起到调节作用, 结果依次表明在低解释水平(高可行性-低期许性特征)条件下, 时间距离与验证性信息加工的负相关关系会得到显著增强, 而在高解释水平(高期许性-低可行性特征)条件下, 时间距离与验证性信息加工的负相关关系会得到显著降低。     

Strategies of clinical hypothesis testing

This research examines whether Psychology students, when they test clinical hypotheses, follow either confirmatory or disconfirmatory reasoning strategies. Two hundred and six psychology students, divided in four groups, participated. One group received information about the probability that the hypothesis was correct by means of verbal labels, and another group, by means of numerical expressions. An additional group received the information that getting a precise diagnosis was clinically important. In a last group, diagnostic tests allowed them to increase certainty about the hypothesis. Results show a partial use of confirmatory strategies because, although participants did not seek confirming information, they indeed avoided collecting disconfirming information. When the information increased certainty about the hypothesis, confirmatory strategies became more likely. Neither the increase in the task importance nor the numerical expression of the likelihood that the hypothesis was correct seemed to affect the testing strategy used.     

高中文理分科及学生认知方式对阅读理解影响的实验研究

以高中二年级学生为被试,探讨文理分科、不同认知方式的学生对不同体裁文章及对文章不同信息加工层次的学习效果的影响。结果表明,（1）文理分科、学生认知方式对学生阅读成绩的影响不显著;（2）从总体上看,学生对不同体裁的文章学习效果不同,对说明文的学习明显优于对散文的学习;在文章不同信息的加工层次上,学生对细节的记忆优于对结构的把握;（3）对于不同体裁的文章,学生在信息加工层次上存在差异,对散文的细节记忆好于对结构的把握,对说明文的结构把握好于对细节的记忆。     

Creativity and inductive reasoning: The relationship between divergent thinking and performance on wason's 2-4-6 task

This study was an investigation of the relationship between potential creativity—as measured by fluency scores on the Alternate Uses Test—and performance on Wason's 2-4-6 task. As hypothesized, participants who were successful in discovering the rule had significantly higher fluency scores. Successful participants also generated higher frequencies of confirmatory and disconfirmatory hypotheses, but a multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method revealed that the frequency of generating disconfirmatory hypotheses and fluency scores were the only two significant factors in task outcome. The results also supported earlier studies where disconfirmation was shown to play a more important role in the later stages of hypothesis testing. This was especially true of successful participants, who employed a higher frequency of disconfirmatory hypotheses after receiving feedback on the first announcement. These results imply that successful participants benefited from the provision of feedback on the first announcement by switching to a more successful strategy in the hypothesis-testing sequence.     

Relating Identity Processing Styles to Commitment and Self-esteem among College Students

The role that identity processing styles may play in commitment and self-esteem were investigated. Measures of identity processing styles, commitment and self-esteem were administered to 112 psychology students (mean age = 18.77 years, SD = 1.3 years, males = 33, females = 79). Results revealed a statistically significant difference between Informational and Diffuse-avoidant identity processing styles on commitment. There was also a significant difference between Normative and Diffuse-avoidant processing styles on commitment. Students with Informational and Normative identity styles may be better adjusted to higher education learning than those with a different profile.     

Decision Making Characteristics and Decision Styles Predict Adolescents’ Career Choice Satisfaction

Choosing one’s future career represents one of the most important decisions individuals face during their development. In the present study, Croatian college students recollected the process of choosing their future professional paths at the end of high school, and evaluated the outcome of this process. Specifically, students described how they chose between different career options, typically different college majors, available to them at that time. They specified the number and main characteristics of considered alternatives, the underlying motivation and timing of committing to a particular option, and reported how satisfied they were with the made choices. Next, the present study explored the influence of several identified decision making characteristics on participants’ immediate and delayed satisfaction with the chosen option. Additionally, the influence of several decision styles on individuals’ satisfaction was investigated. The obtained results indicate that, among decision making features, decision certainty represented the only significant predictor of participants’ immediate satisfaction with the made decision. The appeal of the preferred option and the number of considered options were revealed as additional significant predictors of delayed satisfaction with the chosen alternative. With regard to decision styles, regret and a distinct commitment factor predicted participants’ satisfaction with the made choice.     

The process of selective exposure: Why confirmatory information search weakens over time

The present research investigated whether the tendency to prefer decision-consistent to decision-inconsistent information after making a preliminary choice would vary during the sequential process of searching for additional pieces of decision-relevant information. Specifically, it was tested whether decision makers would be more confirmatory in their information evaluation and search at the commencement rather than end of an information search process. In fact, five studies revealed that participants exhibited stronger confirmatory tendencies in both information evaluation (Studies 2 and 5) and search (Studies 1, 3, and 4) immediately after making a preliminary decision compared to during the later stages of an information search process. With regard to the underlying mechanism, results further revealed that individuals appear to be more motivated to detect the best decision alternative at the beginning (as opposed to the end) of an information search process, which leads to increases in confirmatory information processing during these stages.     

Sexual identity development in the context of compulsory heterosexuality

This study analyzed the implications of sexual identity development for global, political, religious, and occupational identity development in 358 college students. Participants completed a written survey packet including the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS) and measures of sexual identity, physical/sexual preference, and emotional/affective preference. Data from the EOM-EIS suggest that having a sexual minority identity (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or "other" nonheterosexual identity) and reporting strong same-sex sexual or physical preferences are linked with more advanced global, political, religious, and occupational identity development. Heterosexual-identified participants were more likely to score high on identity foreclosure, moratorium, and diffusion, while sexual-minority-identified individuals scored higher on identity achievement. Individuals with strong same-sex physical/sexual preferences showed a pattern of results similar to those of sexual-minority-identified participants. Themes coded from a free-response question highlighted the finding that sexual-minority-identified participants more often viewed their sexual identity as salient and involving an effortful process. These individuals also stressed the importance of having support or modeling for their sexual identity.     

Self-regulation and selective exposure: the impact of depleted self-regulation resources on confirmatory information processing

In the present research, the authors investigated the impact of self-regulation resources on confirmatory information processing, that is, the tendency of individuals to systematically prefer standpoint-consistent information to standpoint-inconsistent information in information evaluation and search. In 4 studies with political and economic decision-making scenarios, it was consistently found that individuals with depleted self-regulation resources exhibited a stronger tendency for confirmatory information processing than did individuals with nondepleted self-regulation resources. Alternative explanations based on processes of ego threat, cognitive load, and mood were ruled out. Mediational analyses suggested that individuals with depleted self-regulation resources experienced increased levels of commitment to their own standpoint, which resulted in increased confirmatory information processing. In sum, the impact of ego depletion on confirmatory information search seems to be more motivational than cognitive in nature.     

Rethinking psychological approaches towards health promotion

The purpose of the present study was to test the factorial and discriminant validity of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), a measure of illness representations based on Leventhal, Meyer and Nerenz's Self-Regulation Theory, in a cervical screening context using confirmatory factor analysis. Six hundred and sixty women, who had attended a colposcopy clinic and were invited to re-attend, completed the IPQ-R. Data were analysed using covariance structure analysis. The adequacy of an a priori confirmatory factor analytic model that included seven dimensions of the cognitive illness representation: identity, timeline-acute/chronic, serious consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, and causal attributions, and one emotional representation factor was tested against the observed data. After the elimination of two items responsible for large standardised residuals and with low factor loadings, the model adequately accounted for covariances among the IPQ-R items according to multiple criteria for goodness-of-fit. Factor inter-correlations supported the discriminant validity of the constructs and the factors exhibited satisfactory composite reliability. A theoretically predictable pattern of relationships among the representation dimensions was evident. In particular, the control-related constructs and the illness coherence dimension were negatively related to other illness representation constructs. The present study provided confirmatory evidence using a robust hypothesis-testing framework to support the proposed structure of the illness representation dimensions in a cervical screening context.     

Examining Identity Styles and Religiosity Among Chilean Undergraduate Students

This study tested Berzsonky’s theory of identity styles and identity commitment in predicting religiosity. Participants were university students (N?=?320) from Chile who were surveyed with the ISI-3 and BRS-6 instruments to measure identity styles and religiosity. Path analysis was used to test the model, which suggested that the three identity styles all had direct effects on commitment. Commitment, in turn, had a direct effect on religiosity. Results revealed that normative, informational, and diffuse-avoidant styles had direct effects on identity commitment, with commitment having a direct effect on religiosity. Also, normative style was shown to have a direct effect on religiosity. Overall, results indicated that commitment is key in explaining religiosity from the perspective of Berzonsky’s theory.     

轻微及中度抑郁者的积极自我

研究基于积极心理视角,考察抑郁个体在多个自我维度上,外显及内隐自尊的水平高低与稳定特性。被试选自高中学生,有效数据131人,分为抑郁(65人)与正常(66人)两组。所有被试在有/无应激两个时间点完成自我描述问卷II与改进内隐联想测验。结果发现,不论外显/内隐水平,抑郁个体倾向在指向个体内部的自我维度上具有积极自我,并且倾向在核心价值之外的自我维度上具有稳定自尊。由此证实,抑郁个体自我机制中的确存在积极成分。     

Experience of group work in counsellor training and preferred learning styles

Not all those experiencing group work as part of counsellor training appear to like or benefit from it. Here an attempt is ma& to identity individuals, categorized by preferred learning style, that might not make effective use of this learning opportunity. Questionnaires measuring preferences for learning styles and experience of group work were received from 37 students on a postgraduate counselling course. Significant differences in perception of group work were found to be correlated with preferred learning style.     

Identifying Hypothesis Confirmation Behaviors in a Simulated Murder Investigation: Implications for Practice

Investigators have been shown to be prone to accessing information that confirms their preferred hypothesis. This tendency has been termed hypothesis confirmation. Hypothesis confirmation behaviour was explored in two studies using a computer administered simulation of a murder investigation. In Study 1, hypothesis confirmation behaviour did not differentiate successful and unsuccessful participants. However, unsuccessful participants stored more confirmatory information than non‐confirmatory information. Successful participants did not show this pattern. In Study 2, unsuccessful participants tended to settle early on a suspect and then acquired information that supported their decision. Successful participants tended to consider a number of suspects for longer and accessed a greater diversity of information. Taken together, these findings are highly suggestive of the role of information acquisition as an important component of hypothesis confirmatory behaviour, which is associated with unsuccessful information processing in the context of a simulated murder investigation. Implications for practice are presented. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selective exposure in decided and undecided individuals: differential relations to automatic associations and conscious beliefs

People often show a preference for information that confirms their attitudes and beliefs, and this tendency is reduced for opinions that are not held with conviction. The present study shows that both decided and undecided individuals show a tendency to selectively expose themselves to confirmatory information, albeit with different antecedents and consequences. Whereas selective exposure in decided participants was predicted by conscious beliefs and not by automatic associations, selective exposure in undecided participants was predicted by automatic associations and not by conscious beliefs. Moreover, selective exposure led undecided participants to adopt conscious beliefs that were in line with their preexisting automatic associations. Conversely, for decided participants, selective exposure shifted automatic associations in a direction that was in line with their preexisting conscious beliefs. Implications for decision making and mutual influences of automatic associations and conscious beliefs in attitude change are discussed.     

Family Climate and Identity Style During Late Adolescence

This study explored the association between family environment, parent-adolescent relationships, and identity style in late adolescence. A sample of 351 first year students at the University of Guelph completed a survey in 1994. A modest association was found between family environment and identity style. Adolescents from cohesive families tended to have normative identity styles and adolescents from expressive families were less likely to have diffuse/avoidant identity styles. Parent-adolescent relationships were not associated with identity style. These findings provide partial support for the theory that family relationships are an important predictor of individual differences in identity style during adolescence.