Self-concept and Identity

The study of the interplay between the individual self and collective selves is an arena of rich theory and research in social psychology. Self and Social Identity is a collection of readings from the four-volume set of Blackwell Handbooks of Social Psychology that examine how group memberships shape the content of the individual’s self concept and how the sense of self is expanded as a consequence of identification with other individuals and the group as a whole. The readings have been selected to provide a representative sampling of exciting research and theory on self and identity that is both comprehensive and current and cross-cuts the levels of analysis from intrapersonal to intergroup. The book is organized around two broad themes: "self and identity," exploring the self as a product of interpersonal and group processes; and "group identities," illustrating some of the phenomena associated with representing a group or social category as a collective.