Sheldon Stryker
Sheldon Stryker's theory states that social behaviour is organised and controlled by physical and social aspects of a situation. There are expectations to take on certain roles within a social structure, conducting oneself in relation to others.
When presenting an identity to others, the form and content of interaction can change with varied social structures. Identities are internalised self designations, and when apart from structured constraints of a situation where an individual may not be entirely comfortable, the wider choice of identity informs the way people conduct themselves.
If a situation is embedded in social structure, the hierarchy predicts which identities are used in interaction with others. Commitment to an identity shows the link between social structure and oneself. The more committed to an identity an individual is, the higher up in the hierarchy it stands from their perspective. This can lead to dependance on a particular identity, and the more dependant a person is on a specific identity, the higher this identity role is on the hierarchy.
Identities based on views and expectations of others, produce behaviours that conform to these social definitions. An individual's self esteem is at risk when committing to an identity in a situation, and becomes dependant on achieving a positive reaction from this identity.
Salience Hierarchy
- how likely an identity will be portrayed based on position in the hierarchy
- if the identity is considered high up on the hierarchy by the individual then it will more likely be performed in social situations, reinforced by the recognition and approval from social structures
- importance of particular identities formed by social groups
- all in relation to other people
McCall and Simmons
A contrasting theory states that individuals improvise their identities depending on what they want to achieve. Role performances are devised based on social situations, and individuals seeking to legitimise an identity to others is what drives human behaviour. Individuals asses themselves and their performance within a certain identity role, which reflects an idealised view of themselves - an internal image. However, they also seek acceptance from relevant audiences to support their role identities. These performances reflect plans and goals of the individual, who requires validation more from themselves than from others.
There will always be some dissatisfaction because we hold high standards for ourselves. The hierarchy of prominence expresses the extent to which a person's identity has been supported through intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Each individual employs identities that they consider to be high in their prominence hierarchy, and interprets the attributes and characteristics of others to determine whether they will aim to seek their acceptance. Because the nature of this theory is ambiguous, varying interpretations are present, and identities can be adjusted in light of how individuals interpret roles of others.
People often claim an identity that is high up in the prominence hierarchy. The interaction between two or more beings demonstrates the negotiation of identities.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Values
When social reactions match expectations, the need for approval declines. I.e., if people receive more or less support than expected, then the immediate need for these rewards changes in value. Inconsistency between the support sought and received can alter the desire for support of an identity.
Extreme discrepancies work both ways: support that greatly exceeds expectations results in desire for more identity role support, whereas dramatically less role support than desired initiates a rapid decrease in the desire for role support. Moderate inconsistency between expectations and reality drive individuals to seek more role support, and larger differences reduce efforts enormously.
Receiving more support for an identity that originally expected raises this particular role in the salience hierarchy, and over time increases prominence in the hierarchy. McCall and Simmons suggest that validation of the ideal self (internal image) is more important than seeking support and validation from anyone else.
How do these theories help us to understand how identities are formed?
To understand a target audience in preparation for beginning to design, the designer needs to understand identity in itself. The above theories help us to understand how identities are formed and can aid us in getting to know our target audience further.
The concept of the salience hierarchy could inform design by relating to the consumer's personality, and realising which identities they consider to be highest within the hierarchy. To then find out the identities of the boldest character in that specific social structure would assist the designer in creating something suitable for that certain group of people.
Following McCall and Simmons' theory it is clear that ideal self image is important to the individual. But how do you appeal to everyone's internal self image? There may be things you can take from everyone in a particular social group's ideal image, to form a general consensus of their aims for a role identity.
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DISCUSS SIMILARITIES/CONNECTIONS BETWEEN INTERACTIONIST IDENTITY THEORY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS.
Interactionist theories devised by Sheldon Stryker and McCall and Simmons state that human behaviours are controlled by subconsciously reacting to social expectations, and are often altered according to the responses received about an identity that an individual employs.
Stryker's salience hierarchy shows that personalities an individual considers to be highest on the hierarchy are more likely to be performed by them in social situations. He claims that individuals assess a social situation and perform an identity role based on what they think will be recognised and reinforced. McCall and Simmons, on the other hand, state that individuals improvise their identities based on what they want to achieve, and look for acceptance and approval from social structures to reinforce their role identities. This identity role reflects the individual's ideal view of themselves.
A similar theory is Freud's psychoanalysis, which emphasises the importance of the unconscious mind in determining behaviour. It's believed that the unconscious conducts a great deal more of a person's behaviour than suspected, which is why psychoanalysis is a method used frequently by developer Sigmund Freud to try and release some of the unconscious thoughts into the conscious mind, and in turn realising the root cause of certain behaviours.
This evolved into a more structural model of the mind which Freud called psychic apparatus, consisting of the id, ego, and superego. These are hypothetical representations of important cognitive functions in the mind, though aren't physically
in the brain. Purely instinctive, the id is controlled unconsciously and relates to the pleasure principle, with actions such as breathing and eating becoming 'second nature'. Compared with this, the ego and superego develop over time as the individual grows and progresses, responding to and identifying with their role models (such as the same sex parent). These operate on the reality and morality principles, which help the individual to act in a socially acceptable way yet still fulfil the needs of the id.
Freud's theory of personality also states that we have an ego ideal, part of the superego which is developed long after childhood. The ego ideal is similar to McCall and Simmons’ proposal that the individual sets the rules and standards for what they think is acceptable behaviour, including behaviours that are approved by authoritative figures in their life, such as parents and tutors. However, rather than performing an identity for self-achievement and acceptance in society, obeying these rules and playing up to the standards of the ego ideal can lead to feelings of pride and accomplishment - the opposite outcome being feelings of guilt. This ideal image we have of ourselves portrays the kind of individual we want to become, and often stems from the characteristics of people that we know and admire.
An idea progressed from the Freudian theory, and introduced by Lacan, the mirror stage proposes that in human infancy we view the external image of our body which gives us the mental representation of “I”. The infant can identify with this image and compare it to the external image of others, which gives the individual an established ideal-I toward which they will try and live up to throughout their life. Lacan states that in this stage the individual is dependant upon external objects or others, and from this they can mature and enter social relations through language, eventually developing their personality and characteristics.
