Identities and Social Structure: The 2003 Cooley-Mead Award Address

Author(s): Peter J. Burke

Source: Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 67, No. 1 (Mar., 2004), pp. 5-15
Published by: American Sociological Association
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 SocialPsychology
Quarterly
Vol.67,No.1,5-15
2004,

Identitiesand SocialStructure:
The 2003Cooley-MeadAwardAddress*
PETER J.BURKE
University Riverside
of California,

Thepresentpaper examinesexistinglinksbetweenidentities and thesocial structure in

thecontextof identity controltheory.I point out that,whethersocial structure is con-
ceivedas positions(rolesand groupmemberships)to whichidentities are tied,or as the
humanorganizationof resourceflowsand transfers thatare controlledby theidentity
verificationprocess, identitiesand social structureare two sides of the same coin.
Buildingon thistheme,I develophypothesesthatexploresome of theimplicationsof
thisidentity-socialstructurelink.Some hypothesessuggestcontextsin whichidentity
changeis likely;othersexplorethevariousconsequencesof identity verification, which
dependon thedifferent waysin whichidentities are tiedto thesocial structure.

It is an excitingtimeinsocialpsychology. identities and the social structure that

In thepastdecade or twowe havewitnessed alreadyexistwithinthe theory, whichmake
thegrowthand development of severallines the theorysociologicalratherthanpsycho-
oftheorybuildinginthat"middlerange"pro- logical:how the selfmustbe understoodas
posed byMerton(1957).Thesetheorieshave bound to thelargersocial arena as opposed
developed throughcumulativetestingand to beingan isolatedset of identities. Then I
buildingin systematic programsof research: wantto beginexploringsomehypotheses for
expectationstatestheory, statuscharacteris- further developingthelinksbetweenidenti-
ticstheory, legitimation theory,affectcontrol ties and social structure.To start,let me
theory,comparisontheory,power depen- briefly identifythecoreofthetheory.
dence theory,networkexchange theory,
social identity theory, affecttheoryof social IDENTITY CONTROL THEORY
exchange,and others.Theoryhas been tied
too long to particularpeople such as Marx, Identitiesare thesets of meaningspeo-
Weber,Durkheim, Mead,orParsons.Now we ple hold forthemselvesthatdefine"whatit
can pointto theoreticalideas thatare being means" to be who theyare as persons,as
developedand testedbymanyinvestigators, role occupants, and as group members.
wherethefocusis on theideas andnoton the These meaningsconstitute whatis called an
people, wherechange and developmentof identitystandard. The identitystandard
theoryare taken for granted,and where serves as a referencewithwhichpersons
arguments arenotaboutwhatso-and-soreal- compare theirperceptionsof self-relevant
ly said or meant-and, most important, meaningsin the interactivesituation.When
where the ideas are subject to continuous the perceptionsmatchthe meaningsin the
testingthrough research. standard,people are doing"justfine."Their
Today I wantto talkabout one of those identitiesare being confirmedor verified,
theories:identitycontroltheory,of course. and theywillcontinueto act as theyare; no
Mygeneralfocuswillbe on thelinksbetween changesare required.When,however,there
identities and socialstructure. First,I wantto is a disturbancethatchangestheinteractive
point out some of the connections between situationand thusthe perceivedsituational
meaningsso thattheyno longermatchthe
* Thispaperwaspreparedforpresentation at the standards, people willact so as to counteract
2003 Cooley-MeadAwardCeremonyof theSocial the disturbanceand restorethe match in
Psychology Sectionof theAmericanSociological
Association Meetings,heldinAtlanta.I wishtothank meanings between perceptions and stan-
JanE. Stetsforcomments on an earlierdraft. dard.This is the self-verificationprocess;it
5

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6 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
lies at the heartof identitycontroltheory,
hereaftercalled ICT.1
Neitherwe norothersknowin advance
exactlywhatbehaviorwill bringabout this
state of a matchbetweenperceptionsand
identitystandard.Because the disturbances
are notpredictable, thebehaviorsthatcoun-
teractthemcannotbe knownin advance.In
lightof this,it seems to make littlesense to
speak of "rational action" or "planned
behavior."Insteadwe need to talkaboutthe
goal statesthatour behavioraccomplishes
in spite of disturbances,disruptions, inter-
ruptions,accidents, and the contrivances of
others.
Drivingto work,forexample,is not a
particularsetofactionsbuta seriesofaccom-
plishments ofintermediate goals.I getin the
car (eventhoughI haveto movea bicycleout
of thewayfirst), I startthecar (even though
thesteeringwheellockinitially preventsme
thekey),I driveout of thecul-
fromturning
de-sac (even thougha constructionfirm's
trucksare blockingthe streetas theypour
cementfora neighbor'spatio),and so on. If
we thinkof these simplyas behaviors in
whichwe engage,we neglectthe important
fact that drivingto work,for example, is
accomplished in various ways in spite of
unpredictabledisturbancessuch as closed
roads,excessive traffic, or highwinds and
duststorms. We cannotknowin advancethe
exactbehaviorsthatwillaccomplishthegoal.
As in theTOTE model of Miller,Galanter,
and Pribram(1965),we can onlyobserveour
progressand note whenthe goal is accom-
plished.
For thisreasonwe need to focuson the
goals and how theyare set or changed.We
mustask not "How do people accomplish
some goal?" but"Whatgoals are people try-
ingto accomplish?" The focusmustbe on the
goals,not on the means. A varietyofmeansis
available to
always accomplishsome goal,
and if one doesn't work,we tryanother.
These goals are the meaningsand expecta-
tionsthatare held in the identitystandard.
1
This idea that people control theirperceptions
and not theirbehavioris the centralthesisof percep-
tual controltheory(Powers 1973) and is partof affect
controltheory(Heise 1979; Smith-Lovinand Heise
1988), and self-verificationtheory (Swann 1983;
Swann and Read 1981).
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QUARTERLY
Thesemeaningsconstitute thestateofaffairs
thatwe striveto obtainand maintainas role
occupantsand groupmembers. We knowthat
we have accomplishedthe goals when we
makeourperceptions matchthestandards-
in whatevermannerwe can.
TIES TO THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE
CulturalNaming
ICT is veryindividualistic in itsformula-
tion:individualactionsto changeindividual
perceptionsto matchindividualstandards.
Whatmakes ICT sociologicalis thatidenti-
ties are tied to positionsin the social struc-
ture;these positionsin turnare definedby
ourculture.Culturemakesavailablethecat-
egories that name the various roles and
groupswhich,fromone pointof view,make
up the social structure. People,as occupants
of these positions,apply to themselves(as
well as to others)thesenamesas well as the
meaningsand expectationsassociatedwith
them,as identities.Thesemeanings(as identi-
tystandards) definetheidentities, as well as
the
constituting goals that someone located
in a particularposition obtains and maintains
throughthe mechanismof identityverifica-
tion.
Thus we are intimatelytied to, and
become a partof,the social structure thatis
named in the culturalcategories.These are
the"collectiveand distributive aspectsofthe
same thing"thatCooley (1902:2) discussed
whenreferring to theindividualand society.
These named categories,as identities,thus
defineus in termsofpositionsin society, and
thesepositionsin societyarerelationalin the
sense thattheytie individualstogether.For
example,fatheris tiedto sonordaughter, and
Rotary Club member is tied to Rotary Club
member.Identityverificationbecomes the
variable means throughwhich the social
structure is maintainedas role linksto role
and groupmemberlinksto groupmember.
Thereforean inherentlink existsbetween
identityand social structure. The natureof
thatlink,however,varies across identities
and exertsan influenceon boththe identity
and thestructure.
 IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE 7

Meaning To a certainextent,however,meanings
are veryoftenlocal. They are shared only
To further discussthelinkbetweeniden- withinlocal settingsof the social structure,
tityandsocialstructure, we mustexaminethe and allowcoordinatedinteraction, communi-
is
thingthat controlledby identities-self- cation,and controlof resourceswithinthe
relevantmeaning.Meaningis at the core of
setting.As we move into roles and join
bothICT andthesymbolic interaction frame-
groups,we learnthe specificsof the shared
workout of whichICT has grown.The con-
meaningsthat allow us to interactin that
tentof an identity, in thecontextof ICT, is a butwe findthatthesemeanings
local setting,
set of meanings held by an individualthat oftenare sharedless or notat all beyondthe
constitutes "whatitmeans"to be whoone is. local interaction
network.
Indeed,the beginningof myworkin identi- Further, although some dominant
tieswascenteredon themeasurement ofself- dimensions ofmeaningexistacrosssituations
meaning and the incorporation of such and even acrossculturessuchas evaluation,
measurement intoan empiricalresearchpro-
potency,and activity(Osgood, May, and
gram(BurkeandTully1977). Miron 1975),studiesof particularidentities
Whatan objector processmeanslies in such as student(Reitzes and Burke 1980),
our response to that object or process.
gender (Burke and Cast 1997; Burke and
Drawingon theworkof Osgood and hiscol- Tully 1977), old age (Mutran and Burke
leagues (Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum 1979a; 1979b),and spouse (Burke and Stets
1957),ICT understands theseresponsesto be
1999),have confirmed thatrelevantdimen-
bipolar,each responselyingalonga relevant sionsofmeaningvarygreatlyacrossdifferent
dimensionsuch as good and bad, dominant roles.Also,becauseitis thespecificmeanings
and submissive, or partygoingand studious. withinthe interactivecontextthatpersons
Yet because our responsesare not onlycog-
control,these specificmeaningsmust be
nitive,meaningis notonlycognitive; itis also measuredifwe areto understand theconnec-
affective.Futureresearchmuststriveto more tion betweenidentityand behavior(Burke
fullycapturewhatit meansto be who one is and Reitzes1981).
byexpandingtheareasofmeasuredmeaning
to includeboth the cognitiveand the more
Resources
affective or emotional dimensions of
responses. Identitiesare tied to social structure in
Some of the dimensions of meaning anotherwaythatcan be seenwhenwe takea
alongwhichwe respondmaybe wiredintous different view of the natureof social struc-
as biologicalorganisms, butmostare learned ture.Thisotherviewis moreecologicallyori-
through shared experience, observation, and ented, and focuses on the flow and
instruction.We learnthecategories, as wellas transformation of the resourcesthatsustain
the meaningsand expectationsassociated us. It suggeststhatsocial structure itselfmay
withthosecategories, fromothersaroundus be conceivedas the humanorganizationof
and fromtheculturein whichwe are embed- resourceflowsand transformations (Freese
ded (Stryker1980).To thisextent,themean- 1988).
ingsare shared,andwe can speakofsymbolic We are familiarwiththeidea thatpeople
meaning.Meaningsare theresponsesto per- in somepositionsin thesocialstructure have
ceptions,and perceptionsare tunedto the more access to resources,or to different
dimensions ofmeaningmadeavailableinour resources, thanpersonslocatedin otherposi-
cultureto all theroles,positions, and groups tions.Thisis partofourviewofthestratifica-
thatexistwithinit. Meaningsthereforeare tion system.It is not always recognized,
tiedto thesocialstructure and to theculture however,thatthisis thenatureof thesocial
in whichidentitiesare embedded.The self- system:theallocationofrightsand responsi-
relevantmeaningsheld in the identitystan- bilitiesforcontrollingresources.Fromthis
dardare thosemade availablebytheculture view,to repeatmyself, social structure is the
to definethesocialstructure itself. humanorganizationof resourceflowsand

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8 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY
transformations; social structure is the con- and communication aboutthingsnotpresent
trolofresources. in theimmediatesituation.Recognizingthat
A keyidea allowedICT to go beyondthe levels of referenceexist forboth sign and
traditional limitsof symbolicinteractionist's symbolicmeaningsin our identity standards
concernwithsymbolicmeanings:the idea helpsICT to explainthe actionsand behav-
thatmeaningspertainto resources,and that iors thatcontrolthese perceivedmeanings
controlling meaningsresultsin thecontrolof and, throughthem,controlthe active and
resources. The conceptof resourcesthatLee potentialresourcesthatsustainus.We do this
Freeseand I (Freeseand Burke1994) devel- in the contextof the positionsin the social
oped, however,was not the usual notionof structureto whichour identitiesare tied.
resourcesas consumable, valued,scarcecom- Again,by verifying we obtain
our identities,
modities.Rather,we took the view (briefly) and maintainthegoalsthatsustainthesocial
thatresourcesare anything whichfunctions structure through the distribution of
to sustain persons,groups,or interaction, resources.
whetheror not they are socially valued, This augmentationof the theoryto tie
scarce, or even an entity.We included as meaningto resourcesalso helpsus to move
resourcesnot onlyfood,air,social support, beyondtheproblemof a theoryof value (or
and information,for example, but also utilitarian value). People act to verifyidenti-
abstract processes such as conditions of ties,whichmeansthatsignsand symbolsare
sequencing, of structuring, or of opportunity, broughtto configurations providedbyidenti-
ifthosefunction tosustainus.The focusis on ty standards.In thismanner,resourcesare
theconditions and processesthatsustainper- broughtto levelssetintheidentity standards.
sonsand interactions. The utilityof a resource is the difference
We also distinguishedbetween active betweenthe perceivedlevel of theresource
and potentialresources. Activeresourcesare (whatwe have) and thelevelsetin thestan-
active in the sense of currently supporting dard (whatwe need). Negativeutility is sim-
persons,groups, or interaction in the immedi- a
ply perceived level of a resource in the
ate situation-forexample,chairsinwhichto situationwhichis higherthanthelevelsetin
sit,lightby whichto see, air to breathe,and thestandard. As a generalrule,peoplesimply
comfort from others to feel. Potential attemptto counteractdisturbancesto their
resourcesare not functioning actively;they self-relevantperceptions and bringtheminto
maynot be presentin the situation, or may alignmentwiththeiridentitystandard;they
not be in a formor positionto functionas act to increaseperceptionsthatare too low
activeresourcesprovidingcurrentsupport: and to decrease perceptionsthat are too
thesewouldinclude,forexample,thecarthat high.If the perceptionis at the appropriate
is in thedriveway, theclothesthatare in the level,no further actionis necessary.
closet, and the hugswe are not receivingat Viewingresourcesin thismannerpro-
themoment. videsadditionalinsightbecause manyofthe
To activeresourceswe tiedthenotionof goals we obtaininvolvecontrolling boththe
to
signs; potential resources we tied the idea activeand the potential resources that sus-
of symbols(Freese and Burke 1994). Signs tain us. The manipulation of actual and
are a more generalclass than symbols:the potential resourcesto achieve that suste-
latterare restricted to thosesignswhichpos- nance is the key.People act to verifytheir
sess shared conventional meanings. identities; in doingso,in the face of distrac-
Nonsymbolicsignsprovidea directexperi- tionsand disruptions, theyenacttheprocess-
ence of the situationthatis not necessarily es thatdefinethesocialsystem.
shared(Lindesmith and Strauss1956). Tyingmeaningsto resourcesmakesICT
By respondingto and controlling signs, relevantforissuespertaining to thepolitical,
we controlactiveresourcesin the situation. economic,and socialstructures thatevolvein
By respondingto and controllingsymbols, a world of resources. Tyingmeanings to
however,we controlpotentialresourcesthat resourcesalso makes ecologicaland evolu-
maybecomeactivein some futuresituation. tionaryapproachesrelevantto the studyof
Symbolsthusallow planning,coordination, identities.

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 IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE 9

TheMultipleBases ofIdentity taking,or a varietyofotherpersonalcharac-

teristics,which I maintain at levels that
Another link between identities and reflectwho I am as a of
personindependent
socialstructure is revealedwhenwe consider
my roles or groupmemberships. Although
the natureof the ties betweenidentitiesin these
meaningsdefinewhoI am as a person,
different positionswithinthesocialstructure. theyare made available by the culturein
Because thisis a developingarea, I willsay which I am
embedded, and thereforeare
moreaboutitand willoffersomehypotheses and sharedwith
understood, communicated,
thatsuggestfutureresearchissues.As men- othersin the culture. verifi-
Indeed,identity
tionedalready,manyidentitiesare based on cationcouldnotoccurwithoutthis.
people's locationswithinthe overall social These threedifferent bases foridentities
structure(Stryker 1980). ICT often has all
operatein muchthe same way,withthe
focusedon people's role identities, such as same
perceptualcontrolprocessesand the
student,worker,or spouse.These roles are same verification processes.Theyare distin-
definedwithinthecultureand are partofthe
guishedfromeach otherbythewayin which
set of named categoriesthatpeople in the each of the identitiesis tied into the social
culturelearn to applyto themselvesand to structure, and consequentlyby the way in
others. The meanings and expectations whichtheverification processworks.
attachedto these roles become part of the A social identitybased on membership
occupants'role identityand serve as stan- in a groupor categorygivesone self-mean-
dardsguidingtheverification process.These ingsthatare sharedwithothersin thegroup
are themeaningsthatare perceivedand con- (Stetsand Burke2000). One is tiedto many
trolledin thesituation. similarothers;in verifying theselfas a group
In a similarfashion,ICT, and to a greater member,one receivesrecognition, approval,
extentsocial identity theory,have addressed and acceptancefromthoseothers.One's ties
group or category identities such as to theothersare like theirtiesamongthem-
American,female,or club member.Again, selves.2One is verifiedas a memberbybeing
thesegroupsand categoriesare definedwith- like the othermembers.Being verifiedin
in theculture;themeaningsand expectations termsof a social identity reinforces group--
associatedwiththecategoriesbecomepartof nongroup distinctions,thus maintaining
the members'social identityand serve as boundariesand supporting thecontinueddif-
standardsguidingthe verificationprocess. ferentiationsand cleavages in the social
These two bases of identity(that is, group structure.
and role),beingdefinedin theculture, serve In contrast,a roleidentity is tiedto other
theculture'spurposes. membersof the role set; verification comes
In recentyears,ICT has begunto recog- by whatone does,notwho one is (Stetsand
nize a thirdbasison whichidentities are con- Burke2000).Verification is tiedup inmutual,
structed,called personidentities(Stets and complementary, and reciprocalprocesses.
Burke 1994; 1996). Person identities are The outputof each role is the inputto its
based on culturallyrecognized qualities, counterrole. The verification of each identity
and expectations
traits, foran individualthat dependsupon themutualverification of the
are internalized,becomepartof theindivid- counteridentity in a reciprocalprocess.One
ual's personidentity, and serveas standards is verifiednotbybeingliketheother,butby
guidingthe verificationprocess.A person performing in a way thatconfirms and veri-
identitythereforeconsistsof the meanings fiesthe other'srole identityand is matched
and expectations thatconstitutenotonlythe
person'sessence or core,but also all mean- 2 Theremaybe some differences based on the
ingsthatdefinewhothepersonis as a person; degreeof prototypicality of thedifferent members,
such meaningsare controlledand verified whichmayforman emergentstratification system
through interaction withothers.Forexample, withinan otherwise homogeneous group.Thisdiffer-
entiation,
however,bordersontheemergence ofroles
mypersonidentity mayincludethe level of within thegroup.I focuson theuniformity ofbeinga
dominanceor submissiveness thatrepresents groupmemberand,through theverification process,
me.It also mayincludelevelsofhonesty, risk on beingacceptedas suchbyothers.

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10 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

by theother'sperformance in a fashionthat theother'sperformance in a fashionthatver-

verifiesone's ownroleidentity. In contrastto ifiesone's ownrole identity. Verifying a per-
the social identity, in whichone is linkedto son identity,on the other hand, entails
manysimilarothers,withthe role identity confirming highlysalientpersonalcharacter-
one is linkedto a fewdifferent others.Being istics.
verifiedin a role identityreinforcesthe
Wecanhypothesize thatbecauseofthesedif-
importance ofa rolewithina setofrolerela-
ferences,the verification of each of these
tionships.Each role becomes necessaryto types of identitieshas differentconse-
sustainits counterroles and therebysustains ofsocialidentities
quences:verification leads
itself. to increasedfeelingsof self-worth, verifica-
If verification ofa socialidentity manip- tionofroleidentities leadsto increasedfeel-
ulates meaningsand resourcesthatsustain ings of self-competence, whileverification of
the groupor social categoryon whichit is personidentities leads to increasedfeelings
based,and iftheverification of a roleidenti- ofauthenticity-being whowereallyare.
tymanipulatesmeanings and resourcesthat
sustaintherole,we mayask whattheverifi- Othercharacteristics ofthepersoniden-
cation of a person identitysustains.The tity also deserve comment. Unliketheroleor
answermustbe thatitsustainstheindividual social the
identity, personidentity is relevant
as a biosocial being.By acting,controlling, across groups, roles, and situations. Person
and verifying themeaningsofwhoone is as a identities figure into all of our interactions
person,the persondistinguishes himselfor and socialbehaviorsbecausetheyare always
herselfas a unique,identifiableindividual3 on displayand alwaysunderperceptualcon-
with qualities that other individuals can trol.As a resultof thisconstantactivation,
counton and use to verifytheirown person theyare generallyveryhighin the salience
identities (or group or role identities). hierarchy. Furthermore, because of the con-
Individualnames may set each of us apart stantrelevanceoftheseidentities acrossrela-
and identify us in relativelyunique fashion, tionshipsand memberships, the numberof
but our meaningful traitsand characteristics peoplewhoknowus intermsofthesecharac-
make us whowe are:levelsof dominanceor teristics is veryhigh,indicating a highlevelof
submissiveness, levelsof energy, beingtense commitment to thepersonidentity.
or easygoing, emotionalor stoic,and so on.4 Because highsalience and strongcom-
Let me recapitulate the different mitmentcharacterizethe personidentity, I
processes involved in the verification ofiden- also suggest that it mayoperate like a master
tities according to the differentbases, identity and thatitmaybe higherin thecon-
because hypothesescan be drawnfromthat trolhierarchythansocial or role identities.
recapitulation. I suggestedthatverifying the This would suggestthatthe meaningscon-
selfas a groupmemberinvolvesbeinglike tainedinourroleandsocialidentities tendto
the others and receiving recognition, become consistentwiththose containedin
approval,and acceptancefromthoseothers.I our personidentities. As we know,whenthe
suggested that verifyinga role identity meaningscontainedintwoidentities areanti-
involvesnot being like the other,but per- thetical,conflictarises wheneverthe two
forming in a way thatconfirms and verifies identitiesare activatedtogether.For exam-
the other'srole identity, and is matchedby ple,ifbeingmasculineinvolveshigherlevels
ofdominanceand ifbeinga minister involves
3 I amnotsuggesting thatthisis a form ofindividu- lowerlevelsofdominance, thena maleminis-
alismas opposedto communalism. An individual's ter
mayexperienceconflict whenone identi-
uniqueaspectsmayincludebeinggroup-oriented and
staying inthebackground ina supportive manner. ty is tryingto be more dominantand the
4I reiteratethatalthough thesearepersoncharac- otheris trying to be less so. Both identities
teristics,therelevantdimensions of meaningupon cannotbe verifiedat the same time.Under
whichwe as individuals drawaredictated bythecul- theseconditionswe expectthatthe identity
tureinwhichwelive.To be verified ininteraction with
others,thoseothersmustsharethedimensions of standardswillshiftto a "compromise" posi-
meaningand mustrespondsimilarly to thesymbols tionso thatbothcan be verifiedat thesame
andsignsthatunderlie thecommunication. timeand theconflict can be removed.

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 IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE 11
Thismayhappenindifferent ways,which I also hypothesize thatthemeaningsof the
depend on the opennessof society-thatis, personidentity willundergogreaterchange
thedegreeto whichpeople can choose their overtime(measuredfromthetimeat which
groups and roles (Serpe 1987; Thoits 2003).5 theytakeon theposition)forpersonswho
Insofaras choiceis possible,I suggestthatthe wereobligedtotakeon a roleorgroupmem-
person identity is influential in a person's bership thanforpersonswhochosetheirrole
selectionsof role and social identities.One or group.
selectsthose role or social identitieswhich to facilitate
theverification
Furthermore,
sharemeaningswiththe personidentity. In of our
personidentitieswhilein groupsor
thisway,withthe corresponding meanings, roles,we may become personallyinvolved
the personidentitymay use role and social withotherswithwhomwe haveroleor
group
identitiesto achieve its own verification. in orderto engage our person
relationships
From a societal point of view,the person identities.For
is a sortingmechanism example,when we become
identity thatoperates friendswithothersin counterrolerelation-
to allocate persons to roles and groupsin
ships,person characteristicsalso become
keepingwiththeirskillsand inclinations. involvedininteraction and intheverification
In a less open society,in whichpeople
have littlechoice in theirroles and groups, process.
thepersonidentity willbe shapedovertime Thus I hypothesize thatpersonalrelation-
bythemeaningsin thegroupand roleidenti- ships between coworkers, forexample, willbe
ties that theycome to possess. When the more likely to developwhen there are fewer
in shared meanings between one's person iden-
meanings one's personidentity are notini-
with the of the tityanda roleorgroupidentity.
tiallycongruent meanings
groupsorrolesinwhichone findsoneself, the Whenthepersonidentity is confirmed by
personidentity cannot be verified, and the verification ofthesocialor roleidentity itself
person identity standards will undergo because of shared meanings,there is less
dynamicadjustmentover timeso thatthey need to findmechanismssuch as the estab-
come to matchthe existingmeaningsof the lishmentof
personal relationshipsfor the
roleor group(Burkeand Cast 1997). confirmation ofpersonidentities in thatcon-
In a mixedsociety, thesesame dynamics text.
also shouldhold true.Whenchoiceis possi-
ble,people chooserolesand groupsthatpro- and Identity
Networks, Identities, Change
vide opportunitiesto verifytheirperson
identity.Whenchoiceis notpossible,as when I focusnow on groupand roleidentities,
one is bornintoa particular familystructure, which are directlylinkedto the social struc-
goes to school,or is draftedintothearmy, we ture.Roles relate to counterroleswithina
can hypothesizethatperson identitieswill role set (Merton1957). Groups distinguish
changeto be moreconsistent withthemean- membersfromnonmembers. One important
ingsprovidedin theparticular roleor group. implicationof thesefactsis thatthe defini-
ThusI hypothesize thatthereis a greater ini- tionsand meaningsof theserole and group
tial correspondencebetweenthe role or categoriesmustbe sharedamongmembers
groupidentity meanings andthepersoniden- ofthe(local) culture.Because ofthissharing,
titymeanings fortheserolesand groupswe as I notedearlier,communication, coordina-
joinbychoicethanforthosegroupsor roles tion,and mutualverificationare possible.
we areobligedtoadopt. Role performancerequires appropriate
counterroleperformance. Further, the more
5 We may wishtodistinguishbetween two types of connections a person with a particular role
openness.On theone hand,we can distinguish peo- identityhas with others because of that
ple'slevelsoffreedom (vs.constraint)tochoosetheir role-that is, the greaterthe person'scom-
rolesor groupmemberships (Serpe1987);thisis the mitment
focusinthepresent discussion.On theotherhand,we
to theroleidentity-thegreaterthe
can distinguish people's levelsof freedom to leave number of people who mustagree on the
rolesorgroupmemberships, oncetheyhaveadopted meaningsinvolved if communicationand
them(Thoits2003). coordinationare to take place. A similar

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12 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

argumentcan be made forgroupidentities: Therefore I hypothesize

the greater a person's commitmentto a
group identity,the greaterthe numberof
people who must agree on the meanings
involved.
Thisagreement amongmembersofa cul-
tureaboutthemeaningsinvolvedina roleor
groupconstrainsa personfromusingidio-
syncraticmeaningsor tryingto reshapethe
meaningsofhisor herroleor groupidentity.
As morepeople come to sharethosemean-
ings,evenpairsof individualscannotreadily
negotiate new meanings for the role (or
group)identitiesin question.
ThusI hypothesize thatthegreater
thecom-
mitment themorestablethe
to an identity,
meanings attachedtotheidentity.
Thisdoes notmeanthatthemeaningsof example,
suchidentitiescannotor do notchange.Our
experiencetellsus otherwise. Yet,in viewof the
the conservativeinertia on such change,
because of the numberof people who must knowledge
changetheirexpectationsand responsesto the
theidentity whenmeaningschange,we must
ascertainthe conditionsunderwhichsuch
change becomes possible or perhaps even havebecomeestablished.
likely.
The mostobviousconditionunderwhich
identitymeaningsmay change,even when
commitment is high,occurswhensomeone
has the power to define or redefine the
meaningsand expectations associatedwitha
particularrole or group.A manager may
redefinethemeaningsand expectations fora would be a changein the contextin which
particularworkerrole (thoughunionsmay role relationshipsexist,such as shiftsor
intervenein some cases). When thisoccurs, changesin resources.A smallcompanythat
the workermustreshapethe standardsthat
are used to controlhis or her self-relevant to findit necessaryto changethe
perceptions as a worker.6
Anotherpossibility is thatthelower-sta- involved;people willadoptnewidentitiesas
tuspersonsimplyadjuststo whatthehigher- thesenewmeaningsbecome
status person says withoutany coercion,
threat,or formalchange in the definition.
This latterpossibility was observedby Cast,
Stets,and Burke (1999) in the adjustment
overtimein the spousalidentity of a lower-
statusspouse to theidentity definitions pro-
videdbythehigher-status spouse.
6
It is possible,of course,thatthe workerwill quit,
and thata new workerwill come in and take on the
newly defined role identity.
thatidentity
change
is morelikelyforpersonswhoarelowinsta-
tusorpowerthanforthosewhoarehigh.
Innovationis a secondsourceof change
inidentities, evenwhenothersare depending
on a particular setofmeanings. For example,
a
finding new, resourceful to
way accomplish
an importantpart of a role (thus verifying
one's own role identitymore easily) may
changethe expectationsassociatedwiththe
role. Such an innovationmay spread and
become part of the meaningsand expecta-
tionsforthatrole,especiallyifitalso helpsto
verifythe counterroleidentityinvolved.In
thatcase,the role partneralso mayendorse
the changein the role expectations(mean-
ings). This would have been the case, for
forthe firstaccountantswho dis-
covered the use of accountingsoftwareto
facilitate theirrole.The subsequentchangein
requirementsforthe positionrequired
of the use of suchsoftware,thus
the
altering meanings and expectationsfor
In general,such innovationis
identity.
morelikelywhena companyor organization
is startingup than later on, when its ways
I hypothesizethatidentitychangedue to
innovationwithina role is morelikelyto
occurinneworganizations (or organizations
undergoing thaninestablished
restructuring)
organizations.
A thirdbasisforchangein roleidentities
suddenlyis floodedwithnewordersis likely
expecta-
tions associated with many of the roles
apparent.
I hypothesizethatin organizations where
there are substantialchanges inresourcelev-
els,roleidentities are morelikelyto change
thanin organizationsthathave relatively
constant resourcelevels.
A fourthbasis forchangein role identi-
ties lies in situationsin whichrelationships
are gainedor lost as groupsgrowor shrink.
As additional counterroles are created,
expectations are changedor added forthe

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 IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE 13

new relationships. Further,expectationsare whathappensat all levelsin regardto identi-

changed as relationshipsare lost through ties is tied intimately to the social structure
attritionas theexisting rolesare restructured and to whathappensthere.
to takeup theslack.
ThusI hypothesize thatin organizations or CONCLUSION
groups that in
changesubstantiallysize, role In thisbriefpresentation I have triedto
orgroupidentities aremorelikelyto change
outline someofthewaysin whichICT is and
thaninorganizations orgroupsthatarerela-
stableinsize. shouldbe a theoryabout the linksbetween
tively
identity and socialstructure, andnotsimplya
In threeofthesehypotheses aboutiden- theoryabout the psychologyof individuals.
titychange,thesourceofthechangeis exoge- Granted that all of the mechanismsand
nous, resultingfromthe location of the processesof identityverification take place
identitiesin the largersocial structureand withintheindividual, thecontentoftheiden-
fromchanges in the flows of resources titiesthatare being verifiedis most often
throughthat structure.Thus stabilityand providedbytheculturein thecontextof the
changein identities are oftena consequence individual's social structural positions.
of theconnectedness of identities withinthe Further, theresourcesand meansforverify-
social structureand the distributionof ingidentitiesare providedby one's location
resources (power) across the structure. in the social structure. And finally, identity
Wheretheconnectionsare manyand stable, verification is theprocessbywhichthesocial
the identitiesare stable;wherethe connec- structure itselfis producedand reproduced
tions are few or changing,or where the a role
(Serpe and Stryker1987). Verifying
resourcelevelsare unequal or changing, the sustain the role and the
identityhelps to
identitiesare likelyto change. counterroles to whichitis attached.Verifying
In thepastI have also discussedidentity a
groupidentityhelps to sustainthe group
change thatis endogenous,indicatinghow and to maintainthe division between in-
identitiesthatlackverification are subjectto
and out-group.
change. ICT suggests that ifperceptions can- group
Twofactorsare verystrongstabilizers for
notbe controlledto matchtheidentity stan-
the social structure. First,identity standards
dard, the identitystandard will change can be viewedas thatare obtainedby
goals
(slowly) to matchthe perceptions.This is
manipulatingmeanings and resources,in
accomplishedthroughhigher-levelcontrol of the unpredictable disturbances that
systems'alterationof theiroutputs;these spite arise.This is true when
outputsare thestandardsforthelower-level inevitably especially
controlsystems(identities).To thisendoge- we observethatthese goals are set by the
nous source of identitychange,we should local cultureforpersonsin specificroles or
now add innovation that can arise from groups.Second,identity verification requires
the in which can the cooperation and coordination of other
exploring manyways goals
be reached. persons-role partnersor othergroupmem-
These two sources of identitychange, bers-who share the same symbols and
exogenousand endogenous, are related.One meanings.Because of thissharingamonga
reasonforthelack ofverification (whichis a numberof persons,it is difficult foranyone
sourceof endogenouschange) may existin of them to change the meaningswithouta
the structural positionor in changesin the breakdown in the process.
structural positionoftheidentity in question. Nevertheless, changecan and does hap-
Losingan assistantbecauseofbudgetary cut- pen-to identities as well as to the social
backs,forexample,makesthecurrent identi- structure built on those identities.By study-
ty difficult or impossible to verify.A ing where and how these changesoccur,we
higher-levelstandardconcerningmanage- willgaina fullerunderstanding ofthe"coin"
ment of the overall workflowmay bring thatCooley (1902) suggestsis facedbyiden-
about changes in the lower-levelidentity titieson one side and by thesocial structure
standardin question.In thiswaywe see that on the other.The hypothesesset forthhere

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14 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
willmove us further
along the road to that Osgood,CharlesE., WilliamH. May,and Murray
understanding. S. Miron.1975.Cross-Cultural
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PeterJ. Burke is a professorand thechairof sociology at the Universityof California,Riverside,

and a former
chairoftheASA SocialPsychology
Section.His current
workextendsidentity
the-
ory into areas of emotion,group relations,and social learning.Recent publications include

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE 15

Advancesin Identity
Theoryand Research,withTimothy Owens,PeggyThoits,and Richard
Serpe (Kluwer/Plenum,2003), "Interactionin Small Groups," in Handbook of Social
Psychology, 2003),and "A TheoryofSelf-Esteem,"
(Kluwer/Plenum, withAlicia Castin Social
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