More Than the Sum of My Parts: An Intrapersonal Network Approach to Identity Work in Response to Identity Opportunities and Threats

Abstract

The existing research on identity work is primarily focused on identities in isolation as well as how individuals respond to identity threats. We seek to broaden the identity work literature in several ways. First, in order to take into consideration multiple identities, we adopt the intrapersonal identity network approach, which focuses on the relationships—both ties and hierarchical salience—between identities in order to theorize about how making changes to one identity impacts the relationships between identities. Second, our theorizing highlights identity opportunities as well as identity threats in order to predict how these varied responses impact identity work and the identity network. Third, we distinguish between identity work that is done on one identity and what we call interidentity work, which involves making changes to the relationships between identities. Ultimately, we provide a framework that takes into consideration the multiplicity of individuals’ identities and explores how the intrapersonal identity network is impacted as individuals respond to identity threats and opportunities through both identity work and interidentity work.