Identity Processing Styles and Value Orientations: The Mediational Role of Self-Regulation and Identity Commitment

Abstract

Recent research has found systematic associations between identity processing styles (how individuals negotiate the process of identity formation) and value orientations (personal views about what values and goals should be pursued). This investigation evaluated the hypothesis that these relationships would at least in part be mediated by individual differences in self-regulation and self-defining commitment. Consistent with previous research, an informational identity style was positively associated with values that transcended selfish interest whereas a normative style was positively associated with values that emphasized security and tradition. A diffuse-avoidant identity style was positively associated with values that highlighted self-interest. As hypothesized, a number of the relationships were mediated by the commitments the participants held and their levels of self-regulatory resources. The more self-defining the participants considered their commitments to be, the more likely they were to endorse traditional values or those that transcended their own self-interest. High levels of self-regulation were associated positively with traditional values and negatively with values that promoted self-indulgence and self-promotion. The role values, commitments, and self-regulatory resources may play in how individuals approach or avoid constructing and maintaining a sense of identity is considered.