Emerging Perspectives on Self and Identity

The broad concept of the self is fundamental to psychology, serving as an anchor by which we perceive and make sense of the world as well as how we relate to and think about others. This book develops creative points of view of the self which have not previously been reviewed, creating a web of interconnected concepts under the umbrella of the self. The various contributions to this book discuss these concepts, such as self-regulation, self-concept, self-esteem, self-awareness, social comparison, and self-reference. All of them are related to the self, and all would justify a review of their own, yet none of them have up to this point. As a whole, the book develops these new, creative points of view of the self—the integral (primary) component of our experience as social beings.Offering numerous perspectives on various aspects of the self which can foster new thinking and research, this timely and important book makes suggestions for future research that will spur additional lines of work by readers. This book was originally published as a special issue of Self and Identity.

Michael J. Bernstein is an Associate Professor of Social Psychology in the Psychological and Social Sciences interdisciplinary program at Penn State University Abington, USA. His primary area of research focuses on social belonging and the myriad cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses that follow if that sense of belonging is threatened.Elizabeth L. Haines is a Full Professor of Social Psychology in the Psychology Department at William Paterson University, USA. Her primary area of research is on social and self-perception in social categorization; and the implicit biases we hold for groups, self, and other.