Identity Structures, Values, and Master Identities

Abstract

A long-standing sociological puzzle is how multiple identities, categories of people individuals use to describe themselves and others, are organized within the self. Sociologists have conceptualized identities as organized around central elements that shape the selection and enactment of multiple other identities. While this organization has been implicit or explicit in the literature, little work has directly examined this pattern of organization. In this article, I map identity structures using network analysis techniques. I also investigate the claim that values, abstract ideals that guide action, bridge identities from different domains to give the self a sense of cohesion. I use data from the European Social Survey 2002 to construct networks where nodes are values, identities, and sociodemographic characteristics. Network ties are given by measures of statistical association between nodes. Results suggest identities are organized around content domains (e.g., family, religion, and occupation). Country of citizenship emerges as the most central node in the between-nations network. Both across and within countries, a few nodes (e.g., age and religious denomination) act as hubs, connecting distinct domain regions (e.g., family, religion, occupation). Meanwhile, values occupy a peripheral position in most within-country networks.