Identity Theory

The concept of identity has become widespread within the social and behavioral sciences, cutting across disciplines from psychiatry and psychology to political science and sociology. Introduced more than fifty years ago, identity theory is a social psychological theory that attempts to understand person's identities, their sources in interaction and society, their processes of operation, and their consequences for interaction and society from a sociological perspective.

In 2014, Francis Fukuyama wrote that American institutions were in decay, as the state was progressively captured by powerful interest groups. Two years later, his predictions were borne out by the rise to power of a series of political outsiders whose economic nationalism and authoritarian tendencies threatened to destabilize the entire international order. These populist nationalists seek direct charismatic connection to “the people”, who are usually defined in narrow identity terms that offer an irresistible call to an in-group and exclude large parts of the population as a whole.

Who am I? It's a question we all ask ourselves at some point. Depending on the season we focus our identity on our job performance, marital status, personality type, or social network, among other options. However, there's a larger question to consider. Who does the Bible tell me I am in Christ? From the wisdom and perspective of insightful authors, we'll seek to answer this question by: exposing our false notions of identity; understanding the biblical truth of our identity in Christ; and reflecting on what it looks like to live in our new (and true) identity.

Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Have you read that certain people shouldn't practice yoga? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only White people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed to challenge the logic of Western society? In this probing volume, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma that informs these ideas, from its coarse origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields.

Whether we aspire to become the best lawyer or charity worker, life partner or celebrity influencer, we emulate exemplars that exist in the world – hoping it will bring us happiness. But this often leads to a complex game of envy and pride. In Against Identity, philosopher Alexander Douglas seeks an alternative wisdom. Searching the work of three thinkers – ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, Dutch Enlightenment thinker Benedict de Spinoza, and 20th Century French theorist René Girard – he explores how identity can be a spiritual violence that leads us away from truth.

Summoned to an abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once had an intense love affair with. The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue.

This classic work by psychologist and social philosopher Eric Fromm builds upon his previous popular book To Have or to Be? The Art of Being teaches us to avoid the tantalizing illusions of our consumer-driven world by learning to function as a whole person from a state of inner completeness or being. The transition from an identity of having to being creates a state of enlightened psychological and spiritual happiness.

Who are the Igbo? Where did they come from? How did they become one of Africa’s most dynamic, resilient, and culturally complex peoples? These questions have echoed across generations — from village squares in Eastern Nigeria to diaspora communities across the world; from the debates of scholars to the passionate claims of cultural enthusiasts; from Christian pulpits to the quiet reflections of families retelling their ancestral stories. For more than a century, the most popular answer has been dramatic and compelling: “The Igbo are descendants of the ancient Israelites.” This ...

This groundbreaking book reveals the hidden system that turned free men and women into corporate entities—legal fictions owned and managed without their consent. Unraveling the Strawman exposes the silent contracts, birth registrations, and financial mechanisms that transformed living souls into state property, and shows you the lawful path to reclaim your sovereignty. Written by Ashley Rocks, Kenneth Plaster, and Gwendolyn Morris, this book uncovers the truth behind how America’s constitutional republic was quietly replaced by a corporate democracy—one that trades your labor, ...

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development: A Complete Guide to Understanding and Applying His Major Ideas in Everyday Life is your essential roadmap to mastering one of the most influential psychological theories of the 20th century. Whether you're a psychology student, educator, therapist, parent, or simply someone interested in personal growth, this comprehensive and reader-friendly guide helps you understand and apply Erikson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development in everyday life. Explore how trust, autonomy, identity, intimacy, and legacy shape who we become—from infancy to...

In The Making of White American Identity, Ron Eyerman provides an explanation for how whiteness has become a basis for collective identification and collective action in the United States. Drawing upon his previous work on the formation of African American identity, as well as cultural trauma theory, collective memory, and social movements, he reveals how and under what conditions such a collective identification emerges, as well as how the mobilization of collective action around an ideology of whiteness and white superiority.

Comparing Erik Erikson: How His Theory of Psychosocial Development Aligns With and Differs From Piaget, Freud, and Modern Developmental Psychology offers a clear and comprehensive guide to understanding one of the most influential developmental theories of the past century. This book places Erik Erikson’s psychosocial model in conversation with the work of Jean Piaget, Sigmund Freud, attachment researchers, social learning theorists, and modern developmental psychologists. Through accessible explanations and practical insights, readers gain a full picture of how emotional, cognitive, and ...

Few modern voices have had as profound an impact on the black identity and critical race theory as Frantz Fanon, and Black Skin, White Masks represents some of his most important work. Fanon's masterwork is now available in a new translation that updates its language for a new generation of listeners. A major influence on civil rights, anti-colonial, and black consciousness movements around the world, Black Skin, White Masks is the unsurpassed study of the black psyche in a white world.

Bigfoot research has long been clouded by hoaxes, blurry photographs, and folklore—but Flesh and Blood Bigfoot: Exploring Physical Evidence and the Theories of Sasquatches Identity as a Hominoid cuts through the noise with a grounded, anthropological investigation into one of North America’s most persistent mysteries. Anthropologist Sharon Eby guides readers through decades of reports, field findings, and case studies that point toward a startling possibility: Bigfoot may not be a mythic creature at all, but a surviving hominoid—a physical, biological being that leaves behind ...

An intersectional analysis of evangelical purity culture’s influence on gender, sexuality, race, and national identity in the United States. With a foreword by Linda Kay Klein, author of Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free. In...

Pioneers of Human Behaviour: Erik Erikson A Gateway to His Life, Theories, and Legacy Erik Erikson was more than a psychologist—he was a storyteller of the human lifespan. His theory of psychosocial development redefined how we understand identity, purpose, and the lifelong interplay between self and society. From the challenges of infancy to the reflections of old age, Erikson revealed that life’s central task is not merely to survive, but to grow through each stage with resilience and meaning. This concise, engaging volume distills Erikson’s remarkable journey—from his ...

One of the most talked-about scholarly works of the past 50 years, Judith Butler's Gender Trouble is as celebrated as it is controversial. Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural, "essential" notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, Butler starts by questioning the category "woman" and continues in this vein with examinations of "the masculine" and "the feminine." Best known however, but also most often misinterpreted, is Butler's concept of gender as a reiterated social performance rather than the expression of a prior reality.

Pioneers of Human Behaviour: Henry Tajfel A Gateway to His Life, Theories, and Legacy A Holocaust survivor who reshaped modern social psychology, Henry Tajfel revealed a stark truth: even the thinnest line between “us” and “them” can distort judgement, stir loyalty, and fuel discrimination. From the famous minimal group experiments to Social Identity Theory, this book explores how belonging bends behaviour—on the pitch, in the classroom, at the ballot box, and across our digital tribes. This concise yet powerful volume distils Tajfel’s life and work into clear, engaging chapters...

Why has there been such an explosion of discussion about sex in the West since the 17th century? Here, one of France's greatest intellectuals explores the evolving social, economic, and political forces that have shaped our attitudes toward sex. In a book that is at once controversial and seductive, Michel Foucault describes how we are in the process of making a science of sex which is devoted to the analysis of desire, rather than the increase of pleasure.

From the celebrated poet, speaker, and educator comes Welcome Home, a powerful blueprint for building a strong foundation of self-worth, belonging, and happiness. “A master class in self-actualization and compassion.”—Mari Andrew, New York Times bestselling author of Am I There Yet? The...