Review by Choice Review
Social identity--how one thinks about and categorizes oneself, including the ethnic, racial, or other distinct groups one belongs to--has a profound influence on individual development, well-being, coping, and relationships. Social identity can both promote connection and lead to disaffection; it can be a source of pride or stigma. As Downey (Columbia Univ.), Eccles (Univ. of Michigan), Chatman (Univ. of Chicago), and the outstanding contributors to this collection demonstrate, identity is flexible, not set. It changes in response to environmental opportunities (e.g., intergroup friendships) and constraints (e.g., the absence of similar peers or subtle institutional biases). Ideally, social identity is a source of strength, a buffer against stress, change, challenge, or discord as one matures. All this is covered in this book's ten chapters, which are divided into sections dealing with identity research and theory on stigmatized group membership, performing life tasks, context demands (e.g., becoming socialized to academe), and forming positive intergroup bonds. This book's exciting theories, methods, and findings are clearly applicable to a variety of understudied (or unstudied) groups. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. D. S. Dunn Moravian College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
