In his chapter for the Deaux and Philogene book on social representations in 2001 (Duveen,
2001) Gerard Duveen set out his theoretical orientation with respect to identity in his first
paragraph: “social identity appears as a function of representations themselves”. Among
other propositions, he suggests that “identity is as much concerned with the process of being
identified as with making identifications”, that “identities can be construed as points or
positions within the symbolic field of culture, in other words, identities are constructed
externally and not simply elaborated internally”, that “representations always imply a process
of identity formation in which identities are internalized and which results in the emergence
of social actors or agents”, and that “identities provide ways of organizing meanings so as to
sustain a sense of stability”. In some respects this is a classical social psychological position,
echoing Williams James and George Herbert Mead, though it is more sophisticated in its
analysis of the ways “the other” structures the conceptualisation and the practical realisation
of the “self”.0000000000000000000000
IPT proposes that the individual’s identity is a dynamic social product of the
interaction of the capacities for memory, consciousness and organised construal with the
physical and societal structures and influence processes which constitute the social context.
IPT proposes that identity resides in psychological processes but is manifested through
thought, action and affect. Identity can be described in terms of both its structure and in terms
of its processes. People are normally self-aware and actively monitor the status of their
identity. The levels of self-monitoring may differ across the lifespan and it is considered
possible that they may vary across different cultures.