ABSTRACT
Identities are self-conceptions that derive from the categories in which we place ourselves. Embracing an identity, more than just endorsing a self-description, involves making and defending claims about oneself. The satisfaction and dissatisfaction that we derive from identity-relevant actions are based less on what those actions do for us than on what those actions say about us. Exactly how powerfully a particular identity affects us depends both on the strength of that identity and its momentary salience. When a specific identity is pertinent to a particular situation, that relevance can take one of two different forms. Situations that have the greatest pull on our identities represent identity tests. Failing an identity test undermines a person’s identity claim and thus threatens that identity. Passing an identity test defends the identity claim in question, but does little to strengthen it. Those situations that do provide the person with the means to affirm an identity claim represent identity opportunities. While these situations can confirm an identity claim, they do not carry the potential to discredit it.
