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Time and Identity: An Evaluation of Existing Empirical Research, Conceptual Challenges, and Methodological Opportunities
Abstract
Since the early 2000s, researchers have been taking advantage of the increasing availability of internet-based technology to gather intensive longitudinal data over short-term (e.g., hours, days) time intervals. However, phenomena that are relevant at long-term (e.g., months, years) time intervals may manifest themselves differently at different time scales. Much like climate change cannot be observed by evaluating the weather on a particular day––or even over a week or year––careful consideration is needed of what is examined when studying identity processes in real time instead of across longer periods of time. We discuss issues related to time scales in the study of identity by reviewing various identity theories offering operationalizations of real-time identity and broader developmental theories on micro-genetic forms of development. Next, we critically assess research examining identity commitment and exploration at the daily and weekly level. Finally, we offer recommendations for advancing the study of real-time identity, drawing from various subfields within identity research, including narrative identity and discursive approaches to identity construction. We aim to inspire new and important mixed-method research that can advance the measurement of micro-level identity, which is essential for gaining a better understanding of how identity formation processes operate on different time scales.
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“This issue is not unique to discursive micro-analyses of identity, but indeed represents a fundamental issue in developmental (identity) research; we know little about how (and if) situated and reflective identity concepts are related (De Ruiter & Gmelin, 2021;Klimstra & Schwab, 2021;Van Der Gaag et al., 2025).”
From Studying Identity Development in Everyday Conversations: A Practical Guide to Developmental Discursive Micro-Analysis (DDMA) (2026) · cites this paper as Klimstra & Schwab, 2021
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Dynamics of Identity Development in Adolescence: A Decade in Review
Branje, S., de Moor, E. L., Spitzer, J., & Becht, A. I. (2021) · Journal of Research on Adolescence · doi:10.1111/jora.12678 · Cited by 584
Adolescent identity development in context.
Branje, S. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.11.006 · Cited by 212
Kunnen, E. S. (2022) · Identity · doi:10.1080/15283488.2021.1932899 · Cited by 7
Metadata
- Authors
- Klimstra, T. A., & Schwab, J. R.
- Affiliations
- Department of Child Study and Human Development, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychology, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, USA
- ORCID
- Schwab, Joseph R.
- Venue
- Identity
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2021-07-05
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 275-288
- ISSN
- 1528-3488
- 1532-706X
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 12
- Language
- en
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