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Contents
- Abstract
- Conceptual Foundations
- The Hyperpersonal Model
- Public Commitment
- The Present State of Identity Shift
- Feedback
- Assumptions About the Audience
- Self-Concept Outcomes
- Time
- Lessons Learned (But Not Always Published)
- Individuals Need to Be Identifiable in Their Self-Presentations
- Self-Presentations Must Be Salient and Authentic
- “Publicness” Is Complex
- Some Personal Traits Are Resistant to Change
- The Persistence of Self-Presentation May Matter
- Not All Feedback Is Equal
- Advancing Identity Shift Theory
- Proposition 1: Selective Mediated Self-Presentation Results in Identity Shift
- Proposition 2: Identity Shift Is Stronger When Selective Self-Presentation Is Publicly Accessible
- Proposition 3: Identity Shift Is Stronger When Third-Party Feedback Confirms the Selective Self-Presentation
- Proposition 4: Self-Presentation Needs to Be Connected to the Presenter’s Identity for Identity Shift to Occur
- Proposition 5: Identity Shift Is Activated When Presenters Perceive the Presented Self as a Potential Self
- Moving Identity Shift Forward
- Distinguishing Identity Shift
- Modality of Self-Presentation
- Deliberativeness of Self-Presentational Efforts
- Desire and Ability to Change
- Impact of the Temporality of Identity Performance
- How New Technologies May Affect Identity Shift
- Conclusion
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Abstract
First articulated in 2008, the concept of identity shift refers to the process of self-transformation that is the result of intentional self-presentation in a mediated context. As research into identity shift has become increasingly prevalent, our understanding of the concept’s mechanisms and constraints has become more detailed and in depth. We now have a greater understanding of the process and limitations of identity shift: an understanding sufficient to begin articulating a theory of identity shift that explains and predicts the intrapersonal effects of mediated self-presentations. The present work advances such a theory. We begin by summarizing and synthesizing extant identity shift work – including published articles, presented manuscripts, and unpublished research – to better understand the identity shift process. We then use this synthesis to articulate an initial theory (identity shift theory; IST) that specifies the processes, conditions, constraints, and effects of identity shift based on personal, psychological, and communicative characteristics. Ultimately, the advancement of identity shift theory can inform future research and practice into the implications of online self-presentation for self-effects.
Identity shift refers to the process of self-transformation resulting from intentional self-presentation in a mediated context. Since...