Ego Identity: A Personal Standpoint in a Postmodern World

Abstract

Rattansi and Phoenix (1997) presented a postmodernist view of identity as being dynamic, multiplistic, relativistic, context specific, and fragmented, and they rejected Marcia's (1966) identity status model as being "modernist" and inadequate. I agree that identity theory and research can benefit from the postmodernist critique. I argue, however, that their dismissal of the status paradigm may be premature. I consider differences in the ways identity is defined and the possibility that the concept of multiple identities may constitute a category error, and that Rattansi and Phoenix confound 1st-person and 3rd-person perspectives on identity. Finally, I discuss the role that ego identity may serve in providing individuals with a personal standpoint for acting and making decisions in a postmodern world.

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