Emerging Trends in The Social and Behavioral Sciences

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

Item

Title

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

Author

Syed, Moin

Mitchell, Lauren L.

Research Area

Development

Topic

Self and Identity Development

Abstract

The construct of identity has captivated scholars across the social sciences, humanities, and the arts. For good reason, too, as the question who am I? cuts to the core of human experience. Following Erikson's theorizing, developmental psychologists have stressed the importance of an identity that is extended through time. A healthy identity is defined, in part, by individuals' ability to reconcile and integrate their past experiences, current concerns, and future prospects, a phenomenon we label temporal identity integration. In this chapter, we review the foundational theoretical and empirical work pertaining to temporal identity integration, drawing on developmental, social, and personality psychology perspectives. We then review some of the most exciting empirical findings across these areas, and provide suggestions for future directions on the topic.

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Identifier

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extracted text

Temporal Identity Integration
as a Core Developmental Process
MOIN SYED and LAUREN L. MITCHELL

Abstract
The construct of identity has captivated scholars across the social sciences, humanities, and the arts. For good reason, too, as the question who am I? cuts to the core
of human experience. Following Erikson’s theorizing, developmental psychologists
have stressed the importance of an identity that is extended through time. A healthy
identity is defined, in part, by individuals’ ability to reconcile and integrate their
past experiences, current concerns, and future prospects, a phenomenon we label
temporal identity integration. In this chapter, we review the foundational theoretical
and empirical work pertaining to temporal identity integration, drawing on developmental, social, and personality psychology perspectives. We then review some of
the most exciting empirical findings across these areas, and provide suggestions for
future directions on the topic.

When I (M. Syed) was in an elevator while attending the meetings of the
Society for Research on Identity Formation, an older gentleman riding along
looked closely at my badge and asked, “Identity? What’s that about?” After
a few seconds I replied, “It is about who people are and what they want to
do with their lives.” His reply: “Well, what’s more important than that?!”
The question who am I? is simple, and yet it cuts to the core of human experience. The question has been asked by psychologists for nearly as long as
psychologists have been asking questions. Indeed, the question of who am I?
was a major focus of William James’ (1890) groundbreaking text, Principles of
Psychology. Pursuant to these historical roots, the question of who am I? has
been pondered by scholars from across the social sciences, humanities, and
the arts, each with different foci. Even within the social sciences (or psychology alone) different schools of thought on the problem of identity have relied
on quite different conceptualizations, theories, and methods (Syed, Azmitia,
& Cooper, 2011; Vignoles, Schwartz, & Luyckx, 2011).

Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Edited by Robert Scott and Stephen Kosslyn.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-90077-2.

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

To our reading, the fact that multiple disciplines and subdisciplines have
devoted substantial time and resources to understanding identity suggests
that the construct truly is core to the nature of being, and has developmental
significance. In this chapter, we extend this notion to individuals’ understanding of the relation between identity and time, or temporal identity. As
in the case of identity, the study of time has figured prominently throughout
the social sciences, suggesting that it is also a core element of being. Accordingly, we highlight the foundational research, cutting-edge work, and future
directions as related to temporal identity integration as a core developmental
process.

FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
Consistent with the notion of a core developmental process, the theoretical
roots for temporal identity integration run deep and wide. Despite James’
early work on this topic, Erik Erikson is the theorist most readily identified
with the term “identity.” Indeed, Erikson’s biographer, Lawrence Friedman
(2000), called him “identity’s architect” because of his voluminous writings
on not only what identity is, but more specifically how identity develops.
Erikson’s focus on development set him apart from James, who was more
concerned with the “here and now” as opposed to the “how and when.”
Although Erikson offered many (sometimes contradictory) definitions of
identity (Waterman, 2014), he broadly considered identity to be a personal
sense of coherence and continuity, established through integrating the self
both contextually and temporally. Contextual identity integration refers to
the coordination of multiple identity domains that are relevant for one’s
life (e.g., work and relationships). In contrast, temporal identity integration
refers to a sense of personal continuity through time. In other words, are
individuals’ views of who they were in the past reasonably consistent with
who they are now and who they envision themselves to be in the future?
Thus, identity integration involves the coordination and synthesis of the self
across space and time.
Erikson’s emphasis on integration, continuity, and coherence oftentimes
leads researchers to believe that he advocated for a static, unchanging view
of the self—that temporal integration is only achieved by being the same
through time or that contextual integration is achieved by acting the same
across different life spaces (Sampson, 1989). Such beliefs represent a misread
of Erikson’s theory. Rather than advocating for literal sameness, Erikson discussed the importance of fidelity, which refers to being/acting in accordance
with who individuals believe themselves to be. Thus, rather than static sameness, what is particularly important is the absence of contradiction.

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

3

Erikson’s writings were largely theoretical, rather than based on empirical evidence. Within developmental psychology, the empirical field most
closely associated with Erikson, the study of identity development has been
dominated by the identity status model (Marcia, 1966; see McLean & Syed,
2014), which, interestingly, does not incorporate temporal identity integration. Rather, the focus is on determining individuals’ current identity structure by investigating their process of developing an identity (specifically,
exploration and commitment). As a result, developmental psychology has an
ironic dearth of empirical data that speak to temporal identity integration.
Fortunately, developmental psychology is not the only game in town.
Merging the “study of lives” tradition in personology (Murray, 1938) with
Erikson’s developmental perspective, McAdams (2013) developed the
autobiographical life story model, in which he argued that identity can
be conceptualized as an integrated and evolving life story. In contrast to
Marcia’s (1966) operationalization of Erikson, McAdams relied heavily
on the notion of temporal identity integration. It is through telling stories
and constructing a personal narrative that individuals integrate their past,
present, and future. Identity is not only revealed through telling stories, but
identity itself is a story, an extended narrative through time that the narrator
works to keep going.
Returning to the idea of a core developmental process, there are other subdisciplines of psychology that conduct research relevant to temporal identity
integration. This work, however, is not explicitly situated within an Eriksonian framework, or in some cases, any identity framework at all. Rather, the
focus is on different conceptualizations of time and its relevance for psychological functioning.
In social psychology, for example, the starting point is not the “problem
of identity” but rather the concept of time itself. Befitting the field of social
psychology, conceptualizations of time have emphasized the interactions
between situational forces and individual differences. Zimbardo has been an
influential researcher within this realm, contributing much empirical data in
support of his model of time perspective (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). Because
time perspective is conceptualized as a stable individual difference, the
focus has been on measuring individuals’ time perspective structure and the
implications thereof. For example, one study demonstrated a reliable, yet
modest, positive association between present time orientation and engaging
in risky driving practices (Zimbardo, Keough, & Boyd, 1997). Future time
orientation, however, demonstrated a small negative correlation with risky
driving.
The emphasis within this line of research is on the downstream consequences of different time orientations. This emphasis, along with the
conceptualization of time as a stable individual difference, has precluded

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

investigations of how individuals adopt particular time orientations in the
first place. Thus, the social psychological approach to time stands in contrast
to the developmental approach to time, in which individual perceptions are
believed to change through experience and maturation, with the ultimate
goal of temporal integration. Nevertheless, a similarity between the social
and developmental approaches lies in the centrality of time in the life space.
Indeed, Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) argue that time perspective “provides a
foundation on which many more visible constructs are erected or embedded,
such as achievement, goal setting, risk taking, sensation seeking, addiction,
rumination, guilt, and more.” (p. 1272).
Finally, although the focus of this article is on developmental, personality, and social approaches to time and identity, it is important to note that
time has also figured prominently in the broad areas of cognitive psychology and brain science. For example, Boroditsky (e.g., Boroditsky, Fuhrman, &
McCormick, 2011) has conducted extensive work on understanding the connections between language and thought through an analysis of mental representations of time and temporal metaphors. Examining speakers of English,
Mandarin, Hebrew, and others has highlighted the linguistically based cultural variations in how time is represented in language, thought, and action.
More broadly, studies of adolescent brain development have indicated the
importance of the prefrontal cortex for executing cognitive operations pertaining to the future. In particular, the capacity for long-term planning and
the effective weighing of risk versus reward in decision making appear to be
linked with prefrontal maturation (see Steinberg, 2005, for a review).
Taken together, it is clear that the foundational research on temporal identity integration is deep and wide. It is limited, however, in two interrelated
respects. First, the existing work is more theoretical than empirical, especially within Eriksonian notions of integration. Second, much of the available
empirical research is only indirectly related to temporal identity integration.
The implications, however, are readily apparent, and one of our goals for
this chapter is to argue for the broad framework of identity to better understand and integrate the disparate literatures. In the next section, we highlight
some intriguing emerging trends across various topic areas of psychology
that have relevance to temporal identity integration.
AREAS OF CUTTING-EDGE WORK
We identified three broad areas in which there is cutting-edge work on temporal identity integration. The first section includes research that is primarily
oriented toward the future. In the second section, we discuss research that
examined the future in relation to the past and present, and thus is more
in line with integration. Finally, in the third section we discuss some of the

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most innovative work on temporal identity integration, which is focused on
interventions to address health and educational disparities.
FUTURE
Future orientation refers to the degree to which individuals think and plan
about the future, including expectations, plans, and feelings of optimism and
pessimism (Nurmi, 1991; for a review, see Seginer, 2009). Future orientation
affects the decisions that individuals make in the present, and thus influences their future trajectories. Those who are future-oriented tend to consider
future consequences of their present actions, and behave accordingly. For
example, adolescents who are not highly future-oriented are at higher risk
for problem behaviors such as school misconduct (Skorikov & Vondracek,
2007). In contrast, individuals who expect to do well avoid behaving in ways
that would threaten their bright future (Routledge & Arndt, 2005).
Much of the research in this area has centered around adolescents, especially focusing on their expectations for future career and family life. Recent
work has followed suit, with several studies beginning to investigate future
orientation in non-American adolescents (e.g., Iovu, 2013). As a great deal
of work has demonstrated the outcomes of future orientation, current studies focus on predictors that influence future orientation, such as family and
school connectedness, and explore ways of inducing greater future orientation in adolescents in hopes of reaping the associated positive outcomes (e.g.,
Crespo, Jose, Kielpikowski, & Pryor, 2013).
Social psychologists have investigated thoughts about the future in terms of
affective forecasting, or the ability to predict the emotions that will be triggered
by future events. Generally, individuals are better at determining whether
events will make them happy or unhappy than at predicting how intense
those emotions will be (Wilson & Gilbert, 2005). A manifestation of affective forecasting is impact bias, or the tendency to overestimate the emotional
effects of future events. For example, individuals tend to overestimate the
intensity and duration of their resulting negative emotions following a hypothetical breakup with a romantic partner (Gilbert, Pinel, Wilson, Blumberg,
& Wheatley, 1998).
Debate about whether people can accurately predict their emotions has
recently emerged (Levine, Lench, Kaplan, & Safer, 2013; Wilson & Gilbert,
2013), with critics suggesting that typical procedures for investigating
impact bias lead to worse predictions than individuals are really capable
of making. As such, the effects of impact bias may not be as strong in real
life as they seem in studies. Nonetheless, the concept of affective forecasting
is increasingly being applied to a variety of research topics, including
hedonic consumption (Alba & Williams, 2013), medical interventions

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

(Angott, Comerford, & Ubel, 2013), and unethical behavior (Ruedy, Moore,
Gino, & Schweitzer, 2013). Recent work has also suggested that inaccurate
affective forecasting may serve an adaptive function, by creating positive
illusions that allow us to persevere through difficult situations (Marroquín,
Nolen-Hoeksema, & Miranda, 2013).
Taking together the literatures on future orientation and affective forecasting presents a puzzle. On one hand, having reasonable conceptualizations
about the future is beneficial in a number of ways. On the other hand, those
conceptualizations about the future may have little bearing on what actually
happens, especially in terms of emotional experiences. Bringing these two
literatures into alignment would likely lead to a more robust understanding
of the role of future thoughts for psychological functioning.
INTEGRATING PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
While early research on conceptions of time focused heavily on perceptions
of the future, more recent work has sought to incorporate past, present, and
future. Time perspective is conceptualized as an individual difference, which
captures individuals’ tendency to orient their thoughts and attitudes toward
the past, present, or future (Mello, Finan, & Worrell, 2013; Zimbardo & Boyd,
1999). These ideas have been explored extensively within the field of psychology, and are beginning to be applied to other disciplines. For example, studies
indicate that individuals’ tendency to orient toward the present or future is
related to their willingness to engage in environmentally sustainable behavior (e.g., Arnocky, Milfont, & Nicol, 2013) and to engage in preventive health
practices (e.g., Roncancio, Ward, & Fernandez, 2013).
Mello et al. (2013) have recently extended the study of time and behavior by
developing a scale that measures both time orientation, as it has traditionally
done, and time relation, or the degree to which individuals view the different elements of time as connected. Their findings regarding time relation
indicated that adolescents who had an integrated sense of the past, present,
and future had higher GPAs than those who saw the three as unrelated.
Although the findings support the importance of temporal integration, the
results should be interpreted cautiously, as the sample sizes were small, and
there were few who viewed elements of time as unrelated.
An alternative approach to exploring conceptions of past, present, and
future is to investigate the ways in which individuals’ self-concepts change
over time. This narrative approach emphasizes the importance of integrating
past, present, and future identities through a narrative life story (McAdams,
2013). Work by Chandler, Lalonde, Sokol, Hallett, and Marcia (2003) suggests that a sense of personal continuity through time is important for
mental health, as they found that adolescents who lacked a strong sense of

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

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self-continuity were at higher risk of suicide. As highlighted by research
on future orientation, individuals who only weakly connect their present
and future selves are more likely to behave in ways that may threaten their
future.
Considering the important mental health implications of Chandler and
colleagues’ (2003) work, it has spawned surprisingly little research on
temporal continuity in narrative identity (but see Habermas & Köber, 2014;
Pasupathi, Mansour, & Brubaker, 2007). Indeed, the majority of research
on narrative identity has focused on connections between the past and the
present, with little attention paid to the future (see McLean & Pasupathi,
2012, for a review).
INTERVENTIONS
Given the importance of thinking about the past, present, and future, at least
two lines of research have emerged that aim to take advantage of research
findings on temporal continuity to achieve certain outcomes. One of these
intervention programs involves the concept of possible selves (Oyserman
& Markus, 1990). Closely related to future orientation, possible selves are
clear, positive images of who we hope to become. These images form a set
of identity goals, and individuals may or may not have concrete strategies
for achieving them.
Applying this research to an academic setting, Oyserman and colleagues
investigated children’s school-related identities, and their strategies for
attaining desired future academic identities (see Oyserman & Fryberg, 2006,
for a review). They found that possible school identities are most helpful
when they focus on the near future, and when children are equipped with
concrete strategies for achieving their desired identities. On the basis of
this work, they developed interventions that go beyond eliciting students’
aspirations and focus on the behavioral steps that students can take toward
identity goals. Some of their recent work explores a paradox among children
from lower SES backgrounds: These children tend to have high aspirations,
but less success meeting their goals (Oyserman, Johnson, & James, 2011).
They suggest that the crucial mediating factor between students’ goals and
outcomes is whether they have effective strategies for achieving their goals.
Thus, thinking about the future seems most helpful for students when they
have concrete steps they can take toward that future.
While Oyserman and colleagues’ interventions lean heavily on future orientation, Pennebaker and colleagues have developed an intervention strategy based on the narrative approach. Their research has linked the act of
constructing a meaningful, coherent narrative with a wide range of positive outcomes. For example, individuals who participated in an intervention

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

in which they described a traumatic personal event experienced improved
long-term psychological health, increases in working memory, and even better immune function, relative to controls who described a trivial event (e.g.,
Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser, 1988).
The act of developing a narrative itself seems to be the mechanism responsible for these positive outcomes, as this process provides opportunities to
organize and analyze memories (Pennebaker, 1997; see also Adler, 2012,
for applications to therapy). More recent work has extended this research
to interventions involving descriptions of future goals, as opposed to past
events (e.g., GPA, Morisano, Hirsh, Peterson, Pihl, & Shore, 2010).
KEY ISSUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Our review of foundational and cutting-edge work on temporal identity integration suggests several broad areas for future research on the topic.
First, despite its theoretical importance, few studies actually assess identity
integration across the past, present, and future. Even research that includes
elements of all three phases of time (e.g., Zimbardo) does not assess integration. Mello and colleagues have begun to examine linkages among different
elements of time, but their approach is about time itself, as opposed to the self
through time. Accordingly, many fundamental questions remain unanswered.
For example, to what degree are past, present, and future viewed as continuous representations of the self? One could have a clear sense of “me in
the past” and “me in the present,” but those two understandings could be
disconnected from one another. Benish-Weisman (2009) demonstrated this
phenomenon when discussing the fracture narrative in the context of immigration. Immigrating to a new country has the potential to cleave an individual’s life into two distinct portions: the self pre-immigration and the self
post-immigration. This type of discontinuity of identity is precisely what
Erikson (1950) wrote about when discussing the problems faced by combat
veterans returning from World War II, who experienced difficulty integrating their pre-war and post-war selves. Thus, the theoretical importance of
identity integration has been clear for several decades, and yet the empirical
research has not answered the theoretical call.
The advancement of research on temporal identity integration will
also require researchers to dig deeper into their methodological toolbox.
As implied by our preceding discussion of assessing the integration
of different elements of time, future research would benefit from
using person-centered approaches to complement the existing dominant
variable-centered approaches. Variable-centered research focuses on the associations between two or more discrete variables. In contrast, person-centered
approaches emphasize the interrelations among a set of variables within

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

9

a person. These approaches lead to qualitatively distinct configurations of
variables. In the context of temporal identity integration, person-centered
approaches can address two critical questions: (i) what configurations of
past, present, and future are evident within a population? For example,
is integration of past, present, and future the most commonly occurring
configuration that individuals’ possess? and (ii) what are the implications of different configurations for psychological functioning? While
variable-centered approaches can assess the importance of the past, present,
or future, person-centered approaches can lead to insights on the significance
of the different configurations evident in the sample.
Longitudinal studies following individuals over a reasonable amount of
time and across critical life transitions are another methodological necessity.
Such studies could contribute to understanding the emergence and developmental course of temporal identity integration. Furthermore, longitudinal
studies would allow for examinations of theoretically interesting temporal
configurations such as people who are “stuck in the past” or have a chronic
disruption in the connections between multiple phases of time.
A final fruitful methodological direction is the inclusion of mixed methods approaches to temporal identity integration. As can be seen from the
cutting-edge research described previously, researchers are increasingly relying on qualitative data to understand temporal identity. These qualitative
data have been analyzed both qualitatively (e.g., Mello et al., 2009) and quantitatively (Pasupathi et al., 2007). Regardless of how the data are analyzed,
using qualitative information as the source data can move our understanding of temporal identity integration forward. Qualitative data are much more
likely than quantitative data to be contextualized in individuals’ lives and
developmental moments, therefore allowing researchers to understand identity in action.
In addition to the conceptual and methodological directions detailed earlier, research on temporal identity integration must wrestle with two major
challenges to advancement. We close this chapter by detailing two of these
challenges.
The first challenge is gaining a firm understanding of the cultural nature
of time, identity, and the meaning of integration. While there has been
a great deal of research on the cultural nature of time and the cultural
nature of identity, there has been very little on how constructions of identity
through time may vary by culture. For example, is temporal identity
integration itself a culture-specific ideal? Some evidence suggests it may
be. For example, the temporal sequencing of narratives may be specific to
Western/American White cultures, and others, such as African-Americans
and Latinos, may structure their narratives topically rather than temporally
(Perez & Tager-Flusberg, 1998). The available evidence, however, is scant

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

and methodologically flawed. Thus, a critical area for future work is to
explore the cultural parameters of temporal identity integration.
Finally, a major challenge to gaining future knowledge on this topic is to
integrate research across the numerous subdisciplines and conceptualizations of temporal identity. As featured in this chapter, relevant research is
being conducted across developmental, social, personality, and cognitive
psychology, with numerous different approaches and definitions. We used
this breadth to argue that temporal identity integration is a core developmental construct. There is clearly a broad phenomenon that all are attempting to
understand. While the individual trees may be relatively clear and coherent,
viewing the forest as a whole leads to difficulties in synthesizing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions. Accordingly, we challenge researchers to
read outside of their specialty area, incorporate diverse perspectives, and
collaborate with researchers who put different perspectives in action. While
there are numerous barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration (even within
psychology), the future of our understanding depends on it. As we advocate
for the importance of identity integration, we should also appreciate the
value of integrating psychology across its many divides.

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Oyserman, D., & Fryberg, S. A. (2006). The possible selves of diverse adolescents:
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Kerpelman (Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 17–39). Huntington, NY: Nova.
Oyserman, D., Johnson, E., & James, L. (2011). Seeing the destination but not the path:
Effects of socioeconomic disadvantage on school-focused possible self content and
linked behavioral strategies. Self and Identity, 10, 474–492.
Oyserman, D., & Markus, H. (1990). Possible selves and delinquency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 112–125.
Pasupathi, M., Mansour, E., & Brubaker, J. R. (2007). Developing a life story: Constructing relations between self and experience in autobiographical narratives.
Human Development, 50, 85–110.
Pennebaker, J. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process.
Psychological Science, 8, 162–166.
Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and
immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 56, 239–245.
Perez, C., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (1998). Clinicians’ perceptions of children’s oral personal narratives. Narrative Inquiry, 8(1), 181–201.
Roncancio, A. M., Ward, K. K., & Fernandez, M. E. (2013). Understanding cervical
cancer screening intentions among Latinas using an expanded theory of planned
behavior model. Behavioral Medicine, 39(3), 66–72.
Routledge, C., & Arndt, J. (2005). Time and terror: Managing temporal consciousness
and the awareness of mortality. In A. Strathman & J. Joireman (Eds.), Understanding behavior in the context of time (pp. 59–84). New Jersey, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates Publishers.
Ruedy, N. E., Moore, C., Gino, F., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2013). The cheater’s high: The
unexpected affective benefits of unethical behavior. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 105(4), 531–548.
Sampson, E. E. (1989). The challenge of social change for psychology: Globalization
and psychology’s theory of the person. American Psychologist, 44(6), 914–921.
Seginer, R. (2009). Future orientation: Developmental and ecological perspectives. New
York, NY: Springer.
Skorikov, V., & Vondracek, F. W. (2007). Positive career orientation as an inhibitor of
adolescent problem behaviour. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 131–146.
Steinberg, L. (2005). Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, 9(2), 69–74.
Syed, M., Azmitia, M., & Cooper, C. R. (2011). Identity and academic success among
under-represented ethnic minorities: An interdisciplinary review and integration.
Journal of Social Issues, 67(3), 442–468.
Vignoles, V. L., Schwartz, S. J., & Luyckx, K. (2011). Introduction: Toward an integrative view of identity. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook
of identity theory and research (pp. 1–27). New York, NY: Springer.

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

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Waterman, A. S. (2014). Identity as internal processes: How the “I” comes to define
the “Me”. In K. C. McLean & M. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of identity development. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2005). Affective forecasting: Knowing what to want.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3), 131–134.
Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2013). The impact bias is alive and well. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 740–748.
Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individual differences metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77,
1271–1288.
Zimbardo, P. G., Keough, K. A., & Boyd, J. N. (1997). Present time perspective as a
predictor of risky driving. Personality and Individual Difference, 23, 1007–1023.

FURTHER READING
Chandler, M. J., Lalonde, C. E., Sokol, B. W., Hallett, D., & Marcia, J. E. (2003).
Personal persistence, identity development, and suicide: A study of Native and
Non-Native North American adolescents. Monographs of the Society for Research in
Child Development, 68(2), Serial No. 273.
McAdams, D. P. (2013). The redemptive self: Stories Americans live by [Revised and
expanded edition]. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. (Eds.) (2014). The Oxford handbook of identity development.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotion. New
York, NY: Guilford Press.

MOIN SYED SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Moin Syed (PhD, 2009, University of California, Santa Cruz) is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
His research is broadly concerned with identity development among ethnically and culturally diverse adolescents and emerging adults, with particular
focus on the development of multiple personal and social identities (e.g., ethnicity, social class, and gender) and the implications of identity development
for educational experiences and career orientation. He has served as editor
or coeditor of special issues of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development on interdisciplinary conceptions of identity development, an issue of
Journal of Social Issues focusing on the underrepresentation of ethnic minority students in science and engineering fields, and an issue of Identity; An
International Journal of Theory and Research focused on recent advances in Erik
Erikson’s theory of identity development. He is coeditor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Identity Development and Associate Editor of Emerging
Adulthood. He currently serves on the executive committees of the Society for

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Research on Identity Formation and the Society for the Study of Emerging
Adulthood.
http://psych.umn.edu/people/facultyprofile.php?UID=moin,
http://nicelab.wordpress.com/
LAUREN L. MITCHELL
Lauren L. Mitchell (BA, 2011, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI) is a graduate student in the Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics PhD program in the University of Minnesota Psychology Department.
Her research interests include personality development, narrative identity,
multiculturalism (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and intersections of identities),
and emerging adulthood. http://nicelab.wordpress.com/
RELATED ESSAYS
Learning Across the Life Course (Sociology), Jutta Allmendinger and Marcel
Helbig
Language, Perspective, and Memory (Psychology), Rachel A. Ryskin et al.
Identity Fusion (Psychology), Michael D. Burhmester and William B. Swann
Jr.
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Andrei Cimpian
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Resilience (Psychology), Erica D. Diminich and George A. Bonanno
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(Psychology), Peter M. Gollwitzer
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Gonzales and Benjamin J. Roth
Moral Identity (Psychology), Sam A. Hardy and Gustavo Carlo
Regulatory Focus Theory (Psychology), E. Tory Higgins
Social Aspects of Memory (Psychology), William Hirst and Charles B. Stone
Motivation Science (Psychology), Arie W. Kruglanski et al.
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Concepts and Semantic Memory (Psychology), Barbara C. Malt
Social Change and Entry to Adulthood (Sociology), Jeylan T. Mortimer
Memory Gaps and Memory Errors (Psychology), Jeffrey S. Neuschatz et al.
Culture as Situated Cognition (Psychology), Daphna Oyserman

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

15

Identity-Based Motivation (Psychology), Daphna Oyserman
Born This Way: Thinking Sociologically about Essentialism (Sociology),
Kristen Schilt
Effortful Control (Psychology), Tracy L. Spinrad and Nancy Eisenberg
Taking Personality to the Next Level: What Does It Mean to Know a Person?
(Psychology), Simine Vazire and Robert Wilson



Temporal Identity Integration
as a Core Developmental Process
MOIN SYED and LAUREN L. MITCHELL

Abstract
The construct of identity has captivated scholars across the social sciences, humanities, and the arts. For good reason, too, as the question who am I? cuts to the core
of human experience. Following Erikson’s theorizing, developmental psychologists
have stressed the importance of an identity that is extended through time. A healthy
identity is defined, in part, by individuals’ ability to reconcile and integrate their
past experiences, current concerns, and future prospects, a phenomenon we label
temporal identity integration. In this chapter, we review the foundational theoretical
and empirical work pertaining to temporal identity integration, drawing on developmental, social, and personality psychology perspectives. We then review some of
the most exciting empirical findings across these areas, and provide suggestions for
future directions on the topic.

When I (M. Syed) was in an elevator while attending the meetings of the
Society for Research on Identity Formation, an older gentleman riding along
looked closely at my badge and asked, “Identity? What’s that about?” After
a few seconds I replied, “It is about who people are and what they want to
do with their lives.” His reply: “Well, what’s more important than that?!”
The question who am I? is simple, and yet it cuts to the core of human experience. The question has been asked by psychologists for nearly as long as
psychologists have been asking questions. Indeed, the question of who am I?
was a major focus of William James’ (1890) groundbreaking text, Principles of
Psychology. Pursuant to these historical roots, the question of who am I? has
been pondered by scholars from across the social sciences, humanities, and
the arts, each with different foci. Even within the social sciences (or psychology alone) different schools of thought on the problem of identity have relied
on quite different conceptualizations, theories, and methods (Syed, Azmitia,
& Cooper, 2011; Vignoles, Schwartz, & Luyckx, 2011).

Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Edited by Robert Scott and Stephen Kosslyn.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-90077-2.

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To our reading, the fact that multiple disciplines and subdisciplines have
devoted substantial time and resources to understanding identity suggests
that the construct truly is core to the nature of being, and has developmental
significance. In this chapter, we extend this notion to individuals’ understanding of the relation between identity and time, or temporal identity. As
in the case of identity, the study of time has figured prominently throughout
the social sciences, suggesting that it is also a core element of being. Accordingly, we highlight the foundational research, cutting-edge work, and future
directions as related to temporal identity integration as a core developmental
process.

FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
Consistent with the notion of a core developmental process, the theoretical
roots for temporal identity integration run deep and wide. Despite James’
early work on this topic, Erik Erikson is the theorist most readily identified
with the term “identity.” Indeed, Erikson’s biographer, Lawrence Friedman
(2000), called him “identity’s architect” because of his voluminous writings
on not only what identity is, but more specifically how identity develops.
Erikson’s focus on development set him apart from James, who was more
concerned with the “here and now” as opposed to the “how and when.”
Although Erikson offered many (sometimes contradictory) definitions of
identity (Waterman, 2014), he broadly considered identity to be a personal
sense of coherence and continuity, established through integrating the self
both contextually and temporally. Contextual identity integration refers to
the coordination of multiple identity domains that are relevant for one’s
life (e.g., work and relationships). In contrast, temporal identity integration
refers to a sense of personal continuity through time. In other words, are
individuals’ views of who they were in the past reasonably consistent with
who they are now and who they envision themselves to be in the future?
Thus, identity integration involves the coordination and synthesis of the self
across space and time.
Erikson’s emphasis on integration, continuity, and coherence oftentimes
leads researchers to believe that he advocated for a static, unchanging view
of the self—that temporal integration is only achieved by being the same
through time or that contextual integration is achieved by acting the same
across different life spaces (Sampson, 1989). Such beliefs represent a misread
of Erikson’s theory. Rather than advocating for literal sameness, Erikson discussed the importance of fidelity, which refers to being/acting in accordance
with who individuals believe themselves to be. Thus, rather than static sameness, what is particularly important is the absence of contradiction.

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

3

Erikson’s writings were largely theoretical, rather than based on empirical evidence. Within developmental psychology, the empirical field most
closely associated with Erikson, the study of identity development has been
dominated by the identity status model (Marcia, 1966; see McLean & Syed,
2014), which, interestingly, does not incorporate temporal identity integration. Rather, the focus is on determining individuals’ current identity structure by investigating their process of developing an identity (specifically,
exploration and commitment). As a result, developmental psychology has an
ironic dearth of empirical data that speak to temporal identity integration.
Fortunately, developmental psychology is not the only game in town.
Merging the “study of lives” tradition in personology (Murray, 1938) with
Erikson’s developmental perspective, McAdams (2013) developed the
autobiographical life story model, in which he argued that identity can
be conceptualized as an integrated and evolving life story. In contrast to
Marcia’s (1966) operationalization of Erikson, McAdams relied heavily
on the notion of temporal identity integration. It is through telling stories
and constructing a personal narrative that individuals integrate their past,
present, and future. Identity is not only revealed through telling stories, but
identity itself is a story, an extended narrative through time that the narrator
works to keep going.
Returning to the idea of a core developmental process, there are other subdisciplines of psychology that conduct research relevant to temporal identity
integration. This work, however, is not explicitly situated within an Eriksonian framework, or in some cases, any identity framework at all. Rather, the
focus is on different conceptualizations of time and its relevance for psychological functioning.
In social psychology, for example, the starting point is not the “problem
of identity” but rather the concept of time itself. Befitting the field of social
psychology, conceptualizations of time have emphasized the interactions
between situational forces and individual differences. Zimbardo has been an
influential researcher within this realm, contributing much empirical data in
support of his model of time perspective (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). Because
time perspective is conceptualized as a stable individual difference, the
focus has been on measuring individuals’ time perspective structure and the
implications thereof. For example, one study demonstrated a reliable, yet
modest, positive association between present time orientation and engaging
in risky driving practices (Zimbardo, Keough, & Boyd, 1997). Future time
orientation, however, demonstrated a small negative correlation with risky
driving.
The emphasis within this line of research is on the downstream consequences of different time orientations. This emphasis, along with the
conceptualization of time as a stable individual difference, has precluded

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investigations of how individuals adopt particular time orientations in the
first place. Thus, the social psychological approach to time stands in contrast
to the developmental approach to time, in which individual perceptions are
believed to change through experience and maturation, with the ultimate
goal of temporal integration. Nevertheless, a similarity between the social
and developmental approaches lies in the centrality of time in the life space.
Indeed, Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) argue that time perspective “provides a
foundation on which many more visible constructs are erected or embedded,
such as achievement, goal setting, risk taking, sensation seeking, addiction,
rumination, guilt, and more.” (p. 1272).
Finally, although the focus of this article is on developmental, personality, and social approaches to time and identity, it is important to note that
time has also figured prominently in the broad areas of cognitive psychology and brain science. For example, Boroditsky (e.g., Boroditsky, Fuhrman, &
McCormick, 2011) has conducted extensive work on understanding the connections between language and thought through an analysis of mental representations of time and temporal metaphors. Examining speakers of English,
Mandarin, Hebrew, and others has highlighted the linguistically based cultural variations in how time is represented in language, thought, and action.
More broadly, studies of adolescent brain development have indicated the
importance of the prefrontal cortex for executing cognitive operations pertaining to the future. In particular, the capacity for long-term planning and
the effective weighing of risk versus reward in decision making appear to be
linked with prefrontal maturation (see Steinberg, 2005, for a review).
Taken together, it is clear that the foundational research on temporal identity integration is deep and wide. It is limited, however, in two interrelated
respects. First, the existing work is more theoretical than empirical, especially within Eriksonian notions of integration. Second, much of the available
empirical research is only indirectly related to temporal identity integration.
The implications, however, are readily apparent, and one of our goals for
this chapter is to argue for the broad framework of identity to better understand and integrate the disparate literatures. In the next section, we highlight
some intriguing emerging trends across various topic areas of psychology
that have relevance to temporal identity integration.
AREAS OF CUTTING-EDGE WORK
We identified three broad areas in which there is cutting-edge work on temporal identity integration. The first section includes research that is primarily
oriented toward the future. In the second section, we discuss research that
examined the future in relation to the past and present, and thus is more
in line with integration. Finally, in the third section we discuss some of the

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

5

most innovative work on temporal identity integration, which is focused on
interventions to address health and educational disparities.
FUTURE
Future orientation refers to the degree to which individuals think and plan
about the future, including expectations, plans, and feelings of optimism and
pessimism (Nurmi, 1991; for a review, see Seginer, 2009). Future orientation
affects the decisions that individuals make in the present, and thus influences their future trajectories. Those who are future-oriented tend to consider
future consequences of their present actions, and behave accordingly. For
example, adolescents who are not highly future-oriented are at higher risk
for problem behaviors such as school misconduct (Skorikov & Vondracek,
2007). In contrast, individuals who expect to do well avoid behaving in ways
that would threaten their bright future (Routledge & Arndt, 2005).
Much of the research in this area has centered around adolescents, especially focusing on their expectations for future career and family life. Recent
work has followed suit, with several studies beginning to investigate future
orientation in non-American adolescents (e.g., Iovu, 2013). As a great deal
of work has demonstrated the outcomes of future orientation, current studies focus on predictors that influence future orientation, such as family and
school connectedness, and explore ways of inducing greater future orientation in adolescents in hopes of reaping the associated positive outcomes (e.g.,
Crespo, Jose, Kielpikowski, & Pryor, 2013).
Social psychologists have investigated thoughts about the future in terms of
affective forecasting, or the ability to predict the emotions that will be triggered
by future events. Generally, individuals are better at determining whether
events will make them happy or unhappy than at predicting how intense
those emotions will be (Wilson & Gilbert, 2005). A manifestation of affective forecasting is impact bias, or the tendency to overestimate the emotional
effects of future events. For example, individuals tend to overestimate the
intensity and duration of their resulting negative emotions following a hypothetical breakup with a romantic partner (Gilbert, Pinel, Wilson, Blumberg,
& Wheatley, 1998).
Debate about whether people can accurately predict their emotions has
recently emerged (Levine, Lench, Kaplan, & Safer, 2013; Wilson & Gilbert,
2013), with critics suggesting that typical procedures for investigating
impact bias lead to worse predictions than individuals are really capable
of making. As such, the effects of impact bias may not be as strong in real
life as they seem in studies. Nonetheless, the concept of affective forecasting
is increasingly being applied to a variety of research topics, including
hedonic consumption (Alba & Williams, 2013), medical interventions

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

(Angott, Comerford, & Ubel, 2013), and unethical behavior (Ruedy, Moore,
Gino, & Schweitzer, 2013). Recent work has also suggested that inaccurate
affective forecasting may serve an adaptive function, by creating positive
illusions that allow us to persevere through difficult situations (Marroquín,
Nolen-Hoeksema, & Miranda, 2013).
Taking together the literatures on future orientation and affective forecasting presents a puzzle. On one hand, having reasonable conceptualizations
about the future is beneficial in a number of ways. On the other hand, those
conceptualizations about the future may have little bearing on what actually
happens, especially in terms of emotional experiences. Bringing these two
literatures into alignment would likely lead to a more robust understanding
of the role of future thoughts for psychological functioning.
INTEGRATING PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
While early research on conceptions of time focused heavily on perceptions
of the future, more recent work has sought to incorporate past, present, and
future. Time perspective is conceptualized as an individual difference, which
captures individuals’ tendency to orient their thoughts and attitudes toward
the past, present, or future (Mello, Finan, & Worrell, 2013; Zimbardo & Boyd,
1999). These ideas have been explored extensively within the field of psychology, and are beginning to be applied to other disciplines. For example, studies
indicate that individuals’ tendency to orient toward the present or future is
related to their willingness to engage in environmentally sustainable behavior (e.g., Arnocky, Milfont, & Nicol, 2013) and to engage in preventive health
practices (e.g., Roncancio, Ward, & Fernandez, 2013).
Mello et al. (2013) have recently extended the study of time and behavior by
developing a scale that measures both time orientation, as it has traditionally
done, and time relation, or the degree to which individuals view the different elements of time as connected. Their findings regarding time relation
indicated that adolescents who had an integrated sense of the past, present,
and future had higher GPAs than those who saw the three as unrelated.
Although the findings support the importance of temporal integration, the
results should be interpreted cautiously, as the sample sizes were small, and
there were few who viewed elements of time as unrelated.
An alternative approach to exploring conceptions of past, present, and
future is to investigate the ways in which individuals’ self-concepts change
over time. This narrative approach emphasizes the importance of integrating
past, present, and future identities through a narrative life story (McAdams,
2013). Work by Chandler, Lalonde, Sokol, Hallett, and Marcia (2003) suggests that a sense of personal continuity through time is important for
mental health, as they found that adolescents who lacked a strong sense of

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

7

self-continuity were at higher risk of suicide. As highlighted by research
on future orientation, individuals who only weakly connect their present
and future selves are more likely to behave in ways that may threaten their
future.
Considering the important mental health implications of Chandler and
colleagues’ (2003) work, it has spawned surprisingly little research on
temporal continuity in narrative identity (but see Habermas & Köber, 2014;
Pasupathi, Mansour, & Brubaker, 2007). Indeed, the majority of research
on narrative identity has focused on connections between the past and the
present, with little attention paid to the future (see McLean & Pasupathi,
2012, for a review).
INTERVENTIONS
Given the importance of thinking about the past, present, and future, at least
two lines of research have emerged that aim to take advantage of research
findings on temporal continuity to achieve certain outcomes. One of these
intervention programs involves the concept of possible selves (Oyserman
& Markus, 1990). Closely related to future orientation, possible selves are
clear, positive images of who we hope to become. These images form a set
of identity goals, and individuals may or may not have concrete strategies
for achieving them.
Applying this research to an academic setting, Oyserman and colleagues
investigated children’s school-related identities, and their strategies for
attaining desired future academic identities (see Oyserman & Fryberg, 2006,
for a review). They found that possible school identities are most helpful
when they focus on the near future, and when children are equipped with
concrete strategies for achieving their desired identities. On the basis of
this work, they developed interventions that go beyond eliciting students’
aspirations and focus on the behavioral steps that students can take toward
identity goals. Some of their recent work explores a paradox among children
from lower SES backgrounds: These children tend to have high aspirations,
but less success meeting their goals (Oyserman, Johnson, & James, 2011).
They suggest that the crucial mediating factor between students’ goals and
outcomes is whether they have effective strategies for achieving their goals.
Thus, thinking about the future seems most helpful for students when they
have concrete steps they can take toward that future.
While Oyserman and colleagues’ interventions lean heavily on future orientation, Pennebaker and colleagues have developed an intervention strategy based on the narrative approach. Their research has linked the act of
constructing a meaningful, coherent narrative with a wide range of positive outcomes. For example, individuals who participated in an intervention

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

in which they described a traumatic personal event experienced improved
long-term psychological health, increases in working memory, and even better immune function, relative to controls who described a trivial event (e.g.,
Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser, 1988).
The act of developing a narrative itself seems to be the mechanism responsible for these positive outcomes, as this process provides opportunities to
organize and analyze memories (Pennebaker, 1997; see also Adler, 2012,
for applications to therapy). More recent work has extended this research
to interventions involving descriptions of future goals, as opposed to past
events (e.g., GPA, Morisano, Hirsh, Peterson, Pihl, & Shore, 2010).
KEY ISSUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Our review of foundational and cutting-edge work on temporal identity integration suggests several broad areas for future research on the topic.
First, despite its theoretical importance, few studies actually assess identity
integration across the past, present, and future. Even research that includes
elements of all three phases of time (e.g., Zimbardo) does not assess integration. Mello and colleagues have begun to examine linkages among different
elements of time, but their approach is about time itself, as opposed to the self
through time. Accordingly, many fundamental questions remain unanswered.
For example, to what degree are past, present, and future viewed as continuous representations of the self? One could have a clear sense of “me in
the past” and “me in the present,” but those two understandings could be
disconnected from one another. Benish-Weisman (2009) demonstrated this
phenomenon when discussing the fracture narrative in the context of immigration. Immigrating to a new country has the potential to cleave an individual’s life into two distinct portions: the self pre-immigration and the self
post-immigration. This type of discontinuity of identity is precisely what
Erikson (1950) wrote about when discussing the problems faced by combat
veterans returning from World War II, who experienced difficulty integrating their pre-war and post-war selves. Thus, the theoretical importance of
identity integration has been clear for several decades, and yet the empirical
research has not answered the theoretical call.
The advancement of research on temporal identity integration will
also require researchers to dig deeper into their methodological toolbox.
As implied by our preceding discussion of assessing the integration
of different elements of time, future research would benefit from
using person-centered approaches to complement the existing dominant
variable-centered approaches. Variable-centered research focuses on the associations between two or more discrete variables. In contrast, person-centered
approaches emphasize the interrelations among a set of variables within

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

9

a person. These approaches lead to qualitatively distinct configurations of
variables. In the context of temporal identity integration, person-centered
approaches can address two critical questions: (i) what configurations of
past, present, and future are evident within a population? For example,
is integration of past, present, and future the most commonly occurring
configuration that individuals’ possess? and (ii) what are the implications of different configurations for psychological functioning? While
variable-centered approaches can assess the importance of the past, present,
or future, person-centered approaches can lead to insights on the significance
of the different configurations evident in the sample.
Longitudinal studies following individuals over a reasonable amount of
time and across critical life transitions are another methodological necessity.
Such studies could contribute to understanding the emergence and developmental course of temporal identity integration. Furthermore, longitudinal
studies would allow for examinations of theoretically interesting temporal
configurations such as people who are “stuck in the past” or have a chronic
disruption in the connections between multiple phases of time.
A final fruitful methodological direction is the inclusion of mixed methods approaches to temporal identity integration. As can be seen from the
cutting-edge research described previously, researchers are increasingly relying on qualitative data to understand temporal identity. These qualitative
data have been analyzed both qualitatively (e.g., Mello et al., 2009) and quantitatively (Pasupathi et al., 2007). Regardless of how the data are analyzed,
using qualitative information as the source data can move our understanding of temporal identity integration forward. Qualitative data are much more
likely than quantitative data to be contextualized in individuals’ lives and
developmental moments, therefore allowing researchers to understand identity in action.
In addition to the conceptual and methodological directions detailed earlier, research on temporal identity integration must wrestle with two major
challenges to advancement. We close this chapter by detailing two of these
challenges.
The first challenge is gaining a firm understanding of the cultural nature
of time, identity, and the meaning of integration. While there has been
a great deal of research on the cultural nature of time and the cultural
nature of identity, there has been very little on how constructions of identity
through time may vary by culture. For example, is temporal identity
integration itself a culture-specific ideal? Some evidence suggests it may
be. For example, the temporal sequencing of narratives may be specific to
Western/American White cultures, and others, such as African-Americans
and Latinos, may structure their narratives topically rather than temporally
(Perez & Tager-Flusberg, 1998). The available evidence, however, is scant

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and methodologically flawed. Thus, a critical area for future work is to
explore the cultural parameters of temporal identity integration.
Finally, a major challenge to gaining future knowledge on this topic is to
integrate research across the numerous subdisciplines and conceptualizations of temporal identity. As featured in this chapter, relevant research is
being conducted across developmental, social, personality, and cognitive
psychology, with numerous different approaches and definitions. We used
this breadth to argue that temporal identity integration is a core developmental construct. There is clearly a broad phenomenon that all are attempting to
understand. While the individual trees may be relatively clear and coherent,
viewing the forest as a whole leads to difficulties in synthesizing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions. Accordingly, we challenge researchers to
read outside of their specialty area, incorporate diverse perspectives, and
collaborate with researchers who put different perspectives in action. While
there are numerous barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration (even within
psychology), the future of our understanding depends on it. As we advocate
for the importance of identity integration, we should also appreciate the
value of integrating psychology across its many divides.

REFERENCES
Adler, J. M. (2012). Living into the story: Agency and coherence in a longitudinal
study of narrative identity development and mental health over the course of psychotherapy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(2), 367–389.
Alba, J. W., & Williams, E. F. (2013). Pleasure principles: A review of research on
hedonic consumption. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 23, 2–18.
Angott, A. M., Comerford, D. A., & Ubel, P. A. (2013). Imagining life with an ostomy:
Does a video intervention improve quality-of-life predictions for a medical condition that may elicit disgust? Patient Education and Counseling, 91(1), 113–119.
Arnocky, S., Milfont, T. L., & Nicol, J. R. (2013). Time perspective and sustainable behavior: Evidence for the distinction between consideration of immediate
and future consequences. Environment and Behavior. Advance online publication.
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Benish-Weisman, M. (2009). Between trauma and redemption story form differences
in immigrant narratives of successful and nonsuccessful immigration. Journal of
Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40(6), 953–968.
Boroditsky, L., Fuhrman, O., & McCormick, K. (2011). Do English and Mandarin
speakers think about time differently? Cognition, 118(1), 123–129.
Chandler, M. J., Lalonde, C. E., Sokol, B. W., Hallett, D., & Marcia, J. E. (2003).
Personal persistence, identity development, and suicide: A study of native and
non-native North American adolescents. Monographs of the Society for Research in
Child Development, 68(2), Serial No. 273.

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Crespo, C., Jose, P. E., Kielpikowski, M., & Pryor, J. (2013). “On solid ground”: Family and school connectedness promotes adolescents’ future orientation. Journal of
Adolescence, 36(5), 993–1002.
Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York, NY: Norton.
Friedman, L. J. (2000). Identity’s architect: A biography of Erik H. Erikson. Cambridge,
England: Harvard University Press.
Gilbert, D. T., Pinel, E. C., Wilson, T. D., Blumberg, S. J., & Wheatley, T. P. (1998).
Immune neglect: A source of durability bias in affective forecasting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 617–638.
Habermas, T., & Köber, C. (2014). Autobiographical reasoning is constitutive for narrative identity: The role of the life story for personal continuity. In K. C. McLean
& M. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of identity development. Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press.
Iovu, M.-B. (2013). Future expectations of senior high schoolers in Romania. International Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/
02673843.2013.810162
James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. New York, NY: Holt.
Levine, L. J., Lench, H. C., Kaplan, R. L., & Safer, M. A. (2013). Like Schrodinger’s cat,
the impact bias is both dead and alive: Reply to Wilson and Gilbert (2013). Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(5), 749–756.
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 3(5), 551–558.
Marroquín, G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Miranda, R. (2013). Escaping the future:
Affective forecasting in escapist fantasy and attempted suicide. Journal of Social
and Clinical Psychology, 32(4), 446–463.
McAdams, D. P. (2013). The psychological self as actor, agent, and author. Perspectives
on Psychological Science, 8(3), 272–295.
McLean, K. C., & Pasupathi, M. (2012). Processes of identity development: Where I
am and how I got there. Identity, 12(1), 8–28.
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. (Eds.) (2014). The Oxford handbook of identity development.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Mello, Z. R., Bhadare, D. K., Fearn, E. J., Galaviz, M. M., Hartmann, E. S., & Worrell, F. C. (2009). The window, the river, and the novel: Examining adolescents’
conceptions of the past, the present, and the future. Adolescence, 44(175), 539–556.
Mello, Z. R., Finan, L. J., & Worrell, F. C. (2013). Introducing an instrument to assess
time orientation and time relation in adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 36(3),
551–563.
Morisano, D., Hirsh, J. B., Peterson, J. B., Pihl, R. O., & Shore, B. M. (2010). Setting,
elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improves academic performance.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 255–264.
Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. Oxford, England: Oxford University
Press.
Nurmi, J. E. (1991). How do adolescents see their future? A review of the development of future orientation and planning. Developmental Review, 11, 1–59.

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Oyserman, D., & Fryberg, S. A. (2006). The possible selves of diverse adolescents:
Content and function across gender, race and national origin. In C. Dunkel & J.
Kerpelman (Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 17–39). Huntington, NY: Nova.
Oyserman, D., Johnson, E., & James, L. (2011). Seeing the destination but not the path:
Effects of socioeconomic disadvantage on school-focused possible self content and
linked behavioral strategies. Self and Identity, 10, 474–492.
Oyserman, D., & Markus, H. (1990). Possible selves and delinquency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 112–125.
Pasupathi, M., Mansour, E., & Brubaker, J. R. (2007). Developing a life story: Constructing relations between self and experience in autobiographical narratives.
Human Development, 50, 85–110.
Pennebaker, J. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process.
Psychological Science, 8, 162–166.
Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and
immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 56, 239–245.
Perez, C., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (1998). Clinicians’ perceptions of children’s oral personal narratives. Narrative Inquiry, 8(1), 181–201.
Roncancio, A. M., Ward, K. K., & Fernandez, M. E. (2013). Understanding cervical
cancer screening intentions among Latinas using an expanded theory of planned
behavior model. Behavioral Medicine, 39(3), 66–72.
Routledge, C., & Arndt, J. (2005). Time and terror: Managing temporal consciousness
and the awareness of mortality. In A. Strathman & J. Joireman (Eds.), Understanding behavior in the context of time (pp. 59–84). New Jersey, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates Publishers.
Ruedy, N. E., Moore, C., Gino, F., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2013). The cheater’s high: The
unexpected affective benefits of unethical behavior. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 105(4), 531–548.
Sampson, E. E. (1989). The challenge of social change for psychology: Globalization
and psychology’s theory of the person. American Psychologist, 44(6), 914–921.
Seginer, R. (2009). Future orientation: Developmental and ecological perspectives. New
York, NY: Springer.
Skorikov, V., & Vondracek, F. W. (2007). Positive career orientation as an inhibitor of
adolescent problem behaviour. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 131–146.
Steinberg, L. (2005). Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends in
Cognitive Sciences, 9(2), 69–74.
Syed, M., Azmitia, M., & Cooper, C. R. (2011). Identity and academic success among
under-represented ethnic minorities: An interdisciplinary review and integration.
Journal of Social Issues, 67(3), 442–468.
Vignoles, V. L., Schwartz, S. J., & Luyckx, K. (2011). Introduction: Toward an integrative view of identity. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook
of identity theory and research (pp. 1–27). New York, NY: Springer.

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

13

Waterman, A. S. (2014). Identity as internal processes: How the “I” comes to define
the “Me”. In K. C. McLean & M. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of identity development. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2005). Affective forecasting: Knowing what to want.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3), 131–134.
Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2013). The impact bias is alive and well. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 740–748.
Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individual differences metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77,
1271–1288.
Zimbardo, P. G., Keough, K. A., & Boyd, J. N. (1997). Present time perspective as a
predictor of risky driving. Personality and Individual Difference, 23, 1007–1023.

FURTHER READING
Chandler, M. J., Lalonde, C. E., Sokol, B. W., Hallett, D., & Marcia, J. E. (2003).
Personal persistence, identity development, and suicide: A study of Native and
Non-Native North American adolescents. Monographs of the Society for Research in
Child Development, 68(2), Serial No. 273.
McAdams, D. P. (2013). The redemptive self: Stories Americans live by [Revised and
expanded edition]. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. (Eds.) (2014). The Oxford handbook of identity development.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotion. New
York, NY: Guilford Press.

MOIN SYED SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Moin Syed (PhD, 2009, University of California, Santa Cruz) is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
His research is broadly concerned with identity development among ethnically and culturally diverse adolescents and emerging adults, with particular
focus on the development of multiple personal and social identities (e.g., ethnicity, social class, and gender) and the implications of identity development
for educational experiences and career orientation. He has served as editor
or coeditor of special issues of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development on interdisciplinary conceptions of identity development, an issue of
Journal of Social Issues focusing on the underrepresentation of ethnic minority students in science and engineering fields, and an issue of Identity; An
International Journal of Theory and Research focused on recent advances in Erik
Erikson’s theory of identity development. He is coeditor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Identity Development and Associate Editor of Emerging
Adulthood. He currently serves on the executive committees of the Society for

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Research on Identity Formation and the Society for the Study of Emerging
Adulthood.
http://psych.umn.edu/people/facultyprofile.php?UID=moin,
http://nicelab.wordpress.com/
LAUREN L. MITCHELL
Lauren L. Mitchell (BA, 2011, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI) is a graduate student in the Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics PhD program in the University of Minnesota Psychology Department.
Her research interests include personality development, narrative identity,
multiculturalism (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and intersections of identities),
and emerging adulthood. http://nicelab.wordpress.com/
RELATED ESSAYS
Learning Across the Life Course (Sociology), Jutta Allmendinger and Marcel
Helbig
Language, Perspective, and Memory (Psychology), Rachel A. Ryskin et al.
Identity Fusion (Psychology), Michael D. Burhmester and William B. Swann
Jr.
Genetics and the Life Course (Sociology), Evan Charney
The Inherence Heuristic: Generating Everyday Explanations (Psychology),
Andrei Cimpian
Misinformation and How to Correct It (Psychology), John Cook et al.
Youth Entrepreneurship (Psychology), William Damon et al.
Resilience (Psychology), Erica D. Diminich and George A. Bonanno
Migrant Networks (Sociology), Filiz Garip and Asad L. Asad
Setting One’s Mind on Action: Planning Out Goal Striving in Advance
(Psychology), Peter M. Gollwitzer
Immigrant Children and the Transition to Adulthood (Sociology), Roberto G.
Gonzales and Benjamin J. Roth
Moral Identity (Psychology), Sam A. Hardy and Gustavo Carlo
Regulatory Focus Theory (Psychology), E. Tory Higgins
Social Aspects of Memory (Psychology), William Hirst and Charles B. Stone
Motivation Science (Psychology), Arie W. Kruglanski et al.
From Individual Rationality to Socially Embedded Self-Regulation (Sociology), Siegwart Lindenberg
Concepts and Semantic Memory (Psychology), Barbara C. Malt
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Memory Gaps and Memory Errors (Psychology), Jeffrey S. Neuschatz et al.
Culture as Situated Cognition (Psychology), Daphna Oyserman

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

15

Identity-Based Motivation (Psychology), Daphna Oyserman
Born This Way: Thinking Sociologically about Essentialism (Sociology),
Kristen Schilt
Effortful Control (Psychology), Tracy L. Spinrad and Nancy Eisenberg
Taking Personality to the Next Level: What Does It Mean to Know a Person?
(Psychology), Simine Vazire and Robert Wilson


Temporal Identity Integration
as a Core Developmental Process
MOIN SYED and LAUREN L. MITCHELL

Abstract
The construct of identity has captivated scholars across the social sciences, humanities, and the arts. For good reason, too, as the question who am I? cuts to the core
of human experience. Following Erikson’s theorizing, developmental psychologists
have stressed the importance of an identity that is extended through time. A healthy
identity is defined, in part, by individuals’ ability to reconcile and integrate their
past experiences, current concerns, and future prospects, a phenomenon we label
temporal identity integration. In this chapter, we review the foundational theoretical
and empirical work pertaining to temporal identity integration, drawing on developmental, social, and personality psychology perspectives. We then review some of
the most exciting empirical findings across these areas, and provide suggestions for
future directions on the topic.

When I (M. Syed) was in an elevator while attending the meetings of the
Society for Research on Identity Formation, an older gentleman riding along
looked closely at my badge and asked, “Identity? What’s that about?” After
a few seconds I replied, “It is about who people are and what they want to
do with their lives.” His reply: “Well, what’s more important than that?!”
The question who am I? is simple, and yet it cuts to the core of human experience. The question has been asked by psychologists for nearly as long as
psychologists have been asking questions. Indeed, the question of who am I?
was a major focus of William James’ (1890) groundbreaking text, Principles of
Psychology. Pursuant to these historical roots, the question of who am I? has
been pondered by scholars from across the social sciences, humanities, and
the arts, each with different foci. Even within the social sciences (or psychology alone) different schools of thought on the problem of identity have relied
on quite different conceptualizations, theories, and methods (Syed, Azmitia,
& Cooper, 2011; Vignoles, Schwartz, & Luyckx, 2011).

Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Edited by Robert Scott and Stephen Kosslyn.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-1-118-90077-2.

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

To our reading, the fact that multiple disciplines and subdisciplines have
devoted substantial time and resources to understanding identity suggests
that the construct truly is core to the nature of being, and has developmental
significance. In this chapter, we extend this notion to individuals’ understanding of the relation between identity and time, or temporal identity. As
in the case of identity, the study of time has figured prominently throughout
the social sciences, suggesting that it is also a core element of being. Accordingly, we highlight the foundational research, cutting-edge work, and future
directions as related to temporal identity integration as a core developmental
process.

FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
Consistent with the notion of a core developmental process, the theoretical
roots for temporal identity integration run deep and wide. Despite James’
early work on this topic, Erik Erikson is the theorist most readily identified
with the term “identity.” Indeed, Erikson’s biographer, Lawrence Friedman
(2000), called him “identity’s architect” because of his voluminous writings
on not only what identity is, but more specifically how identity develops.
Erikson’s focus on development set him apart from James, who was more
concerned with the “here and now” as opposed to the “how and when.”
Although Erikson offered many (sometimes contradictory) definitions of
identity (Waterman, 2014), he broadly considered identity to be a personal
sense of coherence and continuity, established through integrating the self
both contextually and temporally. Contextual identity integration refers to
the coordination of multiple identity domains that are relevant for one’s
life (e.g., work and relationships). In contrast, temporal identity integration
refers to a sense of personal continuity through time. In other words, are
individuals’ views of who they were in the past reasonably consistent with
who they are now and who they envision themselves to be in the future?
Thus, identity integration involves the coordination and synthesis of the self
across space and time.
Erikson’s emphasis on integration, continuity, and coherence oftentimes
leads researchers to believe that he advocated for a static, unchanging view
of the self—that temporal integration is only achieved by being the same
through time or that contextual integration is achieved by acting the same
across different life spaces (Sampson, 1989). Such beliefs represent a misread
of Erikson’s theory. Rather than advocating for literal sameness, Erikson discussed the importance of fidelity, which refers to being/acting in accordance
with who individuals believe themselves to be. Thus, rather than static sameness, what is particularly important is the absence of contradiction.

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

3

Erikson’s writings were largely theoretical, rather than based on empirical evidence. Within developmental psychology, the empirical field most
closely associated with Erikson, the study of identity development has been
dominated by the identity status model (Marcia, 1966; see McLean & Syed,
2014), which, interestingly, does not incorporate temporal identity integration. Rather, the focus is on determining individuals’ current identity structure by investigating their process of developing an identity (specifically,
exploration and commitment). As a result, developmental psychology has an
ironic dearth of empirical data that speak to temporal identity integration.
Fortunately, developmental psychology is not the only game in town.
Merging the “study of lives” tradition in personology (Murray, 1938) with
Erikson’s developmental perspective, McAdams (2013) developed the
autobiographical life story model, in which he argued that identity can
be conceptualized as an integrated and evolving life story. In contrast to
Marcia’s (1966) operationalization of Erikson, McAdams relied heavily
on the notion of temporal identity integration. It is through telling stories
and constructing a personal narrative that individuals integrate their past,
present, and future. Identity is not only revealed through telling stories, but
identity itself is a story, an extended narrative through time that the narrator
works to keep going.
Returning to the idea of a core developmental process, there are other subdisciplines of psychology that conduct research relevant to temporal identity
integration. This work, however, is not explicitly situated within an Eriksonian framework, or in some cases, any identity framework at all. Rather, the
focus is on different conceptualizations of time and its relevance for psychological functioning.
In social psychology, for example, the starting point is not the “problem
of identity” but rather the concept of time itself. Befitting the field of social
psychology, conceptualizations of time have emphasized the interactions
between situational forces and individual differences. Zimbardo has been an
influential researcher within this realm, contributing much empirical data in
support of his model of time perspective (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). Because
time perspective is conceptualized as a stable individual difference, the
focus has been on measuring individuals’ time perspective structure and the
implications thereof. For example, one study demonstrated a reliable, yet
modest, positive association between present time orientation and engaging
in risky driving practices (Zimbardo, Keough, & Boyd, 1997). Future time
orientation, however, demonstrated a small negative correlation with risky
driving.
The emphasis within this line of research is on the downstream consequences of different time orientations. This emphasis, along with the
conceptualization of time as a stable individual difference, has precluded

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

investigations of how individuals adopt particular time orientations in the
first place. Thus, the social psychological approach to time stands in contrast
to the developmental approach to time, in which individual perceptions are
believed to change through experience and maturation, with the ultimate
goal of temporal integration. Nevertheless, a similarity between the social
and developmental approaches lies in the centrality of time in the life space.
Indeed, Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) argue that time perspective “provides a
foundation on which many more visible constructs are erected or embedded,
such as achievement, goal setting, risk taking, sensation seeking, addiction,
rumination, guilt, and more.” (p. 1272).
Finally, although the focus of this article is on developmental, personality, and social approaches to time and identity, it is important to note that
time has also figured prominently in the broad areas of cognitive psychology and brain science. For example, Boroditsky (e.g., Boroditsky, Fuhrman, &
McCormick, 2011) has conducted extensive work on understanding the connections between language and thought through an analysis of mental representations of time and temporal metaphors. Examining speakers of English,
Mandarin, Hebrew, and others has highlighted the linguistically based cultural variations in how time is represented in language, thought, and action.
More broadly, studies of adolescent brain development have indicated the
importance of the prefrontal cortex for executing cognitive operations pertaining to the future. In particular, the capacity for long-term planning and
the effective weighing of risk versus reward in decision making appear to be
linked with prefrontal maturation (see Steinberg, 2005, for a review).
Taken together, it is clear that the foundational research on temporal identity integration is deep and wide. It is limited, however, in two interrelated
respects. First, the existing work is more theoretical than empirical, especially within Eriksonian notions of integration. Second, much of the available
empirical research is only indirectly related to temporal identity integration.
The implications, however, are readily apparent, and one of our goals for
this chapter is to argue for the broad framework of identity to better understand and integrate the disparate literatures. In the next section, we highlight
some intriguing emerging trends across various topic areas of psychology
that have relevance to temporal identity integration.
AREAS OF CUTTING-EDGE WORK
We identified three broad areas in which there is cutting-edge work on temporal identity integration. The first section includes research that is primarily
oriented toward the future. In the second section, we discuss research that
examined the future in relation to the past and present, and thus is more
in line with integration. Finally, in the third section we discuss some of the

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

5

most innovative work on temporal identity integration, which is focused on
interventions to address health and educational disparities.
FUTURE
Future orientation refers to the degree to which individuals think and plan
about the future, including expectations, plans, and feelings of optimism and
pessimism (Nurmi, 1991; for a review, see Seginer, 2009). Future orientation
affects the decisions that individuals make in the present, and thus influences their future trajectories. Those who are future-oriented tend to consider
future consequences of their present actions, and behave accordingly. For
example, adolescents who are not highly future-oriented are at higher risk
for problem behaviors such as school misconduct (Skorikov & Vondracek,
2007). In contrast, individuals who expect to do well avoid behaving in ways
that would threaten their bright future (Routledge & Arndt, 2005).
Much of the research in this area has centered around adolescents, especially focusing on their expectations for future career and family life. Recent
work has followed suit, with several studies beginning to investigate future
orientation in non-American adolescents (e.g., Iovu, 2013). As a great deal
of work has demonstrated the outcomes of future orientation, current studies focus on predictors that influence future orientation, such as family and
school connectedness, and explore ways of inducing greater future orientation in adolescents in hopes of reaping the associated positive outcomes (e.g.,
Crespo, Jose, Kielpikowski, & Pryor, 2013).
Social psychologists have investigated thoughts about the future in terms of
affective forecasting, or the ability to predict the emotions that will be triggered
by future events. Generally, individuals are better at determining whether
events will make them happy or unhappy than at predicting how intense
those emotions will be (Wilson & Gilbert, 2005). A manifestation of affective forecasting is impact bias, or the tendency to overestimate the emotional
effects of future events. For example, individuals tend to overestimate the
intensity and duration of their resulting negative emotions following a hypothetical breakup with a romantic partner (Gilbert, Pinel, Wilson, Blumberg,
& Wheatley, 1998).
Debate about whether people can accurately predict their emotions has
recently emerged (Levine, Lench, Kaplan, & Safer, 2013; Wilson & Gilbert,
2013), with critics suggesting that typical procedures for investigating
impact bias lead to worse predictions than individuals are really capable
of making. As such, the effects of impact bias may not be as strong in real
life as they seem in studies. Nonetheless, the concept of affective forecasting
is increasingly being applied to a variety of research topics, including
hedonic consumption (Alba & Williams, 2013), medical interventions

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

(Angott, Comerford, & Ubel, 2013), and unethical behavior (Ruedy, Moore,
Gino, & Schweitzer, 2013). Recent work has also suggested that inaccurate
affective forecasting may serve an adaptive function, by creating positive
illusions that allow us to persevere through difficult situations (Marroquín,
Nolen-Hoeksema, & Miranda, 2013).
Taking together the literatures on future orientation and affective forecasting presents a puzzle. On one hand, having reasonable conceptualizations
about the future is beneficial in a number of ways. On the other hand, those
conceptualizations about the future may have little bearing on what actually
happens, especially in terms of emotional experiences. Bringing these two
literatures into alignment would likely lead to a more robust understanding
of the role of future thoughts for psychological functioning.
INTEGRATING PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
While early research on conceptions of time focused heavily on perceptions
of the future, more recent work has sought to incorporate past, present, and
future. Time perspective is conceptualized as an individual difference, which
captures individuals’ tendency to orient their thoughts and attitudes toward
the past, present, or future (Mello, Finan, & Worrell, 2013; Zimbardo & Boyd,
1999). These ideas have been explored extensively within the field of psychology, and are beginning to be applied to other disciplines. For example, studies
indicate that individuals’ tendency to orient toward the present or future is
related to their willingness to engage in environmentally sustainable behavior (e.g., Arnocky, Milfont, & Nicol, 2013) and to engage in preventive health
practices (e.g., Roncancio, Ward, & Fernandez, 2013).
Mello et al. (2013) have recently extended the study of time and behavior by
developing a scale that measures both time orientation, as it has traditionally
done, and time relation, or the degree to which individuals view the different elements of time as connected. Their findings regarding time relation
indicated that adolescents who had an integrated sense of the past, present,
and future had higher GPAs than those who saw the three as unrelated.
Although the findings support the importance of temporal integration, the
results should be interpreted cautiously, as the sample sizes were small, and
there were few who viewed elements of time as unrelated.
An alternative approach to exploring conceptions of past, present, and
future is to investigate the ways in which individuals’ self-concepts change
over time. This narrative approach emphasizes the importance of integrating
past, present, and future identities through a narrative life story (McAdams,
2013). Work by Chandler, Lalonde, Sokol, Hallett, and Marcia (2003) suggests that a sense of personal continuity through time is important for
mental health, as they found that adolescents who lacked a strong sense of

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

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self-continuity were at higher risk of suicide. As highlighted by research
on future orientation, individuals who only weakly connect their present
and future selves are more likely to behave in ways that may threaten their
future.
Considering the important mental health implications of Chandler and
colleagues’ (2003) work, it has spawned surprisingly little research on
temporal continuity in narrative identity (but see Habermas & Köber, 2014;
Pasupathi, Mansour, & Brubaker, 2007). Indeed, the majority of research
on narrative identity has focused on connections between the past and the
present, with little attention paid to the future (see McLean & Pasupathi,
2012, for a review).
INTERVENTIONS
Given the importance of thinking about the past, present, and future, at least
two lines of research have emerged that aim to take advantage of research
findings on temporal continuity to achieve certain outcomes. One of these
intervention programs involves the concept of possible selves (Oyserman
& Markus, 1990). Closely related to future orientation, possible selves are
clear, positive images of who we hope to become. These images form a set
of identity goals, and individuals may or may not have concrete strategies
for achieving them.
Applying this research to an academic setting, Oyserman and colleagues
investigated children’s school-related identities, and their strategies for
attaining desired future academic identities (see Oyserman & Fryberg, 2006,
for a review). They found that possible school identities are most helpful
when they focus on the near future, and when children are equipped with
concrete strategies for achieving their desired identities. On the basis of
this work, they developed interventions that go beyond eliciting students’
aspirations and focus on the behavioral steps that students can take toward
identity goals. Some of their recent work explores a paradox among children
from lower SES backgrounds: These children tend to have high aspirations,
but less success meeting their goals (Oyserman, Johnson, & James, 2011).
They suggest that the crucial mediating factor between students’ goals and
outcomes is whether they have effective strategies for achieving their goals.
Thus, thinking about the future seems most helpful for students when they
have concrete steps they can take toward that future.
While Oyserman and colleagues’ interventions lean heavily on future orientation, Pennebaker and colleagues have developed an intervention strategy based on the narrative approach. Their research has linked the act of
constructing a meaningful, coherent narrative with a wide range of positive outcomes. For example, individuals who participated in an intervention

8

EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

in which they described a traumatic personal event experienced improved
long-term psychological health, increases in working memory, and even better immune function, relative to controls who described a trivial event (e.g.,
Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser, 1988).
The act of developing a narrative itself seems to be the mechanism responsible for these positive outcomes, as this process provides opportunities to
organize and analyze memories (Pennebaker, 1997; see also Adler, 2012,
for applications to therapy). More recent work has extended this research
to interventions involving descriptions of future goals, as opposed to past
events (e.g., GPA, Morisano, Hirsh, Peterson, Pihl, & Shore, 2010).
KEY ISSUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Our review of foundational and cutting-edge work on temporal identity integration suggests several broad areas for future research on the topic.
First, despite its theoretical importance, few studies actually assess identity
integration across the past, present, and future. Even research that includes
elements of all three phases of time (e.g., Zimbardo) does not assess integration. Mello and colleagues have begun to examine linkages among different
elements of time, but their approach is about time itself, as opposed to the self
through time. Accordingly, many fundamental questions remain unanswered.
For example, to what degree are past, present, and future viewed as continuous representations of the self? One could have a clear sense of “me in
the past” and “me in the present,” but those two understandings could be
disconnected from one another. Benish-Weisman (2009) demonstrated this
phenomenon when discussing the fracture narrative in the context of immigration. Immigrating to a new country has the potential to cleave an individual’s life into two distinct portions: the self pre-immigration and the self
post-immigration. This type of discontinuity of identity is precisely what
Erikson (1950) wrote about when discussing the problems faced by combat
veterans returning from World War II, who experienced difficulty integrating their pre-war and post-war selves. Thus, the theoretical importance of
identity integration has been clear for several decades, and yet the empirical
research has not answered the theoretical call.
The advancement of research on temporal identity integration will
also require researchers to dig deeper into their methodological toolbox.
As implied by our preceding discussion of assessing the integration
of different elements of time, future research would benefit from
using person-centered approaches to complement the existing dominant
variable-centered approaches. Variable-centered research focuses on the associations between two or more discrete variables. In contrast, person-centered
approaches emphasize the interrelations among a set of variables within

Temporal Identity Integration as a Core Developmental Process

9

a person. These approaches lead to qualitatively distinct configurations of
variables. In the context of temporal identity integration, person-centered
approaches can address two critical questions: (i) what configurations of
past, present, and future are evident within a population? For example,
is integration of past, present, and future the most commonly occurring
configuration that individuals’ possess? and (ii) what are the implications of different configurations for psychological functioning? While
variable-centered approaches can assess the importance of the past, present,
or future, person-centered approaches can lead to insights on the significance
of the different configurations evident in the sample.
Longitudinal studies following individuals over a reasonable amount of
time and across critical life transitions are another methodological necessity.
Such studies could contribute to understanding the emergence and developmental course of temporal identity integration. Furthermore, longitudinal
studies would allow for examinations of theoretically interesting temporal
configurations such as people who are “stuck in the past” or have a chronic
disruption in the connections between multiple phases of time.
A final fruitful methodological direction is the inclusion of mixed methods approaches to temporal identity integration. As can be seen from the
cutting-edge research described previously, researchers are increasingly relying on qualitative data to understand temporal identity. These qualitative
data have been analyzed both qualitatively (e.g., Mello et al., 2009) and quantitatively (Pasupathi et al., 2007). Regardless of how the data are analyzed,
using qualitative information as the source data can move our understanding of temporal identity integration forward. Qualitative data are much more
likely than quantitative data to be contextualized in individuals’ lives and
developmental moments, therefore allowing researchers to understand identity in action.
In addition to the conceptual and methodological directions detailed earlier, research on temporal identity integration must wrestle with two major
challenges to advancement. We close this chapter by detailing two of these
challenges.
The first challenge is gaining a firm understanding of the cultural nature
of time, identity, and the meaning of integration. While there has been
a great deal of research on the cultural nature of time and the cultural
nature of identity, there has been very little on how constructions of identity
through time may vary by culture. For example, is temporal identity
integration itself a culture-specific ideal? Some evidence suggests it may
be. For example, the temporal sequencing of narratives may be specific to
Western/American White cultures, and others, such as African-Americans
and Latinos, may structure their narratives topically rather than temporally
(Perez & Tager-Flusberg, 1998). The available evidence, however, is scant

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EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

and methodologically flawed. Thus, a critical area for future work is to
explore the cultural parameters of temporal identity integration.
Finally, a major challenge to gaining future knowledge on this topic is to
integrate research across the numerous subdisciplines and conceptualizations of temporal identity. As featured in this chapter, relevant research is
being conducted across developmental, social, personality, and cognitive
psychology, with numerous different approaches and definitions. We used
this breadth to argue that temporal identity integration is a core developmental construct. There is clearly a broad phenomenon that all are attempting to
understand. While the individual trees may be relatively clear and coherent,
viewing the forest as a whole leads to difficulties in synthesizing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions. Accordingly, we challenge researchers to
read outside of their specialty area, incorporate diverse perspectives, and
collaborate with researchers who put different perspectives in action. While
there are numerous barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration (even within
psychology), the future of our understanding depends on it. As we advocate
for the importance of identity integration, we should also appreciate the
value of integrating psychology across its many divides.

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FURTHER READING
Chandler, M. J., Lalonde, C. E., Sokol, B. W., Hallett, D., & Marcia, J. E. (2003).
Personal persistence, identity development, and suicide: A study of Native and
Non-Native North American adolescents. Monographs of the Society for Research in
Child Development, 68(2), Serial No. 273.
McAdams, D. P. (2013). The redemptive self: Stories Americans live by [Revised and
expanded edition]. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
McLean, K. C., & Syed, M. (Eds.) (2014). The Oxford handbook of identity development.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotion. New
York, NY: Guilford Press.

MOIN SYED SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Moin Syed (PhD, 2009, University of California, Santa Cruz) is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
His research is broadly concerned with identity development among ethnically and culturally diverse adolescents and emerging adults, with particular
focus on the development of multiple personal and social identities (e.g., ethnicity, social class, and gender) and the implications of identity development
for educational experiences and career orientation. He has served as editor
or coeditor of special issues of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development on interdisciplinary conceptions of identity development, an issue of
Journal of Social Issues focusing on the underrepresentation of ethnic minority students in science and engineering fields, and an issue of Identity; An
International Journal of Theory and Research focused on recent advances in Erik
Erikson’s theory of identity development. He is coeditor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Identity Development and Associate Editor of Emerging
Adulthood. He currently serves on the executive committees of the Society for

14

EMERGING TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Research on Identity Formation and the Society for the Study of Emerging
Adulthood.
http://psych.umn.edu/people/facultyprofile.php?UID=moin,
http://nicelab.wordpress.com/
LAUREN L. MITCHELL
Lauren L. Mitchell (BA, 2011, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI) is a graduate student in the Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics PhD program in the University of Minnesota Psychology Department.
Her research interests include personality development, narrative identity,
multiculturalism (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and intersections of identities),
and emerging adulthood. http://nicelab.wordpress.com/
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