Table Of ContentP S :
OSSIBLE ELVES
T , R A
HEORY ESEARCH AND PPLICATIONS
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P S :
OSSIBLE ELVES
T , R A
HEORY ESEARCH AND PPLICATIONS
CURTIS DUNKEL
AND
JENNIFER KERPELMAN
EDITORS
Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
New York
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Possible selves : theory, research, and applications / Curtis Dunkel and Jennifer Kerpelman,
editors.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61209-137-2 (eBook)
1. Self. 2. Self-perception. 3. Identity (Psychology) I. Dunkel, Curtis. II. Kerpelman, Jennifer.
BF697.P69 2005
155.2'5--dc22 2005010806
Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. (cid:30) New York
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Jennifer L. Kerpelman and Curtis S. Dunkel
Foreword xi
Hazel R. Markus
Chapter 1 Temporal Comparisons, Identity, and Motivation: The
Relation Between Past, Present, and Possible Future Selves 1
Erin J. Strahan and Anne E. Wilson
Chapter 2 The Possible Selves of Diverse Adolescents: Content and
Function Across Gender, Race and National Origin 17
Daphna Oyserman and Stephanie Fryberg
Chapter 3 Possible Selves in Adult Development: Linking
Theory and Research 41
Leslie D. Frazier and Karen Hooker
Chapter 4 Gender and Possible Selves 61
Michele Knox
Chapter 5 Possible Selves, Fantasy Distortion, and the Anticipated
Life History: Exploring the Role of the Imagination
in Social Cognition 79
Harry G. Segal
Chapter 6 Identity Health, Stress, and Support: Profiles of Transition
to Motherhood Among High Risk Adolescent Girls 97
Paula S. Nurius, Erin Casey,
Taryn P. Lindhorst and Rebecca J. Macy
Chapter 7 Possible Selves in the Lives of Adult Women:
A Short-Term Longitudinal Study 123
Kristine Anthis
Chapter 8 Possible Selves as Joint Projects 141
Sheila K. Marshall, Richard A. Young and José F. Domene
vi Curtis Dunkel and Jennifer Kerpelman
Chapter 9 Using Q Methodology to Study Possible Selves 163
Jennifer L. Kerpelman
Chapter 10 Possible Selves as Mechanisms of Change in Therapy 187
Curtis S. Dunkel, Daniel Kelts and Brian Coon
Chapter 11 Enhancing Student Motivation through
the Pursuit of Possible Selves 205
Michael F. Hock, Donald D. Deshler, and Jean B. Schumaker
Index 223
PREFACE
Jennifer L. Kerpelman
Auburn University
Curtis S. Dunkel
Illinois Central College
The concept of possible selves, first brought to life only a short time ago by Hazel
Markus and Paula Nurius (1986) has grown into an exciting stream of research. A literature
search using PsychInfo indicated that, between 1986 and 2004, approximately 90 published
articles and over 40 dissertations focused specifically on possible selves. Scholars have
examined possible selves with regard to a host of adolescent outcomes, including academic
achievement, school persistence, career expectations, self-esteem, delinquency, identity
development, and altruistic behaviors. Adults’ possible selves have been associated with
parenthood, physical and mental health, self-esteem, motivation, professional roles, coping,
and aging. In addition, gender and ethnicity have been addressed in a number of possible
selves studies. Although, most studies have focused on Caucasian, American samples, there
has been notable attention given to ethnic minorities (African American, Latino, and
Mexican) within the United States, and a handful of studies have addressed samples outside
of the United States, from countries such as Greece, the United Kingdom, Japan, France,
Canada, Italy, and Korea.
Empirical and theoretical articles have appeared in over 50 different journals, located in
diverse disciplines, including psychology, sociology, nursing, business, social work,
counseling, medicine, and education. Collectively the possible selves research base has grown
in many directions and shows great promise for continuing to offer important contributions to
a number of fields. In fact, one growing area of possible selves work is that of applying the
concept of possible selves to therapeutic and educational goals. Educationally, what has been
learned about possible selves offers a unique and viable approach to helping adolescents learn
ways to identify and work toward attainable self-goals in the academic and career domains.
Furthermore, possible selves offer avenues of intervention when working with both
adolescents and adults in need of behavioral change, ranging from health risks, to addictions,
to delinquent behaviors, to physical fitness. Also exciting, are the number of emerging
scholars who have chosen to make possible selves central to their dissertations during the last
viii Curtis Dunkel and Jennifer Kerpelman
5 years. They are addressing new and important issues such as adolescent suicide, socio-
economic status, disability, adult career change, immigrant experiences, life stress, and youth
interventions.
Possible Selves: Theory, Research, and Application represents a sample of the current
research being conducted in the area of possible selves. Each chapter was written by a scholar
who is an expert in this developing field. The contributors to the book were chosen to
represent a variety of perspectives, and to collectively illustrate some of the different ways
that possible selves are being conceptualized, empirically examined, and used in
interventions.
Strahan and Wilson (chapter 1) summarize a series of studies that demonstrate the effects
of time perspective on the valence of possible selves. They also describe how the
psychological closeness of past or future selves influences current self-evaluation. Oyserman
and Fryberg (chapter 2) review a broad range of work addressing adolescents’ possible selves,
offering a useful summary of what is known about diverse groups of adolescents. They note
important dimensions of possible selves, content, balance, and behavioral strategies. Frazier
and Hooker (chapter 3) use Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model to frame their discussion of
possible selves in adult development. They add clarity to how possible selves fit within the
developmental tasks across adulthood. Knox (chapter 4) offers an informative discussion of
gender and possible selves construction. She also highlights gender differences in the ways
that possible selves relate to a number of adolescent outcomes. Segal (chapter 5) explores the
affective and cognitive nature of possible selves, noting the role of “fantasy” in development.
He presents the Anticipated Life History method for capturing, qualitatively, projective
aspects of self. Nurius, Casey, Lindhurst, and Macy (chapter 6) apply possible selves to an
understudied group, adolescent mothers. They demonstrate the value of understanding the
diversity of adolescent mothers when considering intervention efforts. Anthis (chapter 7)
compares the possible selves of younger and older women, noting similarities across age. In
her work she integrates the possible selves and the identity development literatures. Marshall,
Young and Domene (chapter 8) use Action theory to describe the social construction of
possible selves occurring within close relationships. They describe an alternative set of
methods for examining possible selves, emphasizing issues of salience, balance, clarity,
malleability and temporal orientation. Kerpelman (chapter 9) describes Q methodology as an
alternative means for examining the relative importance of possible selves. Variation, within
and across diverse groups of adolescents, is explored using this method. Dunkel, Kelts, and
Coon (chapter 10) elaborate how possible selves offer a clinical tool to assess therapeutic
change. They apply the Stages of Change model to illustrate the production, elimination and
validation of possible selves as individuals address issues of drug addiction. Finally, Hock,
Deshler and Schumaker (chapter 11) describe the use of possible selves as a means for
enhancing student motivation. At the center of this intervention is the metaphor of a tree that
adolescents draw, label and analyze in terms of their possible selves, considering how they
might nurture their trees and protect them from harm. The compilation of these chapters
represents an important slice of the research being performed in the area of possible selves.
They demonstrate diverse ways that possible selves are being assessed among diverse groups
of adolescents and adults, and the range of processes and outcomes that emerge when
possible selves become the central focus. The hope is that this book not only provides a
glimpse of some of this research, but also acts as a catalyst for further research.
