Rejected socially desirable roles can become the basis of an identity.

Evidence

Knutson (1981) also used Erikson’s conceptualization, especially his concept of negative identity. Erikson (1968, p. 174) defines negative identity as “an identity perversely based on all those identifications and roles which, at critical stages of development, had been presented to them [patients] as most undesirable or dangerous and yet also as most real.” It involves what Erikson frequently terms a “vindictive” rejection of the roles considered desirable and proper by the individual’s family and community; it may result from excessive normative ideals demanded by ambitious parents or actualized by superior ones. This interpretation accords with the findings of Schmidtchen (1981) that many terrorists come from families who exert strong pressure for achievement. If a positive identity is not possible, the individual prefers being a “bad” person to being nobody or partially somebody. If early steps toward the acquisition of a negative identity are interpreted and treated by society as final, individuals may be pushed into conformity with the worst that people expect of them (Erikson, 1968, p. 88). Not only may such confused individuals find refuge in radical groups where certainty is assured, but they may be forced into a choice by others’ interpretations of their behavior. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4125

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Erikson’s ‘negative identity’ concept precisely, with its vindictive-rejection mechanism.
• XREF: Directly serves the strategic essentialism question: an identity ‘perversely based’ on what others deem dangerous is an identity held against one’s own genuine commitments — analogous to the ironic, self-consciously fixed posture central to the research. — connects to: The loss of individual personality can itself become an identity; Rejecting a powerful person’s advances can be an act of principled self-respect. — Dolores DeLuce, Blow Jobs: A Guide to Making It in Show…, 231

Broader Connections

• The loss of individual personality can itself become an identity #corroborates (0.80)