Moin Syed

University of Minnesota | UMN · Department of Psychology

The identity status model (Marcia et al., J Pers Soc Psychol 3:551--558, 1966) is a widely used framework for identity research in adolescence and adulthood. This paper explores the conceptual and empirical relations between two identity status assessments – the identity status interview (Marcia et al., in Ego identity, Springer, New York, 1993) an...

Although current approaches to the study of resilience acknowledge the role of context, rarely do those conceptualizations attend to societal systems and structures that include hierarchies of power and privilege—namely systems of racism, colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism—nor do they articulate how these structural realities are embedded with...

Finding developmentally appropriate ways to support youth in understanding their own ethnic-racial identity is needed, particularly in contexts like Sweden where such support is not the norm. This preregistered longitudinal study examined whether an 8-week school-based intervention, the Identity Project, impacted youth ethnic-racial identity explor...

Outgroup and diversity attitudes are important components of intercultural understanding and well-being. Despite the potential of ethnic-racial identity development as a means to foster positive outgroup and diversity attitudes, little is known about its effectiveness in rapidly diversifying contexts such as Sweden. This pre-registered study filled...

The call for psychological science to make amends for “causing harm to communities of color and contributing to systemic inequities” (American Psychological Association, 2022a) requires a critical acknowledgment that science itself is not neutral but a sociopolitical and ideological endeavor. From its inception, psychology used science to produce w...

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) has been reported as mediator and moderator of the relation between discrimination and psychological well-being. However, it remains unclear how different forms of discrimination (i.e., overt and subtle) predict well-being over time, and whether ERI exploration and commitment mediate or moderate this association. This p...

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) has been reported as mediator and moderator of the relation between discrimination and psychological well-being. However, it remains unclear how different forms of discrimination (i.e., overt and subtle) predict well-being over time, and whether ERI exploration and commitment mediate or moderate this association. This p...

We examined the critical task of emerging adulthood—identity development—via analyses of trajectories of identity exploration and commitment over the college years, as well as whether narrative processing of important events during this period served as a mechanism of identity exploration and commitment. We took advantage of a unique and comprehens...

Although current approaches to the study of resilience acknowledge the role of context, rarely do those conceptualizations attend to societal systems and structures that include hierarchies of power and privilege - namely systems of racism, colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism – nor do they articulate how these structural realities are embedded...

We examined the critical task of emerging adulthood – identity development – via analyses of trajectories of identity exploration and commitment over the college years, as well as whether narrative processing of important events during this period served as a mechanism of identity exploration and commitment. We took advantage of a unique and compre...

According to the Indigenist ecological systems model (Fish et al., 2022; Fish & Syed, 2018), Indigenous Peoples’ histories and cultures are critical to their development. However, the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ histories and cultures in their environments is complicated by settler colonialism—a societal structure that seeks to eliminate such...

Constructing a narrative identity involves developing an understanding of oneself as integrated through time and across contexts, a task critical to psychosocial development and functioning. However, research has primarily focused on the individual in isolation or in highly localized contexts. This is problematic because narrative identity is profo...

A global challenge for developmental psychology is to better understand how young people around the world make sense of their identities growing up in pluralistic societies. The study of ethnic-racial identity provides an important lens for this process. This paper describes how five European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, and Sweden) a...

The question of what constitutes “the good life” is incomplete without also addressing the question of who gets to live the good life. Implicit in many discussions of the good life, particularly in American and Western European contexts, is that it is equally available to all members of society, and attainable via malleable dispositions (e.g., chan...

According to the Indigenist ecological systems model (Fish et al., 2020), Native American peoples’ histories and cultures are critical to their development. However, the inclusion of Native peoples’ histories and cultures in their environments is complicated by settler colonialism – a societal structure that seeks to eliminate such important contex...

Walking in two worlds is a common metaphor Indigenous peoples use to describe their experiences navigating the differences between Indigenous and Western epistemological and ontological worldviews across various contexts. Despite wide support for this phenomenon, there have been few attempts to address Indigenous–Western cultural incongruities thro...

The aim of the present study was to examine how Swedish youth a) experience diversity and b) link those diversity experiences to their identities. Using a mixed-method approach, we coded written narratives for type of diversity experience, meaning-making, and analyzed qualitative differences due to the proximity of the setting and self-defined in-...

This study examines the association between temporal identity integration, or how identity is integrated across time, and perceived health for new Muslim immigrants to the United States. We specifically examine the content of identity in the occupational and sociocultural domains, which are two important aspects of the immigration transition that c...

This prospective longitudinal study investigated father involvement relative to mother involvement in parent dyads across two generations from the same family. Relative parental involvement was operationalized using measures of how much parents shared parenting responsibilities and to whom their children turned preferentially in various situations....

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to further understand the psychological process of migration through an interdisciplinary (psychology, history, and digital humanities) collaboration that examines the experiences of Somali refugees in the United States. Method: The sample consisted of 26 Somali American emerging adult and older adult refug...

Though Erikson recognized identity development as a lifelong project, most research on identity has focused on adolescents and emerging adults. Less is known about how the identity formed in adolescence is maintained and adapted across the adult life span. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a conceptual review and elaboration of Erikson...

The current moment in psychology is one of great challenges and great opportunities. The open science movement—the move toward more transparent, credible, and reproducible science—has led to a redefinition of what constitutes “normal science.” However, the field of cultural psychology, broadly construed, has by and large not engaged with the open s...

Research suggests that experiences of discrimination and life stressors are associated with negative mental-health outcomes for Muslim populations in western countries. The current study reports on two meta-analyses based on 295 correlations from 130 unique samples and 27,725 individuals, examining the associations of discrimination and life stress...

Though Erikson recognized identity development as a lifelong project, most research on identity has focused on adolescents and emerging adults. Less is known about how the identity formed in adolescence is maintained and adapted across the adult lifespan. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a conceptual review and elaboration of Erikson'...

Although colleges in the United States have become increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, degree attainment remains disproportionately low among students from underrepresented and minoritized racial backgrounds. In this paper, we discuss the interactive influence of both person and environment factors in shaping academic persistence and argu...

While counseling psychologists made substantial proposals to advance qualitative research since the special issue on related methods was published 15-years ago (Haverkamp, Morrow, & Ponterotto, 2005), the field continues to demonstrate an overreliance on quantitative methods. Though important for producing knowledge we can depend on, excessive use...

***Preprint and data are available on "https://osf.io/9hp3m/"*** Erikson's psychosocial developmental theory assumes that valence of one's identity (i.e., identity content valence) defined by positive and negative identity elements is important for understanding patterns of (mal)adaptation. However, previous empirical research on identity and (mal)...

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the links between oppressive social conditions and psychological well-being among Black sexual minorities. In particular, we examine the nature and process by which members of marginalized groups may come to internalize the negative messages about their non-dominant social identity (i.e., internalized oppre...

Experiences of discrimination and links to well‐being have been examined extensively, but several gaps remain. The current study addresses four of those gaps by (1) examining both aggregated and source‐specific forms of discrimination, (2) comparing the experiences of minority and majority group members, (3) expanding the range of outcomes to inclu...

This article provides a roadmap to assist graduate students and their advisors to engage in open science practices. We suggest eight open science practices that novice graduate students could begin adopting today. The topics we cover include journal clubs, project workflow, preprints, reproducible code, data sharing, transparent writing, preregistr...

Among emerging adults, peers are central to ethnic-racial identity (ERI) exploration, acting as primary interlocuters in discussions about ethnicity and race. Although ERI development is understood as adaptive, particularly for young people of color, ethnicity and race related conversations are often highly charged, and can consist of both positive...

Among emerging adults, peers are central to ethnic-racial identity (ERI) exploration, acting as primary interlocuters in discussions about ethnicity and race. Although ERI development is understood as adaptive, particularly for young people of color, ethnicity and race related conversations are often highly charged, and can consist of both positive...

Among emerging adults, peers are central to ethnic-racial identity (ERI) exploration, acting as primary interlocuters in discussions about ethnicity and race. Although ERI development is understood as adaptive, particularly for young people of color, ethnicity and race related conversations are often highly charged, and can consist of both positive...

The present studies examined the common, but untested, theoretical assumption that those in the United States prefer negative past experiences, such as trauma, to be redeemed, to be resolved in some positive or growth-promoting fashion. Narratives of six types of traumatic events were rated by U.S adults (n = 1872) across six samples and two studie...

While counseling psychologists made substantial proposals to advance qualitative research since the special issue on related-methods was published 15-years ago (Haverkamp et al., 2005), the field continues to demonstrate an overreliance on quantitative methods. Though important for producing knowledge we can depend on, excessive use of these method...

The study of identity development has changed a great deal in the last couple of decades. The purpose of this essay is to reflect on these changes, what they mean for the study of identity, and what they mean for the field moving forward. On the one hand, research on identity has greatly increased in depth, breadth, and rigor. On the other hand, ho...

Although survivors of sexual violence have shared their stories with the public on social media and mass media platforms in growing numbers, less is known about how general audiences perceive such trauma stories. These perceptions can have profound consequences for survivor mental health. In the present experimental, vignette-based studies, we anti...

The present studies examined the common, but untested, theoretical assumption that those in the United States prefer negative past experiences, such as trauma, to be redeemed, to be resolved in some positive or growth-promoting fashion. Narratives of six types of traumatic events that were rated by U.S adults (n = 1872) across six samples and two s...

This article provides a roadmap to assist graduate students to engage in open science practices. We suggest eight open science practices that novice graduate students could begin adopting today. The topics we cover include journal clubs, project workflow, preprints, reproducible code, data sharing, transparent writing, preregistration, and register...

Objectives: The present mixed-methods study examines allyship as a politicized collective identity and its associations with ethnic identity, personality traits, and sociopolitical engagement among IPPOC. Method: Participants in two samples in 2016 (n = 256) and 2017 (n = 305) completed measures of ally identity, ethnic identity, personality traits...

Walking in two worlds is a common metaphor Indigenous peoples use to describe their experiences navigating the differences between Indigenous and Western epistemological and ontological worldviews across various contexts. Despite wide support for this phenomena, there have been few attempts to address Indigenous-Western cultural incongruities throu...

Objectives: Cultural ideologies lie at the heart of many current events around the world today. Most of the existing research has examined the “downstream” influence of different ideological positions, particularly for attitudes and intergroup relations. The purpose of this study was to use a developmental-personality perspective to identify potent...

The present studies focused on the role and socialization of biographical master narratives – cultural narratives that prescribe the types and ordering of events that should occur in one’s personal life identity narrative – by focusing on adolescent and emerging adult gender identity development. We employed a combined explanatory and triangulation...

The current moment in psychology is one of great challenges and great opportunities. The open science movement--the move towards more transparent, credible, and reproducible science--has led to a redefinition of what constitutes “normal science.” However, the field of cultural psychology, broadly construed, has by and large not engaged with the ope...

The increasing application of intersectionality to the psychological study of identity development raises questions regarding how we as researchers construct and operationalize social identity categories, as well as how we best capture and address systems of oppression and privilege within our work. In the continental European context, the use of t...

The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental course and implications of the personality metatraits ego resiliency and ego control across the first 3 decades of life. The sample consisted of 139 participants who were assessed 9 times between ages 2 and 33. Participants completed measures of ego resiliency, ego control, Big Five persona...

Before we can truly understand concepts such as discrimination and prejudice, we must first understand racism. In the present day, meanings of racism are wide and varied, making it difficult to grasp. When something so despicable and abhorrent—such as racism—is rendered obscure, it makes it nearly impossible for racism to be identified, acknowledge...

Narrative identity is a subjective recollection of the personal past, which serves to integrate a life. Narrative identity emerges in adolescence, with clear precursors in childhood and with consequences for mental health and well‐being in adolescence and adulthood. This entry reviews the theoretical foundation of the field, major dimensions of nar...

Stage 1 Registered Report: How is the current context of Islamophobia, anti-Muslim prejudice, and discrimination, associated with Muslim mental health in Western countries? A body of evidence suggests that experiences of discrimination and racism are associated with negative mental health outcomes for marginalized, minority populations (e.g., Parad...

Most research on identity has focused on either identity processes or identity content, neglecting how individuals structure their identities. We investigated how individuals negotiated their sometimes conflicting multiple identifications of work and family into different types of workable identity configurations. We also examined differences acros...

Acculturation and developmental theories and frameworks have merged steadily to portray the development and adaptation of immigrant children more comprehensively. In this article, we trace this evolution to show how research has increasingly provided greater specificity in identifying the domains, dimensions, and contexts of acculturation processes...

Despite rapidly shifting social dynamics and the recent increase in scholarship on transgender identity development, existing research on transgender identity has been theoretically isolated from the broader study of identity. This study involved a series of 4 qualitative focus groups (n = 15 participants), conducted in the United States, to identi...

The purpose of this study was to further understand the psychological process of migration through an interdisciplinary (psychology, history, and digital humanities) collaboration that examines the experiences of Somali refugees in the U.S. The sample consisted of 26 Somali-American emerging adult and older adult refugees who created digital storie...

The purpose of this study was to use a narrative approach to investigate the types of ethnicity-related experiences (i.e., ethnic identity content) that were prevalent in the lives of young people in Sweden and to examine if these types of experiences differed due to immigrant status, self-identified ethnicity, or age-groups. Ninety-five participan...

Objectives: During an increasingly hostile social and political climate for ethnic-racial minorities, psychologists have begun to question the extent to which Indigenous People and People of Color (IPPOC) see one another as in the same boat (Rivas-Drake & Bañales, 2018). Consequently, the present mixed-methods study examines allyship as a potential...

The purpose of this study was to compare identity processes associated with the immigrant experience in two macro-contexts, the U.S and Sweden. Using a qualitative narrative approach, we explored how immigrant and non-immigrant youth negotiate their identities in the intersection between individual selves and society, by studying how they experienc...

Through a mixed methods approach, we investigated how individuals (124 Swedish adults, 50% women, Mage 33.29) negotiated their multiple identifications of work and family into different types of workable identity configurations. Using thematic analysis we found six different types of configurations: Family first, Work first, Now family comes first,...

The open science movement has been gaining steam in numerous scientific disciplines (e.g., ecology, cancer biology, economics) as well as sub-disciplines of psychology (e.g., social, personality). These issues, however, have been scantly discussed in the context of identity research. This presentation will include an overview of core issues in the...

In this paper we propose a model for examining personal identity development that moves attention from a relatively exclusive examination of the individual, to an examination of the intersection between self and society. We propose that a master narrative model of identity development allows researchers to 1) align the study of culture and individu...

The current studies examined the importance of domain content in the processes of identity development using two approaches – narrative and status. We examined personal narratives for identity domain content, the co-occurrence of different contents, and the relations between content and processes, using two approaches to identity – status and narra...

Narrative Identity in the Social World: The Press for Stability

In the present study we examined the role of identity content in relation to identity processes in a sample of college-going emerging adults (n = 255). Participants reported eight narratives each (n = 2040 narratives) in response to prompts for specific identity content domains (occupation, values, politics, religion, family, romance, friends, sex...

Gender Identity and Master NarrativesThe present studies focused on the role and socialization of biographical master narratives – cultural narratives that prescribe the types and ordering of events that should occur in one’s personal life identity narrative – by focusing on adolescent and emerging adult gender identity development. We employed a c...

We applied a novel framework to identity development, capturing both content and process, and personal and cultural components of identity in the content domain of gender. We examined master (and alternative) narratives: ubiquitous, powerful cultural stories with which individuals negotiate in constructing personal identity. Study 1 was a quantitat...

A robust empirical literature suggests that individual differences in the thematic and structural aspects of life narratives are associated with and predictive of psychological well-being. However, one limitation of the current field is the multitude of ways of capturing these narrative features, with little attention to overarching dimensions or l...

A robust empirical literature suggests that individual differences in the thematic and structural aspects of life narratives are associated with and predictive of psychological well-being. However, 1 limitation of the current field is the multitude of ways of capturing these narrative features, with little attention to overarching dimensions or lat...

The present studies focused on the role and socialization of biographical master narratives – cultural narratives that prescribe the types and ordering of events that should occur in one’s personal life identity narrative – by focusing on adolescent and emerging adult gender identity development. We employed a combined explanatory and triangulation...

The open science movement has been gaining steam in numerous scientific disciplines (e.g., ecology, cancer biology, economics) as well as sub-disciplines of psychology (e.g., social, personality). These issues, however, are still not widely understood nor seen as applicable to all types of research. This presentation will include an overview of cor...

Within the psychological literature, there are numerous definitions of racism available. However, some fail to acknowledge concepts that are often bound up with racism, discrimination, and prejudice—such as power and privilege. In briefly discussing the history of race as a social construct, this entry seeks to understand the function that discrimi...

Ethnic and racial identity (ERI) is a topic studied within numerous disciplines in the social sciences, humanities, and the arts, but there are relatively few attempts to bridge across disciplines. The purpose of the current special issue was to provide a forum for understanding ERI from an interdisciplinary perspective by bringing together scholar...

Despite rapidly shifting social dynamics and the recent increase in scholarship on transgender identity development, existing research on transgender identity has been theoretically isolated from the broader study of identity. This study involved a series of 4 qualitative focus groups (n = 15 participants), conducted in the United States, to identi...

This editorial reports on concrete changes in expectations and practices at Emerging Adulthood that are effective immediately. These include: aligning with Level 1 of the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines, adding Registered Reports as a submission option, accepting commentaries on articles published in any journal, and making ope...

The goal of this longitudinal study was to examine the trajectories of ethnic identity exploration and commitment in 538 ethnic-racial minority students during their first 2 years of college. Multilevel modeling analyses demonstrated ethnic identity development continued as students transitioned to college. Specifically, ethnic identity exploration...

We report results from two studies testing the Mediation Model of Research Experiences (MMRE), which posits that science (or engineering) self-efficacy and identity as a scientist (or engineer) mediate the association between support programs and students’ commitment to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Study 1 inclu...

Erik Erikson is seldom associated with work on culture, race, and ethnicity. What is ironic about this lack of association is not only that Erikson did consider these factors but that they figured prominently into his theorizing. The purpose of this article is to provide an analysis of Erikson’s views that is more accurate than is what is typically...

Negative identity is an identity that is formed by identifying with roles opposed to societal expectations. This topic has been neglected in prior research, which only focused more consistently on positive identity. This article aims to discuss (1) the importance of the concept of negative identity in contemporary society, (2) the frameworks for em...

Recent discursive research has built on Michael Billig's theory of banal nationalism, arguing that minoritized individuals who explicitly claim adherence to a national group may be further marginalized from a perceived majority who view such acts as socially undesirable. In Germany, a master narrative of muted national pride precludes hot nationali...

We report results from two studies testing the Mediation Model of Research Experiences, which posits that science (or engineering) self‐efficacy and identity as a scientist (or engineer) mediate the association between support programs and students’ commitment to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Study 1 included 502...

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development is a central developmental process for youth of color. Although a great deal of research establishes the importance of cultural socialization by parents to the development of ERI, limited empirical work has examined peers' role in these processes. This study uses 4 cross-sectional data sets (N = 127, 312, 25...

This editorial reports on concrete changes in expectations and practices at Emerging Adulthood that are effective immediately. These include, aligning with Level 1 of the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines, adding Registered Reports as a submission option, accepting commentaries on articles published in any journal, and making ope...

In contemporary identity research Erik Erikson is seldom associated with work on culture, race, and ethnicity. What is ironic about this lack of association is that not only did Erikson consider these factors, but that they figured prominently into his theorizing. The purpose of this article is to provide an analysis of Erikson’s views that is more...

García Coll et al.’s (1996) integrative model was a landmark article for developmental science, and for psychology more broadly, in outlining the multitude of social and cultural factors at play when seeking to understand the development of racial/ethnic minority children. The time is ripe to not only take stock of those advances but also evaluate...

Recent discursive research has built on Michael Billig's theory of banal nationalism, arguing that minoritized individuals who explicitly claim adherence to a national group may be further marginalized from a perceived majority who view such acts as socially undesirable. In Germany, a master narrative of muted national pride precludes hot nationali...

Turkish heritage students are underrepresented at university-track secondary schools in Germany, yet the institutional discrimination contributing to this ongoing disparity often remains unquestioned, situated within inequitable norms of belonging. Drawing on critical race theory and a risk and resilience framework, the current study investigated t...

Defining and consolidating identity in order to acquire fulfilling adult roles may be more difficult than in the past for a significant proportion of youth cohorts, especially for youth in ‘post-industrial’ countries. This study was focused on the intersection between processes and contents of both identity and adulthood through the narrative appro...

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development is a central developmental process for youth of color. Although a great deal of research establishes the importance of cultural socialization by parents to the development of ERI, limited empirical work has examined peers’ role in these processes. This study uses four cross-sectional data sets (N = 127, 312,...

In this commentary, we use the manuscripts in this volume as source material from which to highlight what we view as critical issues in integrating intersectionality with developmental science. In reading and meditating on the manuscripts, we abstracted two key themes that were evident, to some extent, in all of the manuscripts: (1) the disciplinar...

As a result of the U.S. government’s involvement in Native American education, the current experiences of Native American college students are characterized by educational disparities. Higher education professionals are in an ideal position to meet the needs and interests of Native American students; however, most of the literature concerning this...

Objectives: Ethnic identity development is considered a central task of adolescence and emerging adulthood for ethnic minority individuals. Although the process of developing a coherent ethnic identity has received attention from researchers, there has been little work done to elucidate the content of ethnic identity. This study uses an inductive m...

Interdisciplinary research on the relation of well-being to personality, virtue and life experience is impeded by lack of agreement about the nature of well-being. Psychologists tend to reduce well-being to various subjective evaluations (e.g., life satisfaction or sense of meaning in life). Philosophers tend to reject these reductions but often do...

Although Erikson (1968) originally conceptualized identity development as a process of becoming at home in one’s body, little work has been done linking identity development and research on the body. This study examines how trajectories of the development of body esteem over time are related to young people’s sense of identity and psychological fun...

The purpose of this chapter is to showcase how narrative, or the stories that people tell about their experiences, is a useful theoretical and methodological tool for understanding ethnic identity development. Over the past two decades, research on ethnic identity development has primarily relied on quantitative, rating-scale instruments (Phinney,...

Identity research has proliferated in recent years creating a great need for theoretical clarity about the identity concept, and how to use this clarity to understand identities within specific contexts. The present article addresses this need by discussing theoretical aspects of identity development as they apply to another important, yet broad, d...

In this chapter we explore how master narratives have ethical and moral implications, and how master narratives can provide a way for researchers to look at the intersections of culture, ethics, morality, and individual development. We make this case by advancing three propositions about the relation among master narratives, ethics, and morality: 1...

As a result of the U.S. government’s involvement in Native American education, the current experiences of Native American college students are characterized by educational disparities. Higher education professionals are in an ideal position to meet the needs and interests of Native American students; however, most of the literature concerning this...