Who are you?

Who we are as individuals is an age-old question grappled by layman and philosophers alike. How we come to know ourselves, however, is an overwhelmingly complex question.  As mindful, social entities, an individual’s self-concept is the products of at least four factors: the biology of the individual (e.g., genes and neural architecture), close and novel others, the environmental context (including culture and the socialization process), and perceptions of the self in relation to others and the environment. This complex question is the centerpiece of my research program. How do individuals learn about themselves and maintain their self-identity at multiple levels of processing (i.e., via semantic or episodic driven processes) in the face of positive, self-affirming or negative, self-threatening information?  Because of the complexity of my central question, conventional social psychological methods are not adequate. I have explored these questions via neuroscience, genetic, and cognitive methodologies. These methods provide an opportunity to understand the dynamic interactions inherent in identity maintenance. However, understanding how individuals learn about themselves in relation to their biology, environment, and self-perceptions requires a more comprehensive analytic approach.  Tools such as multilevel, over time, and dyadic statistical models are often used in conjunction with advanced neural analyses to tap into unique aspects of individuals’ identities.