Communication Theory of Identity

YOUNGJU SHIN
Arizona State University, USA

MICHAEL L. HECHT
REAL Prevention, USA

Communication theory of identity (CTI), developed by Dr Michael Hecht (1993) and

colleagues, explains how an individual develops a sense of identity by articulating var-
ious levels of identity formation processes including personal perception of self, social
interaction in relationships, and collective sense of self in community. CTI suggests that
there are four layers of identity: personal, enacted, relational, and communal.

Development of CTI

CTI is developed from various theoretical frameworks and previous research. Drawing
from social identity theory, Hecht, Ribeau, and colleagues began to examine the mean-
ing of various ethnic labels among African Americans and Mexican Americans and
how this was expressed in communication (Hecht, Jackson, & Ribeau, 2003). Social
identity theory predicts that our identities emerge in social interaction and are mean-
ingful and influence how we communicate. This research looked at how various African
American identity labels were related to communication and found that the simple
view of communication as an expression of identity could not explain their findings.
Instead, it appears that interethnic communication was identity and identity was com-
munication. In other words, the simpler view of one causing or even influencing the
other did not fully capture the nuanced nature of this relationship. When we talk to
others we are, in a sense, performing our identity. This view was consistent with the
emerging perspective of dramatism’s views of identity as performed. In addition, the
complexity of the various aspects of identity were best explained by a multilayered
perspective that was based on theories that attempted to merge physics with Eastern
philosophy and also expressed in postmodernism. Thus, CTI was born. But, what were
the layers?
Most of the traditional psychological thinking focuses on the individual or self
as identity. Clearly, we have a view of who we are, and this was called the personal
layer of identity. Similarly, the work described above led Hecht to believe there was a
communicative or enacted level. But this also seemed too simplistic. Role theory in
sociology suggests that identity is based on roles that are formed in relationship with
others. However, Hecht’s view of the relational layer was broader (Hecht et al., 2002).
Finally, ecological and postmodern theories argue that there is a social or societal level
The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication.
Young Yun Kim (General Editor), Kelly L. McKay-Semmler (Associate Editor).
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118783665.ieicc0008
2 CO M M U N I C AT I O N TH E O R Y O F ID E N T I T Y

to our worlds and this was integrated as communal identity. Hecht concluded that
there were four overlapping or interpenetrated layers or frames of identity.

Four layers of identity

Personal identity refers to one’s sense of self, defining “who am I?” The personal layer
of identity can be understood as we think of self-concept, self-image, or self-esteem.
Many personal characteristics including age, gender, and ethnicity constitute personal
identity. For example, in an intercultural communication class, an international student
can introduce herself thus: “My name is YoungJu Shin and I am a Korean woman who
is fascinated about playing a Korean musical instrument and singing.” We can quickly
note several personal identities—Korean, woman, music. CTI argues that it is important
to keep in mind when communicating that more than one personal identity may be
at play in any conversation. When the two authors of this entry talk, we can observe
national, gender, and role identities at play. Each personal identity has its own set of
implications for us. So it is equally important not to view an individual through a single
lens. Treating YoungJu purely as “woman” is probably going to lead us to stereotypes
just as would treating her purely as “Korean.”
Enacted identity is defined as identity expressed or performed by communication
and social behavior. “What and how I talk about, how I behave” constitutes the layer of
enacted identity. The locus of this particular identity is communication. The enacted
identity is developed, modified, and sustained through communication and social
interaction. Enactment of communication internalizes one’s sense of enacted identity
and reinforces the externalization to social interaction. An international student who
goes through the process of acculturation to the host culture may talk about a limited
number of topics with American classmates due to the language barrier and the lack
of cultural confidence in intercultural communication. This international student
may define enacted identity as a person with a sense of incompetency in intercultural
communication and friendship development. However, one must note that culture
plays a significant role in constructing social meanings of communicative behaviors
and this plays a key role in formulating enacted identity. For example, keeping eye
contact in parent–child communication or teacher–student interaction may imply
honesty and interest for one culture, whereas the same nonverbal behavior may be
perceived as questioning the authority or credibility and threatening the other’s face
for another culture. In this respect, in intercultural communication, enactment of
communication can be perceived differently depending on different cultural rules
and norms that are constituted and reconstituted through different enacted identities
(e.g., being a competent communicator or being a disrespectful communicator). In
fact, when and if communication is seen as enacted identity is a crucial judgment in
intercultural communication. Do we see use of nonnative language terms as enacted
identity or attempts at clearer communication? Understanding this relationship helps
avoid overgeneralizing and stereotyping if we keep in mind that not all members of a
group enact the cultural norm as strongly (i.e., there is great variation in commitment
 CO M M U N I C AT I O N TH E O R Y O F ID E N T I T Y 3

to a culture) and that people have multiple and sometimes competing identities (e.g.,
male, teacher, Jewish) to perform.
Relational identity is conceptualized by one’s roles in relationships. The perception
of “how others view who I am” creates a sense of ascribed relational identity, which
may differ based on interpersonal relationships. For example, American students may
perceive their classmate who was raised in a traditional Asian family, whether of immi-
grants or recent immigrants, as a shy and reticent person in classroom discussions.
Ascribed relational identity constitutes part of relational identity of this international
student. Also, we hold various roles in our lives such as a family member, friend, and/or
coworker and these roles define different aspects of relational identity. Playing those
roles and evaluating role performance (e.g., I am a good daughter/son for my par-
ents) add to this layer of relational identity. Moreover, relational identity is formed
by a specific relationship that we have with the other person and that particular rela-
tionship becomes another sense of relational identity (e.g., developing an identity as
a couple in a romantic relationship, as a best friend in a friendship). As with previ-
ous layers, there may be contradictions between and among various relational iden-
tities. Think about how occupational and family identity can converge or diverge in
social gatherings among work colleagues. Think about the differences in attributions
made to your identity between older and newer friends or when you travel to other
countries.
Finally, communal identity refers to the collective identity created and shared by
a group of people in the community. The layer of communal identity is based on
the social and cultural agreement about “who we are” in society. Communal identity
defines an individual with a certain gender, race, or ethnicity, to name a few, by socially
constructed meanings and it may lead to categorizing and stereotyping individuals
in terms of their personal characteristics. For instance, Arabs living in the USA used
to have communal identity characterized by their religious belief (e.g., Muslim) and
cultural practices (e.g., women wearing a veil, chador). However, after the September
11 tragedy, there was a drastic shift in representations of their communal identity
with increasing portrayals of terrorism, which also leads to radicalism that emerged
from a negative, hostile attitude toward this group of people due to the actions of
terrorists. It is often hard for Westerners, particularly those raised in the individualistic
US culture, to conceptualize an identity that is not about the individual but rather the
group. However, think for a minute about how group members come to hold similar
beliefs and about the media images that portray different identities. It has been said
that The Cosby Show, in which the mother and father were professionals, represented
a shift in the communal portrayal of African American families. It is important to
note that groups and cultures have their own identity, identities that are shared to a
greater or lesser degree by individual members. In fact, when you look at US ethnic
or racial identity groups there is actually more variation or difference among group
members than there is between members of different groups. So attributions based
on communal identities must be tentative at best; more rigid attributions are actually
stereotypes.
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CTI not only delineates the four layers of identity but also conceptualizes them as
interdependent on or “interpenetrated” by each other. This means that relational identi-
ties are part of personal identities and vice versa. One can hardly separate seeing oneself
as intelligent (personal identity) from seeing oneself as a teacher (relational identity).
And, of course, speaking in long, complex sentences like this one may be an enactment
of both identities. In order to fully understand one’s identity, we need to examine all
four layers of identity by considering how personal, communication, relational, and
communal identity define “who I am.”
In addition, there is the possibility that the layers may not be consistent with each
other (e.g., being fun-loving but also a serious engineer) and so there may be discrep-
ancies between and among the layers of identity. For example, a recent immigrant who
is not fluent in English may experience the discrepancy between the personal identity
(e.g., competent communicator in native language) and enacted identity (e.g., incom-
petent communicator in foreign language). It is also possible for the immigrant to face
the discrepancy between personal identity (e.g., smart person) and communal identity
(e.g., being treated and labeled as a minority due to one’s ethnicity). These changes of
identity can lead to a so-called “identity gap” that results from dissonant beliefs and
practices between culture of origin and host culture (Jung & Hecht, 2004). Past studies
show that identity gaps are related to communication dissatisfaction and poor mental
outcomes (e.g., high stress level and depression) (Jung, Hecht, & Wadsworth, 2007). Our
understandings of these gaps are just now emerging. One can envision a social change
strategy (e.g., getting people to stop unhealthy behaviors or practice healthy ones) by
promoting gaps and encouraging people to resolve the gap through the desired behav-
ior. Long-term gaps may have different consequences from short-term ones. It is likely
that people have differential tolerance for these gaps in the short run but it is hard to
imagine that most long-term gaps will not have detrimental effects. There are many
situations in which gaps are likely to arise, including relocation, changes in relation-
ship status, and, of course, sojourning and acculturation processes. We turn, next, to
applications of CTI to acculturation.

Application of CTI

CTI is applicable to many situations in which change of status occurs including

explaining identity in the context of acculturation (Wadsworth, Hecht, & Jung, 2008).
When immigrants move to the USA, they experience cultural adaptation processes.
During the acculturation, immigrants tend to manage and modify their personal,
enacted, relational, and communal identity by interacting with people from the host
culture. Personal identity may or may not remain the same as it was when living in the
homeland. Many challenges associated with acculturation change one’s original sense
of enacted and relational identity, which also have influences on personal identity.
Immigrants may be perceived (i.e., ascribed identity) based on different aspects of
the communal identity to which people in the mainstream culture subscribe. The mere
process of being labeled as ethnic minority becomes a new, additional definition to the
communal identity that immigrants did not experience in their original country. This
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can be particularly salient if the immigrant was an ethnic minority in their country of
origin and even more so when that country was relatively homogeneous like Japan. This
communal identity may, in turn, modify immigrants’ personal identity. The process of
acculturation heavily influences four layers of identity in immigrants, and these four
layers of identity are interdependent on each other.
Another example can be found in the context of “parentification” in immigrant fam-
ilies (Shin & Hecht, 2013). Often children who attend school are the first in their family
to become fluent in the host country’s language and culture. Parentification occurs when
there is a role reversal between parent and child, with the child being asked to translate
the host culture and act as the agent for parents in formal situations where their child
role would normally be submissive and quiet. Immigrant parents tend to excessively rely
on their children for so many reasons, including instrumental assistance and emotional
support and, consequently, the parentified children become adult-like, parental figures
for their family. During this process of parentification, it is highly likely that immigrant
children’s enacted identity (e.g., providing emotionally supportive messages to the fam-
ily, taking care of the housework) and relational identity (e.g., becoming an emotional
support for parents, a big brother/sister figure for younger siblings) are changed based
on their roles in the family. Their particular relationship with parents and siblings also
defines relational identity as “who they are” as a family unit.
In addition to the discussion of CTI application to the contexts of acculturation and
parentification among immigrant families, it is also important to explicate CTI in rela-
tion to media effects. Media play a significant role in shaping four layers of identity.
Media present a certain image of individuals based on their age, gender, race/ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, and so forth and create and reinforce specific personal, enacted,
relational, and communal identity. For example, Academy Award-nominated movie
My Name is Khan portrays four layers of identity about the main character who is
from India, has been diagnosed with autism, and practices Muslim religious belief.
The movie represents well how the main character, Khan, perceives his personal iden-
tity as an honest, faithful Muslim believer while his community identity contradicts
his personal identity owing to his being perceived as a terrorist by other people in
the United States. His relational identity is portrayed as a thoughtful man who loves
his wife and stepson. His stepson is killed by his peers due to the hate crime after the
9/11 terror and his wife thinks her marriage to a Muslim husband has caused her son’s
death. Throughout the movie, Khan uses the phrase “My name is Khan and I am not
a terrorist” to overcome his communal identity and sustain his personal and relational
identity. His enacted identity is strongly connected and influences his other identity.
This movie helps the audience realize the stereotypes associated with Muslim, autis-
tic individuals and attempts to break negative perceptions of the communal identity
toward Muslims. This is a great example of how media can create and modify individ-
uals’ struggles between personal and communal identity through practice of enacted
identity.
Another example can be found in the television sitcom drama titled Fresh Off
the Boat. It is the first television drama series during prime time to show a Chinese
immigrant family. The family consists of father, mother, three sons, and grandmother.
One episode of the drama portrays how a school principal of the oldest son, Eddie,
6 CO M M U N I C AT I O N TH E O R Y O F ID E N T I T Y

treats him based on his ethnicity and assumes that all Chinese students can be best
friends with each other. Although the school principal perceives the same communal
identity for Eddie and his other Chinese classmate, who was adopted and raised in a
Jewish family, their personal, enacted, and relational identity are distinctively different
from each other. In terms of enacted and relational identity, the drama also shows how
the Chinese family never explicitly says the phrase “I love you” in daily conversation,
except when they want to hide something from each other (e.g., keeping secrets or
being dishonest about their feelings). This drama shows how the Chinese family
creates and performs enacted and relational identity differently from other American
families.
Today, with the advancement of new technology the effects of media are not limited
but go beyond the traditional media such as television drama and show, advertise-
ment, and movie. New media, including social network services (SNSs; e.g., Facebook,
Twitter), further accelerate the dissemination of four-layered identity. Some people use
SNSs to highlight their personal and enacted identity by posting pictures of and com-
ments on their personal life events, whereas others utilize SNSs as a tool to develop and
maintain their relational and communal identity. New media technology magnifies the
opportunity to represent four layers of identity.
These applications to the media suggest, to some, a reformulation of CTI. It has
been suggested that the layers be reconceptualized to personal, relational, enacting, and
group at both individual and communal levels. This moves group-based identities out of
the personal layer into their own sphere and encourages analyses that examine the four
layers as characteristics of individuals as well as societal or communal representations.
Future research, which will be discussed next, is needed to determine the formulation
that is more heuristic.

Future research and practice directions

There have been numerous studies applying and examining CTI in communication
research. While a majority of empirical studies are conducted using the qualitative
research methods, more research needs to test and validate the theory using quan-
titative research methodology. Given that previous quantitative studies have largely
focused on the measurement of identity gaps, future research should create, test, and
validate measures of each layer of identity in intercultural communication.
Some have argued that CTI itself needs to be adapted to explain the research. One
particularly thorny question involves ethnic identities. An individual’s perception of
their own ethnicity is a personal identity while, at the same time, clearly there are com-
munal representations of those identities. Thus it has been argued that group-based
identities should be added as a fifth layer or that personal, enacted, and relational iden-
tities be seen as existing on both individual and communal levels. Future research will
address these revisions.
There are many ways CTI can be applied. As the famous social theorist Kurt Lewin
remarked, “There is nothing so practical as a good theory.” One could almost argue that
 CO M M U N I C AT I O N TH E O R Y O F ID E N T I T Y 7

to be a good theory it must be practical. After all, social theory predicts behavior and an
effective theory allows for powerful predictions. There are a number of ways CTI can
be and has been applied.
One of the most prominent applications is the development of the “culturally
grounded” substance use curriculum, called keepin’ it REAL, by Hecht and colleagues
which attempts to incorporate enactments of multiple identities in the development of
a multicultural curriculum (Colby et al., 2013). Research was conducted to understand
how these identities functioned during substance offers and the resulting narratives
used to develop a curriculum that presents healthy personal, enacted, and relational
identities from a variety of cultures. Indicants of the success of this approach are
the effectiveness of the curriculum in reducing substance use as demonstrated in
multiple evaluation studies as well as the fact that it has become the most widely
disseminated curriculum of its kind not only the USA but also in 53 other countries.
The methods developed in creating keepin’ it REAL have now been applied to develop
health promotion interventions with the 4-H clubs and Planned Parenthood as well as
applied to sex education for Miami-area Latinas and for youth in Nicaragua. CTI has
proved to be a practical and effective theory.
One can envision other applications of CTI. By understanding multilayered identi-
ties among different groups (e.g., immigrants), communication researchers can create
health messages that target the intended audience and promote pro-healthy behaviors.
Depending on the audience analysis, researchers should choose an identity to focus on
and reshape the identity accordingly. Campaign messages focusing on personal iden-
tity highlighting the self-concept that “you are a better person if you practice preventive
behavior” are very different from messages emphasizing enacted identities by telling the
audience that responsible people talk to others about healthy lifestyles and practices.
Relational and communal identity are defined in relation to others, and campaigns that
aim to change these layers of identity might stress the importance of being a good person
toward the other in the relationship and/or create positive and supportive social norms
about the targeted audience’s communal identity. The multilayered nature of the theory
and its connection to people’s experiences presents almost limitless room for future
research and practice.

SEE ALSO: Identity, Bicultural and Multicultural; Identity, Bilingual and Multilingual;
Identity, Cultural; Identity and Intercultural Communication; Psychological Theories
of Acculturation

References

Colby, M., Hecht, M. L., Miller-Day, M., Krieger, J. R., Syverstsen, A. K., Graham, J. W., &
Pettigrew, J. (2013). Adapting school-based substance use prevention curriculum through cul-
tural grounding: A review and exemplar of adaptation processes for rural schools. American
Journal of Community Psychology, 51, 190–205. doi:10.1007/s10464-012-9524-8
Hecht, M. L. (1993). 2002—a research odyssey: Toward the development of a com-
munication theory of identity. Communication Monographs, 60, 76–82. doi:10.1080/
03637759309376297
8 CO M M U N I C AT I O N TH E O R Y O F ID E N T I T Y

Hecht, M. L., Faulkner, S. L., Meyer, C. R., Niles, T. A., Golden, D., & Cutler, M. (2002). Looking
through Northern exposure at Jewish American identity and the communication theory of
identity. Journal of Communication, 52, 852–870. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02577.x
Hecht, M. L., Jackson, R. L., & Ribeau, S. (2003). African American communication: Exploring
identity and culture (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Jung, E., & Hecht, M. L. (2004). Elaborating the communication theory of identity:
Identity gaps and communication outcomes. Communication Quarterly, 52(3), 265–283.
doi:10.1080/01463370409370197
Jung, E., Hecht, M. L., & Wadsworth, B. C. (2007). The role of identity in international stu-
dents’ psychological well-being in the United States: A model of depression level, identity
gaps, discrimination, and acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 31(5),
605–624. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2007.04.001
Shin, Y., & Hecht, M. L. (2013). Does parentification place Mexican-heritage youth at risk for sub-
stance use? Identifying the intervening nature of parent–child communication about alcohol.
Journal of Adolescence, 36(1), 149–159. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.10.010
Wadsworth, B. C., Hecht, M. L., & Jung, E. (2008). The role of identity gaps, discrimination,
and acculturation in international students’ educational satisfaction in American classrooms.
Communication Education, 57, 64–87. doi:10.1080/03634520701668407

Further readings

Faulkner, S., & Hecht, M. L. (2011). The negotiation of closetable identities: A narrative analysis
of lesbian, gay, transgendered, queer Jewish identity. Journal of Social and Personal Relation-
ships, 28, 829–847. doi:10.1177/0265407510391338
Jung, E., & Hecht, M. L. (2008). Identity gaps and level of depression among Korean immigrants.
Health Communication, 23, 313–325. doi:10.1080/10410230802229688
Kam, J. A., & Hecht, M. L. (2009). Investigating the role of identity gaps among com-
municative and relational outcomes within the grandparent–grandchild relationship: The
young-adult grandchildren’s perspective. Western Journal of Communication, 73, 456–480.
doi:10.1080/10570310903279067
Kennedy-Lightsey, C. D., Martin, M. M., LaBelle, S., & Weber, K. (2015). Attachment, identity
gaps, and communication and relational outcomes in marital couples’ public performances.
Journal of Family Communication, 15, 232–248. doi:10.1080/15267431.2015.1043430
Maeda, E., & Hecht, M. L. (2012). Identity search: Interpersonal relationships and relational
identities of always-single Japanese women over time. Western Journal of Communication, 76,
44–64. doi:10.1080/10570314.2012.637539

YoungJu Shin is an assistant professor of Hugh Downs School of Human Commu-

nication at Arizona State University. Her research involves family, media, and adoles-
cent drug prevention. Her recent publications in Journal of Adolescence and Prevention
Science examine parental influences on Mexican-heritage youth substance use behav-
ior, and her article in Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health focuses on acculturation
and health information-seeking behavior among Mexican immigrants.

Michael L. Hecht is a distinguished professor emeritus of communication arts and

sciences as well as president of REAL Prevention. His research focuses on culture and
 CO M M U N I C AT I O N TH E O R Y O F ID E N T I T Y 9

health. Hecht is the co-creator of the keepin’ it REAL drug prevention curriculum,
the most widely disseminated school-based intervention in the world. He has pub-
lished extensively about culture, including how to develop culturally grounded health
messages, and a theory of narrative engagement. His recent publications in Prevention
Science, Communication Research, and the Journal of Early Adolescence focus on the
causes of drug use by Latino youth and publications in the Journal of Language and
Social Psychology, Prevention Science, and Health Education Research focus on the pro-
cess of prevention intervention implementation.