Beliefs About the Causal Structure of the Self-Concept Determine Which Changes Disrupt Personal Identity

We examined the impact of the causal centrality of a feature, a key determinant of the extent to which a feature defines a concept, on judgments of identity continuity. We found support for this approach in three experiments using both measured and manipulated causal centrality. For judgments both of one’s self and of others, we found that some features are perceived to be more causally central than others and that changes in such causally central features are believed to be more disruptive to identity.

Source: Psychological Science - October 6, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Chen, S. Y., Urminsky, O., Bartels, D. M. Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research