The study of relationship between social identity dimensions and the individual differentiation

Introduction: Personal identity is among the topics that concerns not just psychology but other sciences as well; different definitions and descriptions have been offered; the effective and affected factors have been analyzed too. Personal identity is one's definition of one's self with the main emphasis being on one's contradistinction from the other Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social identity dimensions and the individual differentiation. Method: The present study was a descriptive-correlational study; the study population consisted of all citizens ranging from 15 to 65 years old in 2016. Based on multistage cluster random sampling 1300 samples were chosen from seven different county seats in Iran (cities being: Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Rasht, Tabriz, Sanandaj and Ahwaz.) Measuring tools were researcher-made questionnaires and Data were analyzed using statistical method of correlation coefficient Results: According to the findings of this study, there exists a meaningful and positive correlation between the ethical aspect of identity and individual differentiation (t=0.822 and Sig=0.532( There exists a meaningful and positive correlation between the religious aspect of identity and individual differentiation (t= 3.274 and Sig= 0.001(. Also, between traditionalism and the individual differentiation there exists a meaningful and negative correlation (t=-0.544 and Sig=0.587(. Conclusion: Findings showed that the dimensions of social identity consisting of religious, and ethical aspects of identity have an important role in predicting the individual differentiation in the Iranian sample.