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This mind map places Identity at the center and treats it as an integrative psychological construct rather than a single trait, theory, or outcome. Identity is understood here as the ongoing sense of who a person is, how they understand themselves, and how that understanding is carried across time and situations. The branches extending from the center represent major psychological domains that contribute essential material to identity. Personality brings dispositional tendencies, values, and characteristic patterns. Development accounts for change, continuity, and revision across the lifespan. Social context situates identity within relationships, roles, and group membership. Cognition, emotion, and motivation shape how identity is experienced internally, regulated, and acted upon. Meaning and narrative integrate these elements into a coherent sense of self that feels continuous and purposeful.
As the map moves outward, each of these domains subdivides into more specific processes and subdomains. These subdivisions highlight that identity is not housed in a single psychological location but is assembled through multiple interacting mechanisms. For example, identity formation involves exploration and commitment over time, but it is also shaped by self-schemas, emotional responses, role expectations, and personal goals. Narrative meaning-making draws on memory and cognition, but it is also deeply influenced by social validation and cultural values. The map is designed to make these interrelations visible rather than treating psychological subfields as isolated silos.
Several concepts appear not as standalone branches but as connective elements that cut across the map. Belonging, authenticity, and more function as signals or regulators of identity rather than as content domains. Belonging, in particular, reflects whether identity is recognized and sustained within social and cultural contexts. When belonging is supported, identity tends to feel coherent and stable. When belonging is threatened, identity becomes more salient and may be defended, revised, or fragmented. Positioning these constructs as connectors emphasizes that identity is constantly negotiated between internal experience and external recognition.
In this map, systems does not represent a separate psychological domain but a way of understanding how identity-related processes interact, stabilize, and change over time. This is also done to ensure the map remains firmly psychological while still accounting for complexity and interdependence. Overall, the mind map is a work in progress and meant to offer an integrative view of identity.
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