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Date Permissions Signed

7-21-2017

Date of Award

Summer 2017

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

McLean, Kate C.

Second Advisor

Czopp, Alex

Third Advisor

Trimble, Joseph E.

Abstract

The current study builds upon existing work that defines master narratives (McLean & Syed, 2016), and explores master narratives relating to gender (McLean, Syed, & Shucard, 2016). The specific question addressed in this thesis is, how does one’s sociocultural context relate to the individual process of identity construction, in the domain of gender identity? I examined biographical master narratives, or those that describe cultural expectations for a life course, in the context of gender identity. I used narrative and survey methodologies to describe the American biographical master narratives for men and women, and whether and how individuals deviate from these narratives. I examined how these deviations are incorporated into one’s identity and if these deviations are related to psychological distress. Men and women reported similar expected life courses. Gender differences emerged for the importance of selected life events and the content of narratives describing either deviation from or conformity to cultural expectations relating to gender. As hypothesized, elaboration of an alternative narrative was associated with the presence of self-event connections and identity exploration. Not as hypothesized, elaboration of an alternative narrative was not associated with psychological distress. These findings have implications for both the cultural expectations for men and women within America and the processes by which men and women construct their identities in context of these expectations, as well as broader implications for the study of gender identity.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/qcf2-bs54

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

999729390

Subject – LCSH

Gender identity--Psychological aspects; Culture--Psychological aspects

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

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