Kristal S.

Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

Chickering and Reisser’s “Establishing Identity” Vector

Entering college signals a time of enormous growth and development for students, and there

are many development theories that examine both personal and interpersonal relationships

among students throughout their college years. For the most part, development theories suggest a

notion that students’ personal and interpersonal development occurs at an early age and

progresses throughout the student’s life. Arthur Chickering is a psychosocial theorist that is

notable to many, and his contribution to the theory on student development remains current when

applied to American college students today. Chickering presents seven vectors of students’

development of identity, but for the purpose of this paper I will focus only on Chickering’s

“Establishing Identity” vector. The stages of student development progression are not sequential,

as students may experience stages of development at different points in their lives, but each

vector of Chickering’s theory can be used to support each other.

Establishing identity includes developing perception and growth of oneself. I believe that

growth is evident when one finds personal meaning to their life, and makes the necessary

adjustments and changes that are beneficial and positive. Establishing identity also includes

increasing awareness of one’s abilities or competence, mental state, principles, and belief in

oneself and others. Chickering and Reisser, speaks about the vector of establishing identity,

which consists seven different characteristics. These characteristics involves “students’ comfort

with their body and appearance, gender and sexual orientation, student’s sense of themselves in

social and cultural context, students’ clarification of self-concept through their lifestyles and

roles, students’ sense of themselves in response to feedback from persons in which they value,

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Kristal S. Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

students’ self-acceptance and self-esteem, and student’s stability and integration in their college

lives” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 49).

In describing students’ comfort with their own body and appearance, Chickering and Reisser

acknowledge that the periods of adolescence holds an increased level of self-consciousness.

College gives students the freedom to express themselves, and many students make a decision to

experiment with changing their physical appearance. Some students may try changing their style

of clothing, by either trying to wear more professional clothing or more daring and revealing

clothing. Some students may also change their hairstyle, and cut their hair or wear various

extensions. Some students may even start wearing braces or become self conscious about their

braces. Chickering and Reisser suggest that total contentment with one’s physical appearance is

uncommon, but “one’s positive attitude and healthy maintenance of one’s body is an important

component of developing a positive identity” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 183).

There is also an extreme to students being comfortable with their own body and appearance,

as some students may develop eating disorders, or issues with their skin tone or hair texture. I

have never had an eating disorder, but I have had my hair straightened in order for it to be more

easily managed. However, I grew up with a girl that moved to Canada to live, where she attends

a college that is predominately white. She is also Jamaican like myself, but has a much darker

complexion than I do. In order to feel like she fits in, she admits to wearing long hair extensions,

and lightening her skin tone. Skin bleaching or lightening is very common on Jamaica, as many

people in Jamaica believes that a lighter skin color is more beautiful or favored than persons who

are much darker. When I attended school in Jamaica I have experienced college students, males

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Kristal S. Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

in particular, bleach their faces and darken their hair, in order to appear more appealing to the

opposite sex.

Chickering and Reisser discuss student’s comfort level with their gender and sexual

orientation, which intently relates to students’ concern of their physical appearance and

essentially affects students’ sexual identity. Before students begin college they already have

preconceived ideas of gender roles, which are traits learnt from being a child, such as growing up

with the idea that the color blue represents boy and the color pink represents girl, or that little

boys play with cars while little girls play with dolls. Chickering and Reisser suggest that,

“colleges may help students feel comfortable with their gender by utilizing a liberalizing effect

on their preconceived gender-roles” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 184). Establishing sexual

identity is a very deep process, as a student who is trying to establish his or her sexual identity,

may still be struggling with developing his or her total identity. Growing up in Jamaica,

homosexuality is not openly accepted, especially in colleges. Although there may be some

students who live a homosexual lifestyle, there is no support for such students that allow them to

embrace their sexual identity, as it is here in the United States for American college students.

Another characteristic of Chickering and Reisser’s establishing identity vector is ones’ sense

of self in a social and cultural context. The most seemingly visible features of one’s identity are

one’s race or ethnicity and even one’s culture. College is a place where students are able to meet

others who share the same racial, ethnic or cultural background, which helps students to learn

more about themselves from the insight of someone else who share similar experiences.

Chickering and Reisser believe that students develop positive identity, when they are aware of

their own culture and background, and understand where they came from. I can relate to this

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Kristal S. Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

characteristic of establishing identity when I first attended college in the United States. I took

part in the Caribbean Club, where I met with a lot of students from not only Jamaica, but other

islands of the Caribbean. In order to identify myself, I realized that I mostly wore the Jamaican

colors, black, gold and green, or wore accessories that signified by native country. This trend

was among all Caribbean students that felt a piece of home by representing the country in which

they were from. However, after a while I did not feel the need to have to visually identify myself

as Jamaican anymore, and started being more open and adaptable to the American culture.

Clarification of self-concept through roles and lifestyle is an interesting characteristic of

Chickering and Reisser’s identity vectors. The notion of the labeling theory in criminal justice,

suggests that an individual who is constantly labeled as a criminal, is more than likely prone to

commit a crime. Similarly, a student who is constantly labeled as a class nuisance feels the need

to uphold such characteristic or role. Chickering and Reisser explain that, “staying in a specific

‘role’ shouldn’t take precedence over seeking more diverse experiences and challenges of

identifying oneself” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 195). Today, colleges are finding new ways

to help students establish positive identities and develop role model traits, such as peer advisors

and school club leaders. Such roles help students to voluntarily learn and develop their own

identity through their peers, as opposed to being forced to choose a path or declare a major when

initially enrolling in college. Throughout my college years I always try to set an example for my

peers by helping my friends with techniques that worked for me, such as an academic checklist

plan, in order to remain organized and on track with program courses. I believe that my role has

always been modeling, and I find satisfaction in helping others succeed in things they have

always doubted themselves in.

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Kristal S. Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

Although establishing identity may be a personal development that students encounter, I

understand that one usually develops identity based somewhat on other’s opinions. Chickering

and Reisser speak about the characteristic of sense of self in response to valued feedback from

others. The level of importance in which a student holds someone else’s opinion can have either

a positive or negative effect on his or her development of identity. Chickering and Reisser imply

that, “a student’s sense of adequacy emerges when feedback is not only consistent, but also

specific about where improvements can be made” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 199). College

students may value the opinions of their parents, professors and friends. College students are also

given the option to seek advice, and student and academic affairs professionals are finding ways

to reach out to students who are lagging, in efforts maintain guidance throughout college.

Constant feedback can help mold students to understand his or herself through the others’ point

of view. I am always open to feedback from others, whether it is positive or negative. I feel that

the best way to know how one is being viewed comes best from someone on the opposite end.

However, one also has to understand the importance of taking constrictive criticism, without

feeling discouraged, hurt or offended by what others have to say.

Relatively, I believe Chickering and Reisser’s characteristic of self-acceptance and self-

esteem is derived from the sense of self in response to the feedback of others characteristic. This

means that one’s self-acceptance or esteem can be affected by others, which can either motivate

a student to change or cause a student to be unmotivated overall. College students are given the

opportunity to experience an environment of socializing and learning inside and outside of the

classroom, which often leads to discovery of oneself while essentially elevating one’s esteem and

self acceptance. My personal experiences help mold my self-esteem and self-acceptance, in a

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Kristal S. Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

way that I find myself more mature in my reaction to disappointing situations. I feel as though I

am more open to accepting disappointments and finding a way to move from them, while

looking at the brighter picture. My self-acceptance and self-esteem allows me to also learn from

my mistakes by growing from them, and building personal morals that I stand for.

The final characteristic of Chickering and Reisser’s establishing identity vector is

stability and integration. One of the primary functions of Colleges and Universities is to develop

students into valuable components that make up society. Another primary function serves as

providing students with the foundation to form their own identity. Colleges and Universities

must provide the necessarily resources for students to be able to contribute and integrate into

society. A recent example of me establishing identity was my experience during an internship at

Montclair State University. I found that I was more prepared for the professional world, than I

originally thought I was. My internship gave me the courage to challenge myself, pursue my

interests and encouraged me to not be afraid to speak up for myself. I can relate to Chickering

and Reisser’s characteristic of stability and integration because I feel like I have grown

throughout my college years, in regards to my academic and professional lifestyle, and I believe

I can contribute knowledge and skills that I have learnt.

My mindset is not the same as it was a couple years ago, ever since I have been exposed

to other students in higher education, I feel as though I have more to offer to society and I feel

motivated to constantly uplift and advance myself, in order to stay current as time changes. The

establishing identity vector takes into account each complex element of the development of

students’ identities. Chickering and Reisser combined in their theory, the various feelings that

students experience throughout college, the motivation and doubts that students may encounter

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Kristal S. Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

in regards to their competence, and the morals and values that students develop while

establishing their identities.

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Kristal S. Ross
(American) College Student
ELMP 6102NA
Wed. 7:30p – 9:45p
March 5, 2014

References

Chickering, A. W., Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd e.d.). San Francisco: Jossey-

Bass Publishers.