In this chapter, we review identity development in German youth as well as the impact of German cultural history on difficulties in developing a sense of national identity. Current socioeconomic and political contexts, such as instability of labor markets and prolonged transitions to work and partnership, are likely to affect identity development.…

The chapter describes empirical evidence about identity development in Swedish adolescents and emerging adults and highlights cultural and contextual influences that may be specific to coming of age in Sweden. Broad trends in identity options are evident in the lives of many youth living in Sweden. Although research on identity and diversity is in…

This chapter discusses specifics of identity formation in Italian adolescents and emerging adults. We review consistent evidence illustrating that, in Italy, a progressive deferral of transition to adulthood strongly impacts youth identity development by stimulating identity exploration and postponement of identity commitments. We also consider…

This chapter explores characteristics of identity formation among Japanese adolescents and young adults living in a cultural context where individualism has been increasingly emphasized even while maintaining collectivism. We argue that, to develop a sense of identity in Japanese culture, adolescents and young adults carefully consider others'…

In this chapter, I argue that Dialogical Self Theory (DST) represents a compelling answer to how to conceptualize the psychology of the self in today's world, when people increasingly are aware of more than one way to think, feel, and relate to others. DST envisions a self of plural voices. The chapters in this volume show intriguing applications…

This chapter discusses the specific strengths of Dialogical Self Theory for the exploration and explanation of the phenomenon of "society of the mind" as it is expressed in various intricate, culturally specific discourse strategies among Indians. By focusing on a recent social movement to demonstrate the particularity of cultural processes,…

This chapter builds on Dialogical Self Theory to investigate the identity development of adolescents growing up in multicultural societies. Their cultural identity is not only compounded by the rapid cultural changes associated with globalization, but also by the paradoxical revival of cultural traditions which the large-scale compression of "time…

Dialogical Self Theory, co-regulation, and foundational movement analysis are used to present a description of the development of the dialogical self during the first five months of life using observations of two mother-infant dyads. Susan and her mother illustrate normative emergence of the dialogical self. Susan's I-positions emerge through…

Within psychology, most aspects of ownership have received scant attention or have been overlooked completely. In this chapter, the authors outline 21 reasons why it will be important (and interesting) to understand the psychological basis of ownership of property, including its developmental origins: (1) Daily life; (2) A human universal, and…

Property is rare in most nonhuman primates, most likely because their lifestyles are not conducive to it. Nonetheless, just because these species do not frequently maintain property does not mean that they lack the propensity to do so. Primates show respect for possession, as well as behaviors related to property, such as irrational decision…

From the moment children say "mine!" by two years of age, objects of possession change progressively from being experienced as primarily unalienable property (i.e., something that is absolute or nonnegotiable), to being alienable (i.e., something that is negotiable in reciprocal exchanges). As possession begins to be experienced as alienable, the…

To navigate a world filled with private property, children must be able to assign ownership information to objects and update that information when appropriate. In this chapter, the authors propose that children include ownership as an attribute of their object representations. Children can learn about ownership attributes either by witnessing…

It has long been argued that ownership depends upon social groups' establishing and adhering to rights such as the right to use and to exclude others from using one's own property. The authors consider the application of such rights in the interactions of young peers and siblings, and the extent to which parents support their children in…

The authors suggest that ownership may be one of the critical entry points into thinking about social constructions, a kind of laboratory for understanding status. They discuss the features of ownership that make it an interesting case to study developmentally. In particular, ownership is a consequential social fact that is alterable by an…

Appropriate behavior in relation to an object often requires judging whether it is owned and, if so, by whom. The authors propose accounts of how people make these judgments. Our central claim is that both judgments often involve making inferences about object history. In judging whether objects are owned, people may assume that artifacts (e.g.,…