European inventory of
societal values of culture

Côté & Levine - Identity Formation, Agency, and Culture

Côté, J. E., & Levine, C. G. (2002). Identity Formation, Agency, and Culture: A Social Psychological Synthesis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. ISBN: 978-0805837964

This book presents its authors’ attempt to lay the basis of a theory with which to better understand the difficulties and complexities of identity formation. It provides an extensive examination of identity formation as it relates to human striving (agency) and social organisation (culture). In spite of the volume’s 250 pages, the authors can be said to have compiled state-of-the-art psychological and sociological theory and research into a concise synthesis. Likewise, vast, interdisciplinary literature is synthesised and presented in a reader-friendly style. Playing the role of narrators, the authors take readers through the most important theories and studies of self and identity, focusing on pragmatic issues of identity formation—those things that matter most in people's lives.