This blog post summarizes a study conducted by A. GAUSSET, A. COSTALAT-FOURNEAU, I. FAURIE and Y. MISANTROPE in the university of Montpelier in 2016 and published in Bulletin of Psychology in September 2017.
The research aims to explore the identity dynamic of two long-term jobseekers, one of whom has received counseling, and to study these consequences on the motivation and the capacities to get into action to find work.
Theory
Several theoretical elements brought the authors to deal with the question of the identity dynamics of the job-seekers. First, the identity is considered as dynamic and the work plays an important role in this dynamic (Lipiansky, 1990). Second, the unemployed persons have a negative image of their membership group and after all, a negative perception of their identity. The work makes you feel more integrated in society and has positive effects on identity (….). Third, faced with this crisis, the subject develops identity strategies (Herman, on 2007).
Based on the ego-ecological approach and the Investigator Mulistade of the Social Identity Method (IMIS), (Zavalloni, Louis-Guérin, 1984), scientists have explored the social identity of both subjects through their Self-representations and Others.
Procedure
Subject number one : Beatrice, young graduate, has been looking for a long-lasting employment since one and a half year. She has received counseling for three months in order to reflect and build a viable professional project.
Subject number two : Nicolas possesses a Master degree and has been seeking for employment for over a year. He does not have particular support for his job search.
The IMIS is a structured protocol of interview containing three stages. The discours of subjects allows to identify theirs social representations, called representationnal units.
- Collect the representationnal units of the individual on different groups through questions.
- Locate what is applicable or not to the person of theses représentationnal units. That allows to identify what Zavalloni calls the elementary space of the social identity presented in the following table :
| Positive self = Valued aspects of Self | No positive self = valued aspects of self but no possessed |
| Negative self = devalued aspects of self | No negative Self= devalued aspects of self but no possessed |
- Identify the identical words and their dynamic between them. This part consists in a discourse analysis adding the subjective reality and the experience of the subject. Thus, the representational units become dynamic words “strengths” in such a way that a personal quality can be counterbalanced by a personal defect or reinforced by another quality.
Results
The results show two very different identical strategies.
For Béatrice, motivation and social gratitude are a vector of strength. Unemployment has indeed weakened her self-esteem, however, the support from which she benefits allowed her to refocus on achievable objectives, to identify herself to a group perceived as more positive and to enhance her self-esteem. She does not like her job-seeker situation but she wants to get out and feels capable to do it. She mobilizes strategies of motivation and auto-persuasion allowing him to activate her capacities to reach her purpose. She puts herself into action.
Nicolas expresses doubts as for his capacities to be taken out of his situation, which to alter his self-respect. He justifies his situation by the fact that opportunities are missing. He feels isolated and thinks that nobody can help him, what brings him to resign itself. The analysis of his discourse shows that he uses a strategy of avoidance. He looks for of other one spheres of activity to face his situation and maintain a positive image of himself. He makes the mourning of his initial projects and is in phase of reconstruction.
Discussion
The results of this study allowed to bring to light process that reveals different identity strategies.
The individual receiving counseling has goals and develops the means to achieve them. In comparison, the other subject seems to have experienced a phase of inactivity and a lack of motivation in his search.
The support towards occupational integration plays an important role in the autonomy of the individuals. The accompaniment allows to reconstruct a feeling of membership in a valued, active membership group, with a common purpose. On the contrary the isolation of a person who lacks such accompaniment does not allow him(her) to establish a positive image of him(her)self and induces resignation.
This study was exploratory at first; as such, it thus deserves to be widened to a larger number of subjects so as to better highlight the key factors that shape the identity dynamics.
Really interested in social and work psychology, I go back to university to get the title of psychologist and to advance in my carrer. Indeed, I have already a rich professional experience in the field of social and professional integration, especially with young people. Later, I want to continue to work with vulnérable people such as youngs or seniors job seeker , handicapped person …
Moreover, I’m new resident in the Nantes region and discover every days with pleasure this area.