 27. Identity Negotiation  599
cally threatening that it undermines physical 
health (cf. Iyer, Jetten, & Tsivrikos, 2008; 
Stinson & Swann, 2017).
Workplace  Outcomes
Accruing evidence indicates that identity ne -
gotiation processes can influence outcomes 
in the workplace. For example, studies of 
small work groups suggest that to the extent 
that individual group members bring their 
compatriots’ appraisals of them in line with 
their identities, both individuals and groups 
benefit. Specifically, individuals who elicit -
ed identity-  congruent appraisals were more 
committed to the group and performed bet -
ter than those who did not (Swann, Kwan, 
Polzer, & Milton, 2003; Swann, Milton, & 
Polzer, 2000; see also London, 2003). Simi -
larly, among people in service occupations, 
those with more negative self-  evaluations 
were more strongly identified with their 
work, found their work more meaningful, 
and engaged in fewer counterproductive 
workplace behaviors (e.g., coming in late, 
daydreaming instead of working) to the ex -
tent that they perceived their occupation as 
more widely stigmatized by others (Shantz & 
Booth, 2014). People’s identities may also in -
fluence their reactions to justice in the work -
place. Whereas people with high self-  esteem 
responded to high levels of procedural jus -
tice with high commitment and low rates 
of absenteeism, people with low self-  esteem 
showed no such preferences (Wiesenfeld, 
Swann, Brockner, & Bartel, 2007). Even 
before people enter the workplace, identity 
negotiation processes may shape career- 
relevant outcomes. For instance, high-self- 
esteem students in computer science classes 
demonstrated greater science/technology/en -
gineering/mathematics (STEM) persistence 
to the extent that their parents verified their 
positive STEM identity (Amarnani, Garcia, 
Restubog, Bordia, & Bordia, 2018).
In short, the outcome of the identity ne -
gotiation process, in general, and the fit 
between a target’s situated identity and a 
perceiver’s situated appraisal, in particular, 
has important implications. When people 
are seen as they see themselves, they enjoy 
superior relationship quality and duration, 
exhibit heightened psychological and physi -
cal well-being, and are even more productive and satisfied in the workplace (for a further 
discussion, see Swann, Johnson, & Bosson, 
2009).
Resulting Identity and  Relationship  Goals
The final step in the model depicted in Fig -
ure 27.1 consists of both parties’ identities 
and relationship goals at the conclusion of 
a given iteration of the identity negotiation 
process. Although both the target’s and the 
perceiver’s resulting identities usually resem -
ble their initial identities to a large degree, it 
is also possible for an identity to shift dur -
ing the identity negotiation process. In this 
sense, the identity negotiation model allows 
for and explains both identity stability and 
identity change.
The foregoing discussion points to at least 
five conditions that increase the probability 
of permanent (or at least long-term) identity 
change: (1) the aspect of identity being nego -
tiated is relatively unimportant or uncertain 
to the target; (2) interpersonal feedback or 
experiences fall outside the target’s or per -
ceiver’s latitude of acceptance (and thus can -
not easily be assimilated into a preexisting 
identity); (3) feedback or experiences are dif -
ficult or impossible to dismiss (e.g., feedback 
comes from a highly credible source or is pa -
tently obvious); (4) feedback or experiences 
that are inconsistent with the target’s initial 
identity nonetheless produce outcomes that 
are perceived as highly desirable; and (5) the 
social environment lacks opportunity struc -
tures (e.g., social networks, physical and 
psychological resources) that are necessary 
to sustain a given identity. In the next sec -
tion, we discuss several factors that precipi -
tate these conditions.
Identity Negotiation and  Identity  Change
Up to this point in the chapter, we have em -
phasized the importance of congruence in 
the perceptions of targets and perceivers, 
especially when these perceptions match the 
target’s chronic (initial) identity. By implica -
tion, changes in identity appear to be unwel -
come phenomena that can confuse or even 
derail the process of identity negotiation. Yet 
as disruptive and painful as identity changes 
may sometimes be, they are a natural, un -