Rebecca J. Schlegel
Assistant Professor
Psychology Department
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
schlegelrj AT gmail DOT com
Research Interests
I am interested in examining the pervasive influence of self and identity on well-being. I am currently exploring these issues with respect to both an idiosyncratic aspect of identity as well as a social aspect of identity. Below is a description of two of these lines of research. Please contact me if you have any questions.
The True Self
The true self has been espoused as a critical component of the good life by writers and philosophers for hundreds of years. This tradition can be traced back to Aristotle, who believed that the highest form of human excellence was achieved through living in accord with one’s true self. Stories based on the protagonists’ search for the true self, such as The Awakening and Catcher in the Rye, abound in literature and resonate with readers of all ages. Similar themes pervade contemporary media as well in television, self-help books, and movies. The prevalence of such themes suggests that the true self is a fundamental aspect of the contemporary human condition, yet scant empirical research has examined the importance of the true self in people’s lives. In my research I try to move beyond the question of whether the true self is something that is ontologically real and instead examine the functional importance of the true self. For example, my colleagues and I have demonstrated that, in a variety of ways, the experience of being “in touch” with one’s true self confers psychological benefits.
Rural Identity
Whereas the true self-concept is part of what makes each person unique, I’m also interested in the influence of shared identities on well-being. In this vein, my colleagues and I have investigated the importance of rural identity among breast cancer patients. Research suggests that people living in rural areas often place great importance on their identity as rural people. Yet, the importance of this rural identity is often overlooked in the literature on mental and physical health. For example, there have been literally thousands of studies of urban breast cancer patients and very few studies that examine rural breast patients. In our research, my colleagues and I have argued that the research on the correlates of well-being conducted with urban samples may not translate to rural samples and that rural identity is likely to moderate the relationships between other psycho-social variables and well-being.
