Stability and Change in the Gender Identities of Newly Married Couples

Collective identity and resilience in the management of common pool resources

“…The conceptual framework presents two attributes that are fundamental to sustaining resilience in collective action. The behavioural responses to change depicted in the framework illustrate how collective identity can remain stable enough to allow for organized collective action and yet change slowly over time in response to disturbances (Burke and Cast 1997). Changes in the levels of identification and affective commitment have the potential to cause members of the collective to behave differently towards the collective (Ellemers et al 1999;Bergami and Bagozzi 2000).…”

“…Because meanings are rooted in the values and norms of a culture, they are slow to change and confer stability on collective identity. As long as meanings are shared, individuals will identify with the collective identity and adapt behaviours accordingly (Burke and Cast 1997;Burke 2006). However, should discrepancies arise that cannot be resolved, behaviours may not adapt in some situations, resulting in the waning of commitment and collapse of identity and with it the ability to secure collective action to manage the use of CPRs.…”

“…Given that meanings shape behaviour and that identity and behaviour are strongly linked, it can be postulated that a resilience approach requires that members of a user group adjust and adapt their behaviours to conform to the evolving meanings held by the collective (Burke and Cast 1997;Burke 2006). Because meanings are rooted in the values and norms of a culture, they are slow to change and confer stability on collective identity.…”

“…These changes occur within a dynamic system that is self-regulating (Burke and Cast 1997;Burke 2006). Changes in collective identity may also occur in situations where multiple identities that share similar sets of meanings emerge and activate at the same time (Burke and Cast 1997).…”

“…From this perspective, accepting the importance and vulnerability of collective identity in directing behaviours of resource users towards the collective highlights the need to develop understanding of how to foster resilience in collective action. Burke and Cast (1997) suggest that collective identity is a process that can either be static or dynamic depending on particular circumstances. Collective identity continuously changes in response to discrepancies that may develop between individually held meanings (self meanings) and collective meanings (Burke 2006).…”