Values as the core of personal identity: A sociological integration of the self

Values lie at the core of the self and allow both for the reproduction of social structure as well as the "patterned spontaneity" that lies at the heart of human action. This dissertation reincorporates the concept of values into sociology by building a more complete understanding of the place of values within the self. I contend that the self is constituted through value commitments. Individuals experience a cross-situational consistency, yet sociologists either deny the existence of a "self" or consider it beyond the purview of their analyses. I argue that sociologists can study and measure this consistency in self by focusing on their personal value-structures. Values comprise the horizons, or frameworks, through which we construct a sense of self and our accordant social identities. I develop a theory for establishing values at the core of the self and personal identity, which I term "self-horizon" theory.;This project has five parts: a review of the disparate social science literature on values, a theoretical statement of the contention that values form the core of the self, and three empirical chapters illustrating how this theory allows us to establish links between values and the self. Drawing on original longitudinal data, I demonstrate social structural influences on values, the influence of values on social identities, and the centrality of values to an understanding of self-esteem. Values are influenced in patterned ways through a variety of variables such as race, gender, and religion. This dissertation demonstrates how self-horizon theory's use of values improves sociological understandings of the self.