THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE: RECONCILING AGENTIC AND COMMUNAL TENSIONS FROM A DYNAMIC IDENTITY PERSPECTIVE
THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE: RECONCILING AGENTIC AND COMMUNAL TENSIONS FROM A DYNAMIC IDENTITY PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: We propose a narrative conceptual framework for understanding identity as a dynamic system sustained by two ongoing negotiations between agentic (self-focused) and communal (other-focused) motives. Traditional models were often grounded in stability, consistency, and moral coherence and tended to underplay the adaptive complexity of modern identity. In a world where individuals continuously shift between social, professional, and digital selves, coherence emerges not from sameness but from the capacity to integrate contradiction. Existing classical and contemporary frameworks either privileged continuity or pathologised inconsistency, failing to recognise how personal fluidity could be a source of growth rather than conflict. Drawing on socio-developmental, cognitive, and motivational research, we argue that apparent tensions within self-motivations (e.g., self-interest and care for others) are not indicators of dysfunction but hallmarks of a resilient, flexible identity. Arguments are presented for an integrative model reframing identity coherence as a process of agentic–communal negotiation, in which stability emerged as a property of adaptation across different contexts. By acknowledging both the prosocial bias in existing research and the functional role of self-contradictions, this perspective offers new avenues for conceptualising identity health, measurement, and resilience in a dynamic social world.

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