Merging and identification with the social group as mechanisms for development of identity

The mechanism of merging with the social group is suggested as an alternative to identification in which the personal and the social identities are fused together and have equal importance for the subject. The paper is a further attempt to differentiate between identification and merging as two different ways of development of identity. Two groups of subjects (students N = 161 and adults N = 123) were studied to prove that both processes are characterized by meaningful and independent effects with respect to choice of family and country. The two models family and country were used to demonstrate reliability and factor validity of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale.