INDIVIDUALITY AND RELATEDNESS OF THE SELF - AN AUTOPHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY

Using R. C. Ziller's (1990) method of autophotography, the authors stu died the duality of relatedness and individuality. A total of 226 youn g adults used photos (and words) to portray ''who they are.'' Photo es says were scored for objective codes (e.g., people touching) and subje ctively rated for individuality (richness of self-depiction). As predi cted, persons who emphasized their personal rather than social identit y depicted greater individuality; relatedness was associated with soci al and collective identity. Other results replicated earlier gender di fferences in relatedness and associations of individuality and related ness with the 5-factor model. In the 2nd wave of the sample, individua lity was associated with higher ego development, maturity, and self-di rected values; low individuality was associated with restrictive confo rmity and security values. The authors suggest that the combination of individuality and relatedness is optimal for human development.