Associated data for Qualitative Think-aloud

Identity – a person’s lifelong culmination of social experiences and internalised values and ideals – is considered valuable to understanding behaviour. However, there is ambiguity amongst behavioural science surrounding whether identity and its influence on behaviour is experienced consciously (reflectively) or non-consciously (automatically). The present study explores participants’ cognitive accessibility and perceptions of identity, and whether and/or how identity drives their behaviour.

Methods: This study employed a qualitative retrospective think-aloud approach. Participants (N=15; M age=39.2 years; 60% female) completed an online survey, providing informed consent, demographic details, and responses to identity-related questions for cognitive guidance pre-interview. Participants then completed an online semi-structured interview, exploring perceptions of identity and cognitive accessibility to its influence on their behaviour.

Results: Real-world perceptions of identity encompassed social and personal values, beliefs and roles which non-consciously evolved throughout life experiences. However, depending on context, identity was perceived to have both non-conscious and conscious influences on behaviour.

Conclusion: This study highlights the identity-behaviour relationship as primarily a non-conscious process, subsequently suggesting that participants may experience some difficulty in self-reporting identity-related behaviours. To mitigate this concern, future research may consider adoption of implicit measures and methodologies specifically designed to address lesser cognitively accessible constructs.