Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (AIQ-IV)

Abstract

The Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (AIQ-IV) is a widely utilized psychological instrument designed to assess the relative importance individuals place on various identity attributes when forming their self-definitions. Developed through successive revisions, the AIQ-IV measures four core identity orientations: Personal Identity (PI), Social Identity (SI), Collective Identity (CI), and Relational Identity (RI). This 45-item scale provides researchers with a detailed, multidimensional view of how self-definition is structured across individual, interpersonal, and group domains.

Keywords

Aspects of Identity Questionnaire, AIQ-IV, Personal Identity, Social Identity, Collective Identity, Relational Identity, Identity Orientations, Self-Definition, Psychometrics.

Authors

Cheek, J. M., Briggs, S. R.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the AIQ-IV is to quantitatively measure the subjective importance assigned to various dimensions of the self. Unlike scales that measure identity content (what one is), the AIQ-IV focuses on identity orientation (the relative importance specific domains hold for one’s sense of self). The scale evolved from initial measures of personal and social identity to encompass broader and more nuanced aspects of self-construction.

The scale allows for the assessment of the relative balance among the four primary identity factors (PI, SI, CI, RI), providing insight into individual differences in self-construction. It is an essential tool for research concerning personality, self-concept, and social psychology, particularly in understanding how different contexts influence the salience of specific identity aspects.

Construct

The AIQ-IV measures four distinct, yet related, dimensions of identity orientations. These orientations reflect the degree to which an individual defines themselves based on internal attributes, social roles, group membership, and close relationships, building upon the theoretical framework initially proposed by Sampson (1978).

• Personal Identity (PI): Focuses on internal, idiosyncratic attributes such such as personal values, goals, dreams, thoughts, and self-knowledge (e.g., “My personal values and moral standards”).
• Social Identity (SI): Focuses on public attributes and interpersonal reputation, including popularity, appearance, reputation, and social behavior (e.g., “My reputation, what others think of me”).
• Collective Identity (CI): Focuses on membership in large-scale social groups, such as family generations, race, religion, community, or nationality (e.g., “My race or ethnic background”). This factor was developed later when items originally scored in the social domain clustered separately.
• Relational Identity (RI): Focuses on the importance of intimate, close relationships with friends and partners, emphasizing connection, caring, and mutual satisfaction. This fourth scale was explicitly added to the AIQ-IV to capture identity derived from significant relationships (Cheek, Smith, & Tropp, 2002).

Validity

The development of the AIQ series focused heavily on ensuring robust content validity. Items were initially selected from Sampson’s (1978) list of identity characteristics and rigorously reviewed, reworded, and refined across multiple versions (AIQ-I through AIQ-IV) to ensure they accurately represented the intended theoretical domains of identity (Cheek & Briggs, 1981, 1982).

The evolution of the scale—specifically the addition of distinct factors for Collective Identity (Cheek, Underwood, & Cutler, 1985) and later Relational Identity (Cheek, Smith, & Tropp, 2002)—was driven by psychometric evidence suggesting that certain items clustered into domains previously unaccounted for. This systematic refinement process enhanced the construct validity and comprehensiveness of the measure, ensuring the AIQ-IV captures the multidimensional nature of identity orientation.

Reliability

The authors, Cheek and colleagues, continuously sought to improve the reliability of the measures throughout the developmental process (Cheek, 1982/83; Cheek & Hogan, 1981). The careful item selection and refinement were designed to maximize the internal consistency of the resulting subscales (PI, SI, CI, and RI).

While specific coefficients are not provided in the original source content, the rigorous psychometric development suggests that the four derived identity orientation scales exhibit acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as confirmed in subsequent academic applications of the AIQ-IV.

Factor Analysis

The AIQ-IV is structurally based on empirical findings from factor analysis, which guided the expansion from the original two domains (Personal and Social identity) to four. Early psychometric analyses indicated that items related to communal characteristics (e.g., family, ethnicity) did not align solely with the Social Identity domain and instead clustered into a third factor, leading to the establishment of the Collective Identity scale.

The final, 45-item AIQ-IV formalized the four-factor structure by adding the Relational Identity factor. The scoring system reflects this structure, dividing the items into four main scales (PI, RI, SI, CI) and 10 special items (SP) that are typically unscored but provide single-item assessments of dimensions related to self-esteem and identity. Researchers have used combinations of these items to create ad hoc measures, such as Superficial Identity and Academic Identity (Dollinger et al., 1996).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire

Format: 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (Not important to my sense of who I am) to 5 (Extremely important to my sense of who I am)

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General population, frequently used with college students and young adults.

Age Group: Adolescents, Young Adults, and Adults

Population Details: The scale has been extensively validated and used in samples of college students. However, the authors note that the factor loading of certain items (e.g., item #23, ‘social class’) may vary between college students and non-college adults, suggesting potential population differences in the salience of specific identity aspects.

Test Methodology: Standardized self-administration. Scoring involves summing the scores (1-5) for items assigned to each of the four identity orientation subscales (PI, RI, SI, CI).

Keywords

Psychological assessment, Self-concept, Psychometrics, Identity structure, Cheek, AIQ, Multidimensional self, Personality assessment, Self-esteem.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The AIQ-IV version was formalized around 2002, coinciding with the presentation of the Relational Identity scale addition. Information regarding specific permissions and fees for commercial use must be obtained through direct communication with the primary author, Jonathan M. Cheek. The scale is frequently available free of charge for non-commercial academic research.

Reference’s

Briggs, S. R. & Cheek, J. M. (1986). The role of factor analysis in the development and evaluation of personality scales. Journal of Personality, 54, 106-148.

Cheek, J. M., Smith, S.M., & Tropp, L. R. (2002, February). Relational identity orientation: A fourth scale for the AIQ. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Savannah, GA.

Cheek, J. M., Tropp, L. R., Chen, L. C., & Underwood, M. K. (1994, August). Identity Orientations: Personal, social, and collective aspects of identity. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles, CA. Adapted from: Cheek, Underwood & Cutler (1985).

Dollinger, S. J., Preston, L. A., O’Brien, S. P., & DiLalla, D. L. (1996). Individuality and relatedness of the self: An autophotographic study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1268-1278.

Dollinger, S. J. (1996). Autophotographic identities of young adults: With special reference to alcohol, athletics, achievement, religion and work. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67, 384-398.

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Items of the Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (AIQ-IV)

INSTRUCTIONS: These items describe different aspects of identity. Please read each item carefully and consider how it applies to you. Fill in the blank next to each item by choosing a number from the scale below:

• 1 = Not important to my sense of who I am
• 2 = Slightly important to my sense of who I am
• 3 = Somewhat important to my sense of who I am
• 4 = Very important to my sense of who I am
• 5 = Extremely important to my sense of who I am

1.    The things I own, my possessions
2.    My personal values and moral standards
3.    My popularity with other people
4.    Being a part of the many generations of my family
5.    My dreams and imagination
6.    The ways in which other people react to what I say and do
7.    My race or ethnic background
8.    My personal goals and hopes for the future
9.    My physical appearance: my height, my weight, and the shape of my body
10.    My religion
11.    My emotions and feelings
12.    My reputation, what others think of me
13.    Places where I live or where I was raised
14.    My thoughts and ideas
15.    My attractiveness to other people
16.    My age, belonging to my age group or being part of my generation
17.    My gestures and mannerisms, the impression I make on others
18.    The ways I deal with my fears and anxieties
19.    My sex, being a male or a female
20.    My social behavior, such as the way I act when meeting people
21.    My feeling of being a unique person, being distinct from others
22.    My relationships with the people I feel close to
23. My social class, the economic group I belong to whether lower, middle, or upper class
24. My feeling of belonging to my community
25. Knowing that I continue to be essentially the same inside even though life involves many external changes
26. Being a good friend to those I really care about
27. My self-knowledge, my ideas about what kind of person I really am
28. My commitment to being a concerned relationship partner
29. My feeling of pride in my country, being proud to be a citizen
30. My physical abilities, being coordinated and good at athletic activities
31. Sharing significant experiences with my close friends
32. My personal self-evaluation, the private opinion I have of myself
33. Being a sports fan, identifying with a sports team
34. Having mutually satisfying personal relationships
35. Connecting on an intimate level with another person
36. My occupational choice and career plans
37. Developing caring relationships with others
38. My commitments on political issues or my political activities
39. My desire to understand the true thoughts and feelings of my best friend or romantic partner
40. My academic ability and performance, such as the grades I earn and comments I get from teachers
41. Having close bonds with other people
42. My language, such as my regional accent or dialect or a second language that I know
43. My feeling of connectedness with those I am close to
44. My role of being a student in college
45. My sexual orientation, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual

Scoring for AIQ-IV

The AIQ-IV comprises 45 items, with the four main scales (PI, RI, SI, CI) derived by summing the answers (1-5) given to the respective item sets. The remaining 10 items are designated as Special items (SP) and are typically unscored, although they can be utilized for ad hoc measures such as those described by Dollinger et al. (1996).

The scoring breakdown for the 45-item AIQ-IV is as follows:

PI = Personal Identity Orientation

RI = Relational Identity Orientation

SI = Social Identity Orientation

CI = Collective Identity Orientation

• PI = 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 27, 32 (Sum of answers to 10 items)
• RI = 22, 26, 28, 31, 34, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43 (Sum of answers to 10 items)
• SI = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 17, 20 (Sum of answers to 7 items)
• CI = 4, 7, 10, 13, 24, 29, 38, 42 (Sum of answers to 8 items)
• SP = 1, 16, 19, 23, 30, 33, 36, 40, 44, 45 (10 items not scored on main scales)

Note that researchers have used these items to create specialized scores. For instance, the “Superficial Identity” score utilizes AIQ-IV items 1, 9, 15, 16, and 19. Similarly, an “Academic/College Identity” score can be derived by summing items 36, 40, and 44, which pertain to career plans, academic performance, and the student role.