Especially appealing features of the ISA approach

Unobtrusive non-threatening assessment

Unobtrusive and non-threatening methods of assessment by way of customised 'identity instruments' provide individuals with additional insights along with confirmation of what they already know about themselves.

Holistic comprehension arising from detailed analysis

ISA is able to generate a holistic comprehension of a person's identity while having detailed evidence of the components and processes that underpin the holistic overview.

Integration of qualitative and quantitative assessment

ISA integrates qualitative features of identity with quantitative parameters of identity.

Culturally sensitive and globally attuned: Integration of emic features with etic assessment.

Because ISA integrates culturally-specific (emic) features of identity with cross-culturally universal (etic) parameters of identity, the approach is simultaneously culturally sensitive and attuned to global comparison.

Use of expert knowledge

ISA encourages the incorporation of the user's expert knowledge of their clients in order to generate customised 'standard identity instruments' for the specific purposes required by the user, e.g., assessing client's covert attitudes and predilections.

Versatile

The versatility of ISA is far-reaching, such that it can be used for any investigation about identity processes, within any context, culture and language globally.

Encounters with other people and changes over time

ISA is able to incorporate changes in identity structure over time as the result of new experiences, expanding networks of people, contending with institutional developments, traumatic encounters, etc., whereby such new and changed features are explicitly represented in the 'identity instrument' as it is elaborated from phase to phase of assessment.