Essay On Humans : A Bag Full Of Memories

The first unit on our textbook Interactions by Ann Moseley and Jeanette Harris talks about the self-concept. It is hard to find a definition for the self-concept because it is certain beliefs about ethnicity, religion, and personalities combined. This unit has a number of readings by various authors where it shows struggles with the self. Self-identity, ethnic backgrounds, and self-esteem are the major aspects of those readings. After reading their writings I found that I could relate to their experiences. The three readings that got my attention were “Zero” By Paul Logan, “I’m Just Me” by Lylah Alphonse, and “The Jacket” by Gary Soto.

Our identity is comprised of inner qualities and outer representations of self. It consists of innumerable defining characteristics that make up the whole of who we are in any given moment. These fragments of self include our sexuality, gender, and sense of belonging to a particular culture, nation, religion, family, or some other group. Our identity includes our looks, personality, beliefs and fears. Each individual in society assigns themselves a particular role, whether it be as a mother, brother, retiree, performer, sportsman or as a part of their occupation, a doctor or lawyer. Often one’s entire sense of self is consumed by

Despite the large amount of people that feel confident and comfortable in expressing themselves freely, many adolescents have a deteriorating concept of self because of the belief that they should have to conform to their peer’s ideals. The identities of these children are being dictated by a need of acceptance from prominent social groups in their environment; however, teenagers must realize one’s own individuality as something beneficial and recognizing that conforming can become problematic in certain situations.

Growing up in a generation with high expectations of identity that are constantly altering whether it’s the latest trends, styles and even mind-set principles, can be over whelming. When asked to describe one-self, we often are stuck thinking of what particular word could fully describe who we are as a person. We have such a hard time of coming with just one word because there is no form of describing one’s self. How we see ourselves, we may not want to be that the next day. “Looks can be deceiving” or “the first impressions are the most important” is commonly instilled in our mindset which it is true to some extent. Our work

Since the moment one is born, until one’s life comes to a halting end, he or she is always in a quest to find his or her self. Clearly, the concept of self is rather complex. Humans are different entities, with varied views on the world, which is what makes the universe such an interesting place. Of course, people are born with certain characteristics that become the bases for who he or she is. Yet, the components that fall under the self, such as, self concept, self knowledge, self esteem continue to change. Interestingly enough, the self falls under a specific spectrum. When he or she is young, he or she can merely recognize him or herself. Therefore the self is lost. However when he or she begins school the self he or she fall under one of the two

Each of us has different individual characteristics and factors, and it is the combination of these that make up who we are.

Using a real human brain, Dr. Taylor explained the separation of the brain’s right and left hemispheres. The two cerebral cortices are completely separate from one another, but maintain communication via the corpus callosum. She described the right hemisphere as a parallel processor, thinking in images and learning from body movement. The right hemisphere is responsible for gathering sensory input, in the form of energy, from the environment around us. The left hemisphere, according to Dr. Taylor, is a serial processor, interpreting the sensory information gathered by the right hemisphere. The sensory information is analyzed and categorized by the linear and methodical thinking of the left hemisphere. Dr. Taylor believes the left hemisphere is responsible for interpretation of the past and future, as well as, an individual’s self-awareness. The

The first component of an identity is persons’ self-conceptions. Self-conceptions are someone’s own opinions about their abilities and attributes. It also incorporates and internalizes outside information about that person. An adolescent may describe themselves as pretty, or intelligent, or awkward if they have been in numerous situations that made them feel that way. These self-conceptions will change and diversify

While reading the article, “The Complexity of Identity: “Who Am I?” the text provoked a lot of thought provoking questions and dialogue. The text itself stated how the “looking glass self” is not a flat one – dimensional reflection, but multidimensional.” (page 9) I thought it was really vital to keep this in mind, while looking at my own identity and others. I think it is important to understand this when stereotypes come into a situation; because not everyone has a story and a reason for being and behaving in a way.

Our identity can sometimes be shaped by the way others see us. As we have seen, the way in which others view us can have some sort of impact on how we see ourselves. There are also other contributing factors such as our years of adolescence, the basic human need of wanting to belong and maturing; all play an equally important part in the forming of our character and who we are. On balance it appears that there is not only one influence in the shaping of our identity, but there are many.

     Two things can happen when we are required to base our definition of “self” on others.  One can take others’ ways of living and thinking, process them, and formulate his or her own definition, independent of anyone else.  Or, one can use the relationships he or she has with other people on which to base their own definition of self, thus making him or her dependent on those other people.  As young people, we learn and take in all we can through the world, our experiences, and relationships with other people.  From there, we grow and establish our own identities, our own “selves”, in response to those interactions with others.  This definition is continually growing and progressing as we evolve as people, interacting with different people in different environments and

Who are you? Who am I? These are questions that we all ponder at some point or another in our lives. As human beings we are seemingly inundated with the desire to classify and categorise. We are constantly defining and analysing the differences that we observe in the world, it seems only natural that we would apply this method of classification to our position within our society. More specifically, we want to understand our social identities and this can be achieved by acknowledging which groups we identify most with.

“Some…memberships are more salient than others; and some may vary in salience in time and as a function of a variety of social situations” (Tajfel, 2-3) Salience of identity, in the way that we need to understand it in the case of perception and decision making, can be operationalized as the likelihood that a particular identity will be invoked within a certain situation that the individual is being faced with (Hogg, Terry, & White, 257). As mentioned previously, everyone holds various identities but salience is the process through which we subconsciously decide which we be used to base our decision making or preferences on. “The salience of a particular social identity for an individual may vary from situation to situation and indeed from

The development of self starts at a very young age. When a preschooler is asked how are they different from other children, they usually look at their self concept. Self concept is their identity, of their set of beliefs about what they are like as individuals. Most preschoolers give inaccurate statements about their self concept. They usually overestimate their skills and knowledge. Preschool-age children also begin to develop a view of self that reflects their particular culture considers the self. An example of this would be to look at the different views as self between the Western culture and the Asian culture. Western cultures believe that an individual should seek attention of others by standing out

Self concepts begins in childhood but it continues to develop throughout life. As we observe how other people react to us, we modify our “self.” The “self” is never a finished project, and it continues to change as our life takes different turns. Our “self” reacts to the environment that we are in.