Identity Is A Long Process Of Exploration And Discovery

Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them

Interactions between people are never ending. The effects of one conversation could affect the outcome of that person’s life, consequently changing their identity completely. There comes a time, though, when dealing with others confident in their identities, where one must ask themselves the personal question of “who am I?”. No matter if you’ve just stumbled upon this question, in the process of discovering the answer, consistently changing your answer, or confident in your answer, the people around you are the ones you have to thank for molding your personal identity.

Who I am? Personally, I believe that a person’s identity can take only one of two routes. One, a person’s identity can change within that person’s life. Who I am now, is not necessarily who I was when I was younger. Experience can and will likely modify our identities. Therefore, experience can solidify our personal identification or it can weaken our personal identification. And as such, individuals and their perspectives are always evolving, or at the very least, they should evolve over time. Although there are some identities that evolve throughout one’s lifetime; there are some identities that remain consistent. Two, some identities cannot and will not change. So identities are socially and/or politically forces upon you, some identities are genetically assigned to you, and some you choose to keep. No matter the reason or reasons, these identities have been and will be consist within your lifespan. But, how you deal with them is up to you as an individual.

Social identity theory is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s) (Harwood, 2007). “In social identity theory and identity theory, the self is reflexive in that it can take itself as an object and can categorize, classify, or name itself in particular ways in relation to other social categories or classification” (Stets & Burke, 2000). The social identity theory has been known to let individuals find their own niche and group that they want to belong to. This could include what the individuals are active in or involved in. Research has also found that the groups that they classify themselves in can cause the participants to look down upon other groups that they are not involved in (Harwood, 2007). Negative attitudes are more of a complex issue, but interesting ideas come from explanations that emerge for social identity theory (Harwood,

What is personal identity? This question has been asked and debated by philosophers for centuries. The problem of personal identity is determining what conditions and qualities are necessary and sufficient for a person to exist as the same being at one time as another. Some think personal identity is physical, taking a materialistic perspective believing that bodily continuity or physicality is what makes a person a person with the view that even mental things are caused by some kind of physical occurrence. Others take a more idealist approach with the belief that mental continuity is the sole factor in establishing personal identity holding that physical things are just reflections of the mind. One more perspective on personal identity

An individual’s identity has an impact on our behavior (Bibble, Bank, Anderson, et al., 1985). According to Thorits and Virshup (1997) they assert that there are categories that individual’ s employ to explain themselves, which comprise sociodemographic characteristics such as social roles, social types, or personality traits. These categories guide identity-relevant behaviors based on identity ideals associated with meanings and expectations (Eifert, Adams, Dudley,

“We are not born knowing who we are or what our place is in the social landscape; we learn to be American or Japanese, male or female, husband or wife, or Amy, Richard, Micheal, Rachel, or Rebecca.” Our identities are constructed by this “social landscape”. The social construction of identity takes place by living life through first hand experiences and through certain social circumstances. Amartya Sen says,” Classification is certainely cheap, but identity is not. More interestingly, whether a particular classification can plausibly generate a sense of identity or not must depend on the social circumstances.” Identity is a complex matter but can be defined in simple terms. It is who you are. Your personality, the way you act in response to

Social Identity Theory has a considerable impact on social psychology. It is tested in a wide range of

According to social identification theory, an individual’s personal identity is for an important part derived from his or her (perceived) membership of a social group (Tajfel and Turner, 1979). Social identification occurs when one experiences a certain level of oneness with the group, which leads to thoughts, feelings, and expectations that are consistent with the group (Hogg, Terry, and White 1995). Such a group is comprised of individuals who share a common social identification or see themselves as part of the same social category (Stets and Burke, 2000). However, it is not a requirement that group members meet face-to-face for social identification to occur; it can also be developed without any social interaction, for example in the case

Identity in a sociological sense is more than individual genetics or individuality. Self identity is made up by many characteristics including; our personal experiences, beliefs, socio-economic status and other factors. Society plays a huge role in determining identity, although true identity generally isn’t a true reflection of an individual’s self identity. Over the generations there have been

I would use the striving for identity and relationship to others technique, so that the client and find a lead way to focus on the interesting things about herself rather than events that she did with her husband. Striving for identity and relationship to others is finding something interest about self. As described that the client lost her husband after 50 years, which can be difficult because the woman will feel some type of loneliness. If the client thinks about her husband, it may lead to depression. Striving for identity helps the client see the bigger picture, finding trust within them, and seeking their own answers to the conflicts in life. Clients think too much of what others think about them. For an elderly woman moving into a retirement

Social identity theory is the idea that we, as humans, have the need to categorize ourselves into in-groups ‘us’ and out-groups ‘them’ in order to give ourselves a positive social identity to protect and enhance our self-esteem.

Taylor (2012, p 167) defines social identity as ‘an identity given by connections to other people and social situations. (Often contrasted with personal identity). Some examples are group and collective identities, situated identities, given by the immediate situation so liable to change, and relational identities, usually given by a two-sided, possibly unequal, relationship’. Taylor (2012) argues that a collective identity can be that of gender, race, age and many more. However, this does not mean that once a collective identity has been formed that all the people within that collective identity have something in common or share the same interests. People who form part of a collective identity will still have a personal identity ‘an idea of who she or he is’ (Taylor, 2012, p 170). Taylor (2012) argues that social identity is not completely separate from personal identity. For example some people would argue that being socially

Stets, J. E., & Burke, P. J. (2000). Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly , pp. 224-237. Retrieved from <

A person’s identity is shaped by many qualities including culture, nation, religion, family or other groups and a sense of belonging (Changing Minds, 2016). In addition, identity is particularly impacted by social surrounding and a person’s religious social