The Development Of An Individual 's Identity

Sociological Accounts on Individuals Acquiring Their Identities The concept of identity has been defined as 'A sense of self that develops as the child differentiates from parents and family and takes a place in society' (Jary and Jary, 1991.) Through the process of socialization, individuals acquire their identities, but this issue cause different understandings according to sociological accounts. Here, I will show these accounts, and make an analysis understood by me.

     There are many aspects of identity in the poem “Sex without Love,” by Sharon Olds. I can relate my own thoughts to how the author views the subject that she talks about in this poem. There has been a situation in my own life where I was thinking to myself, just as the author was, “How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?” (Olds 740). Having been raised as a well-rounded and disciplined person, as well as religious, I know the discouragement of having premarital sex. It’s not just the immorality that these characters are experiencing that the author is talking about, but they probably have personal issues that have to do with a their self worth and identity. These

Stereotypes have been around since the beginning and continue to hurt the lives of certain people in society. Due to stereotypes and prejudice made by certain people, the author, Evan Hunter, successfully demonstrated through the story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” the consequences of stereotyping. The story focuses on a sixteen year old boy named Andy, and his last moments being alive after being stabbed by a rival gang known as the Guardians. Andy was stereotyped because of his purple jacket that identified him as a member of the Royals. While he is reflecting on his life, four people come by but do not take the time to help. The drunk man

In the philosophical branch of personal identity there exist several approaches to the question what is it for the same person to exist over time. It is important to stress that we are referring to numerical identity here, i.e. the identity of a person over a period of time. What is it on the basis of which we say that a person on time point 1 is same as that on time point 2?

During the adolescent years, the main goal is for the male/female to find their identity and seek to answer the questions of “Who am I?”, “What is my purpose in life?” “Why do I believe what I believe?” Berger, 2014 states that there are four fields to forming ones identity, which include: religious beliefs, political, career choices and lastly sexual identity. For many children, finding an identity does not come easily, in fact it may not be revealed until later years when one is an adult, or perhaps could one go their whole life and never fully understand their true selves? A lot of these identity roles and perceptions become forced onto adolescents through education or parental and peer influences. High school is such a difficult time. It is a time where self-esteem decreases and a heightened sense of judgment appears. Particularly females wonder whether their outfits, makeup, hair or romantic interests are going to be socially acceptable by other females. My nine year old daughter, although not even in middle school yet, is already wanting to buy clothing that matches that of her friends and told me just the other day that “her legs were too fat!” This is a child that in no way is

Many people believe that a journey leads to a development of identity, of who we are as a person. Along the same lines, our values and characteristics evolve over time, as we make changes throughout our lives. Therefore, the liaison that identity and journey, share is a journey of obstacles and internal and external trials. Thus, helping us grow by maturing and helps develop valuable life skills as a result, learning new experiences. This journey will help us see what makes us different from one another and whom we want to identify. Throughout this journey, we will develop qualities and go through failure. The failures will help us not to give up, but keep going, and that is going to be a key point on shaping our identity. For example, this will help us identify if we are a strong or weak-minded. This odyssey may aid you by appreciating life and finding peace in the things that made you miserable. Furthermore, journey and identity connect because we have to go through an internal, external, and transformative journey to shape our identity to self-define, who and what we are. In other words, how this journey sets us apart from other people.

In Don’s lecture, he discusses the dialectical model of Identity formation, which includes three components or circles that interact. The subjective reality, the objective reality and Indigenous objective reality. Subjective reality is the individual’s identity that is comprised of someone’s thoughts and feelings. Objective reality is outside of the self, encompassing the culture in mainstream society, such as institutions, history, capitalism and rules. The indigenous objective reality is influenced by both mainstream society and Aboriginal culture. People’s feelings and behaviours are likely to mimic those of the urban people around them.

As the adolescent moves closer to maturity, certain dimensions of adequacy become more important. First, there is a sense of individual maturity, which includes self-control, self-esteem, and self-initiative. Next is interpersonal maturity, covering the ability to communicate, trust, and understand and manage relationships with others. Finally, there is social maturity requiring a general openness to the idea that things change and an acceptance or tolerance of differences among people. The psychosocial self means the total configuration of the individual and the personality mechanisms that integrate him or her. A logical sense of personal identity is the broadest expression of successful mastery of these areas. Successful identity formation

All throughout our lives, we wrestle with the question of who am I and what do I want in life? However, it is usually during the adolescent years that this issue really comes to a head and we begin a more earnest search into finding ourselves and deciding the direction we want to take with our lives. One of the theorists who studied this idea of identity formation was James Marcia. Marcia proposed that there were four different stages or statuses in the development of identity which he labeled Identity Diffusion, Identity Foreclosure, Identity Moratorium, and Identity Achievement. In this essay, we will briefly summarize his four different stages and then apply his theory to my own identity development during the adolescent years.

“Pay no mind to what other people say; whatever makes an individual happy is what he or she should do.” This quote comes from my grandmother, who tries her best to teach me about an individual’s personal identity. An individual’s identity represents who he or she truly is; it is something that allows a specific person to stand out from the crowd. During an individual’s life, he or she will come across many obstacles that will shape her or his being and will further shape her or him into someone with particular traits, or an identity. During my life, I grew up with six older siblings who each had voices and opinions quite different than mine. Although I felt different from everyone else, there was always one person who I related to, my

As life goes on, people restructure their lives based on gains and losses in what they are capable of doing and capabilities, also by changing values and goals. Erikson’s stages of development, is an eight-stage theory of identity and psychosocial. According to Erikson’s theory, every one must pass through the stages over a lifetime (Erikson, 1998). Young adulthood ranges between the ages of 19 to 40, it is usually the age when the individual is at the peak in life. Young adulthood is the age where the adult has found their identity. Now they have moved into the adult world, they are seeking a partner to share, friendship, sex, and intimate feelings with (if they are not in an intimate relationship already) failing this, the young adult feels a sense of isolation, exclusivity or

Many people question themselves, what is it exactly that makes them unique? What is it that defines them as a unique person that no one in the world possesses? In philosophy, these questions do not have just one answer, and all answers are correct depending on which theory appeals most and makes sense to you. In general, there are two ways people approach this question, some say that a person’s identity is the “self” that carries all of their experiences, thoughts, memories, and consciousness (ego theorists), and some say that a person’s identity is just a bundle of experiences and events that a person has been through in their life, these people deny that the “self” exists (bundle theorists). In this paper, I will be arguing that a person’s identity is just a bundle of experiences, denying the self and the memory criterion.

In entering adolescence, people heavily contemplate their ego identity. In the early 1900s, theorist Erik Erikson believed in eight stages of ego development from birth to death. For the purpose of this paper I have

find an intimate relationship. Following the early adult hood stage is middle adulthood, where older people in the stage are concerned with helping younger people develop themselves. After the individual grows out of middle adulthood, he or she begins to reflect on their life and what they have done. This period can last from age sixty till death.

Within this paper, I will be focusing on the subject area of the self and identity, and will critically analyze this topic through both a Symbolic Interactionist and a Group Processes perspective. More specifically, through the Symbolic Interactionist (SI) lens, I will be approaching the topic of the self and identity using Charles Horton Cooley’s idea of the Looking Glass Self, and Erving Goffman’s concept of Dramaturgy. Under the Group Processes (GP) perspective, the theory I will be implementing to approach the self and identity is the Social Identity Theory. The first section of this paper will focus on providing a brief overview of both Symbolic Interactionist and Group Processes perspectives. This includes a short discussion of the key theorists tied to these perspectives, along with the key concepts that will be applied to this paper. Following this theoretical overview will be the application section, which is where I will outline the topic of the self and identity in a more detailed layout. Furthermore, I will be providing an organized outline of how the Looking Glass Self, Dramaturgy, and the Social Identity Theory approach the study of the self and identity. A comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three theories will also be articulated. The conclusion will both summarize the contents of each branch of this paper and outline how this critical comparison paper has aided in solidifying my understanding of the self and identity.