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Sense of Identity

This document discusses the concept of sense of identity. It defines identity as the qualities that make a person or group distinct from others. Sense of identity refers to one's self-reflection and awareness of who they are. Primary identities like gender and nationality have the most enduring impact, while secondary identities like occupation are more fluid. Sense of identity is characterized by continuity over time as well as being shaped through interactions with others. Identity exists on both a personal level, concerning unique individual traits, and a social level in terms of group memberships. Personal identity influences how one sees themselves while social identity involves categorizing into groups and comparing with other groups.

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Phạm Việt Bách
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13 views

Sense of Identity

This document discusses the concept of sense of identity. It defines identity as the qualities that make a person or group distinct from others. Sense of identity refers to one's self-reflection and awareness of who they are. Primary identities like gender and nationality have the most enduring impact, while secondary identities like occupation are more fluid. Sense of identity is characterized by continuity over time as well as being shaped through interactions with others. Identity exists on both a personal level, concerning unique individual traits, and a social level in terms of group memberships. Personal identity influences how one sees themselves while social identity involves categorizing into groups and comparing with other groups.

Uploaded by

Phạm Việt Bách
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sense of identity

I. Definition of sense of identity


- According to the Cambridge dictionary, “identity” is the qualities of a person or group that
make them different from others. Identity is simply defined as the characteristics
determining who or what a person or thing is.
- In cognitive psychology, the term "identity" refers to the capacity for self-reflection and the
awareness of self. Identity is often thought of as your overarching sense and view of
yourself. A stable sense of identity means being able to see yourself as the same person in
the past, present, and future.
- Primary identities are those that have the most consistent and enduring impact on our lives,
such as race, gender, and nationality. Secondary identities, such as college major,
occupation, and marital status, are more fluid and more dependent on situation.

II. Essential characteristics of sense of identity

1. Continuity of identity
- Continuity means that people can count on you to be the same person tomorrow as you are
today. People change but many important aspects of social identity remain relatively stable
such as gender, surname, language and ethnicity.
o For instance, a person may be born male, but as he grows from an infant to a boy to
a teenager to a young man to a middle-aged man and then to an old man, the
meanings of his male identity change. He is still a male and still identifies as a male,
but what it means to be male alters as he ages, and social expectations change
regarding what a boy or a man should be.

2. Identities are created through interaction with others


- The relationships, experiences, and communication interactions we share with others shape
how we see ourselves. Relationships with others help us understand who we are and how
others perceive us.
o For example, in the 1960s and 1970s, many U.S. women became more aware of,
and dissatisfied with their social identity as wives and mothers. This prompted them
to become involved in a larger social movement known as feminism, in which
women organized and attended “consciousness raising” groups designed to alter
how they perceived and performed their identities as females. Women in these
groups were encouraged to think of themselves not primarily as wives and mothers
but as the professional and social equivalents of men.
o It also happened for others—both women and men—who organized to protest
against racial discrimination.
 In these instances a common social identity brought people together into
communities, and these communities in turn acted to improve the position
of the particular social identity in society.
- Identity is key to understanding communication, and communication is key to
understanding identity.

III. 2 level of identity


- Psychologists most commonly use the term "identity" to describe personal identity, or
the idiosyncratic things that make a person unique.
- Sociologists, however, often use the term to describe social identity, or the collection of
group memberships that define the individual.

1. Personal identity
- At the individual (personal identity) level, we are concerned with our difference from other
individuals, and the things that make us unique as people. They play significant roles in
determining how we understand and experience the world.
- Personal identity is important because it influences how people see themselves and how
they interact with others.
- 8 basic facets of personal identity: gender , social class, age, sexual orientation, race and
ethnicity, religion, age and disability
o For example, my basic personal identities are: male, 18 years old, student, no
religion, Kinh ethnic
- “Personal identity” relates to “self-awareness” - an individual consciously knows and
understands their own character, feelings, motives, and desires. Understanding clearly
personal identity helps we identify our passions and interests, as well as identify our
outstanding qualities that can make us to be successful in life.

2. Social identity
- At the collective (social identity) level, we are concerned with our group’s differences from
other groups, and the things that make our group unique.
o For example, if you are an athlete, and you are thinking about how you are different
and unique from others who are not athletic, then you are focusing on part of your
individual identity. If you are focusing on how your sports team is different and
unique from other sports teams, then you are focusing on your social identity.

 Identities are not necessarily only individual or social; they can be both, depending on the
situation. How is this contradiction possible?
o For example, we are Vietnamese, the national identity is part of our social identity.
Because we are living in Vietnam and being surrounded by many Vietnamese people, we
may not be conscious of this as being part of our individual identity. But when travelling
aboard, our national identity becomes part of our individual identity because this
significant characteristic will differentiate them from others.
- 3 steps of social identity:
o Categorize: We categorize ones to which we belong and ones that are different
from us. Not all people belong to just one category, we can belong to many different
categories.
o Identification: When we adopt the identity of the group we have categorized
ourselves as to belonging. For example, if we categorized ourselves as students, we
are going to adopt the identity of a student; we start acting like a student and
behaving like a student. We start to conform to the rules of the group, the category
we belong to
o Comparison: Comparing ourselves with other groups to maintain our self-esteem

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