Identity Flashcards
Identity
How we see ourselves in relation to other people.
Through the process of socialisation, we acquire social identity and develop roles for ourselves in our relations with other people.
Identity is a social construction. There are different forms of identity, such as social, cultural and individual identities.
Personal Identity
Emphasises Individuality
Individual choices help to form a person’s identity
Identify yourself as a member of various social groups, perhaps defined by gender or age.
Things that are personal to you, such as your name, accomplishments and personality traits.
Also a product of all of the experiences, you have had through socialisation.
Formed by your family, peers, education, media, religion and the workplace. Positive and negative experiences will all have an impact on your identity, and it will change as life progresses.
Culture v Identity
Not the same.
Culture often establishes our sense of identity.
Culture is seen from the macro perspective.
Identity from the micro meanings we have as individuals. Individuals and groups learn to express their identities through culture.
Learn to express their identity mainly through the cultural means available in the society in which they are.
Social Identity
During socialisation we learn to share identities and symbols with people we believe are like us.
Collective identity yet we also distinguish ourselves as different from others.
Some people as outsiders. We may view them as deviant and collectively band against them.
Each person can have several identities.
In different situations, members of society choose which identity is the most relevant.
Identity also involves a certain amount of choice, in that we actively take identities.
Interpretivists would argue that the very sense of being an individual, and the way in which we are encouraged to perceive ourselves as individuals, is socially constructed rather than socially caused.
Marshall (1998)
No clear definition of identity
Sociologists use it to refer loosely to our sense of self and one’s feelings and ideas about oneself.
Our sense of self is partly structured by how others see and interpret our behaviour.
Feeling and ideas about self are partly a product of our adoption of social identities, which are formed when we react to cultural expectations.
Individual Identity Definition
The unique sense of personhood held by each person in his or her own right. This form of identity is created through social interaction with others.
Social Identity Definition
Collective sense of belonging to a group. Individuals identify themselves as being similar to other members of the group.
Stereotypes
Is an exaggerated or distorted generalisation about an entire category of people that do not acknowledge individual variation.
Stereotypes form the basis for prejudice and discrimination.
Generally, involve members of one group that deny access to the opportunities and rewards that are available to that group.
Stereotypes are learned at a young age and often remain untested, unchallenged and confused with reality throughout our life.
We learn stereotypes from parents, family members, teachers, peers and the media, and they affect our behaviour and beliefs.
Micro Sociologists View on Identity
That identity is negotiated by individuals. This concept of identity in present sociology allows us to see humans as active and thinking beings, rather than as passive victims or puppets of a culture which controls them.
Interactionist Perspective
Identity emerges partly as a result of social interaction.
Interactionist theories emphasise the importance of the self.
Individuals develop a self-concept, a picture of themselves, which is an important influence on the way they act.
This self-concept is developed through interactions with other people because it is based partly on how others react to the individual.
This idea was developed by Cooley, who introduced the term ‘looking-glass self’
Structural perspectives (Functionalism, Feminism, Marxism)
Focus on the role of social institutions or inequalities of power in shaping identity. Marxists and functionalists, in modern society, the individual’s identity is largely fixed. Marxists see our identity as stemming from our class position, while functionalists see it as a result of being socialised into a shared culture.
Postmodernism Perspective
Society is too complex to be understood. There are so many choices available to us in relation to how we should live our lives.
Our identity is continually created and re-created through our consumption of cultural products and symbols.
Bauman argues that identity no longer has a stable basis, identity has now become a matter of choice.
Hobswarn notes that most identities are like ‘shirts’ that we choose to wear, rather than the skin we are born with. Instead of one mainstream culture, we now have a variety of cultures to choose from.
The dominant mainstream culture is being replaced by a wide variety of ‘taste groups’ and diversity of lifestyles.
Hall (Postmodernism)
Contemporary societies are increasingly characterised by the existence of fractured identities.
People no longer possess a single, unified concept of who they are. The postmodernist view is that individuals build their identity by selecting and focusing on an aspect of themselves, such as gender, ethnicity or religion, and use range of material objects to create, maintain and change their identity.
