topic 2: concept + types of identity

Question 1

identity

Answer 1

• how individuals see and define themselves and how other individuals see and define them
• it ‘fits’ individuals into the society in which they life (eg. influences friendships, relationships + communities)

Question 2

social construction of identity

Answer 2

• identity is a social construction and is created by the socialisation process
• sources of identity include social class, gender, ethnicity and disability
• individuals are not free to adopt any identity they like (gender/ethnicity/class influence how others see them)
• individuals have multiple identities (choose different ones in different circumstances)
• identities change over time (age can impact status as detachment can occur from identities within paid employment)

Question 3

individual/personal identity

Answer 3

• Woodward suggests that individual identity is how we define ourselves and how we differ from others
• own self concept or what Mead called the ‘inner me’ or ‘I’
• Becker (1997) said we each have a master status which is dominant and overrides all other aspects of that person’s identity (eg. an Asian woman may not wish to be identified primarily as this but as a senior manager)

Question 4

social identity

Answer 4

• defines individuals in relation to the social groups they belong to and how they differ from other groups
• they may also arise from the social roles that people play (eg. mothers and fathers, teachers and students)

Question 5

collective identity

Answer 5

• identity shared by a social group, involving both personal and social identities (Giddens and Sutton)
• individuals actively choose to identify with a group and adopt the identity associated with it (eg. feminist, goth, rock music fan)

Question 6

multiple identities

Answer 6

• individuals may draw on more than one source of identity
• they may assert different ‘selves’ in different circumstances

Question 7

stigmatised/spoiled identities

Answer 7

• Goffman said stigmatised identities were seen as undesirable and stops people being fully accepted into society (eg. disabled people)
• those with stigmatised identities may face negative consequences like being refused employment
• attempts made by these individuals to present an alternative impression of themselves will fail (‘failed’ identity = spoiled identity)