What is identity? Flashcards
Identity Our sense of self. derived from ethnicity
nationality
What are the 3 types of identity?
Personal, social and collective
What is personal identity?
How people see or judge themselves in terms of individuality. Can be constructed from adopting particular values or priorities
What is social identity?
Social roles and statuses that society assigns to people these can be family roles
What is collective identity?
Identifying with a larger social group and experiencing a sense of belonging or community. There is a passive identity which is acquired involuntarily through birth and socialisation. There is also an active identity which is a matter of choice. people may choose to identify with a group.
Cecil (1993)
Studied small town in Northern Ireland and religion was the most significant way of dividing people (catholic or protestant). Both sides relied on stereotypes.
Mead (1934)
Described our awareness of how others see us. The I is the spontaneous side of our personality which would like to act freely but we are aware of the way generalised others of society expect us to behave and this inhibiting self concept seen through the eyes of others is “me”
How does social interaction impact identity?
Identity emerges from our interactions with others and we depend on other people to give us ideas about who we are
Cooley (1922)
the ‘me’ side of our self is the ‘looking glass self’ and how we view ourselves as. if others eyes are a mirror. Others opinions are difficult to ignore.
Goffman (1969)
Sometimes we take the initiative and help other people form an opinion of us presenting ourselves in a particular way. This helps us form a public statement or ourselves.
Changing self
Interactionists believe our sense of self is not stable or static and identity can change over time. Sometimes the change is slow and sometimes its quick
Labelling Theory H Becker
We all label people and objects and those with power are able to label someone and make people accept that label. Labelling can lead to self fulfilling prophecy. It can become a master status
What do functionalists argue about identity?
They are traced back to human biology and they think its healthy to conform to your biological identity. They believe national identity is important. Believe inequality happens due to peoples ablility rather than privilege or discrimination
What do Marxists believe about identity?
Believe class identity is the most important aspect of our identity, denying that is false class consciousness and focusing on gender or ethnicity is a distraction and playing into the hands of the ruling class
What do feminists believe about identity?
Gender is the most important part of our identity due to the patriarchal society. Women are not treated as equal to males because of gender rather than biological sex as gender is socially constructed in a patriarchal society and this has lead to inequalities
What do post modernists say about identity?
People are now rejecting traditional sources of identity such as ones shaped by class and ethnicity and are now choosing to mix and match styles and influences from a wide range of media and global sources.
