Identity formation is the process of the fabrication of the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity in a particular stage of life in which individual characteristics are possessed by which a person is recognized or known (such as the establishment of a reputation). This process defines an individual to others and themselves. Pieces of the entity's actual identity include a sense of personal continuity, a sense of uniqueness from others, and a sense of affiliation. Identity formation lead to a number issues of personal identity and an identity where the individual has some sort of comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity. This may be through individuation whereby the undifferentiated individual tends to become unique, or undergoes stages through which differentiated facets of a person's life tend toward becoming a more indivisible whole. Process (lat. ... to: Personality is to stop coping with lifes hard accomplishments. ... As commonly used, individual refers to a person or to any specific object in a collection. ... An entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, though it need not be a material existence. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... The Other or constitutive other (also referred to as othering) is a key concept in continental philosophy, opposed to the Same. ... Self might refer to various different things: Look up self on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In predicate logic and technical fields that depend on it, uniqueness quantification, or unique existential quantification, is an attempt to formalise the notion of something being true for exactly one thing, or exactly one thing of a certain type. ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Individuation comprises the processes whereby the undifferentiated becomes or develops individual characteristics, or the opposite process, by which components of an individual are integrated into a more indivisible whole. ...

Theory of developmental stages

In developmental psychology, a stage is a distinct phase in an individual's development. Many theories in psychology characterize development in terms of stages. Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development expanding on Freud's psychosexual stages defined eight stages that describes how individuals relate to their social world. James W. Fowler's stages of faith development is seen as a holistic orientation and is concerned with the individual's relatedness to the universal. Sigmund Freud's Psychosexual stages to describe the progression of an individual's unconscious desires. Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development to describe how individuals develop in reasoning about morals. Jane Loevinger developed a theory with stages of ego development. Margaret Mahler's psychoanalytic developmental theory contained three phases regarding the child's object relations. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development to describe how children reason and interact with their surroundings. James Marcia's theory focued on identity achievement and has four identity statuses. Maria Montessori's sensitive periods of development is concerned with the a series of leaps in learning during the preschool years. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... In Developmental psychology, a stage is a distinct phase in an individuals development. ... Erik Erikson June 15, 1902 - May 12, 1994 Erik Homburger Erikson (June 15, 1902 – May 12, 1994) was a German developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings, and for coining the phrase identity crisis. ... BaronLarf 01:40, May 12, 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Sigmund Freud (born Sigismund Freud) May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939; (IPA: ) was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who co-founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Lawrence Kohlberg (October 25, 1927 – January 19, 1987) was born in Bronxville, New York. ... Jane Loevinger (born 1918) was a developmental psychologist who developed a theory of personality which emphasized the gradual internalization of social rules and the maturing conscience for the origin of personal decisions. ... Margaret Schoenberger Mahler, or Margit Mahler (1897 - 1985) was a Hungarian psychoanalytic child psychologist who contributed many theories to developmental psychology. ... Jean Piaget [] (August 9, 1896 – September 16, 1980) was a Swiss philosopher, natural scientist and developmental psychologist, well known for his work studying children and his theory of cognitive development. ... James E. Marcia is a Canadian developmental psychologist, and Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. ... Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian educator, scientist, physician, philosopher, devout Catholic, feminist, and humanitarian. ...

Self-concept

Self-concept or self-identity is the mental and conceptual understanding and persistent regard that sentient beings hold for their own existence. In other words, it is the sum total of a being's knowledge and understanding of his or her self. The self-concept is different from self-consciousness, which is an awareness or preoccupation with one's self. Components of the self-concept include physical, psychological, and social attributes, which can be influenced by the individual's attitudes, habits, beliefs and ideas. These components and attributes can not be condensed to the general concepts of self-image and the self-esteem. A persons self image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to objective investigation by others (height, weight, hair color, nature of external genitalia, I.Q. score, is this person double-jointed, etc. ... For the understanding that one exists, see Self-awareness. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Self-concept. ... In psychology, self-esteem or self-worth is a persons self-image at an emotional level; circumventing reason and logic. ...

Cultural identity is the (feeling of) identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as she/he is influenced by her/his belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics. There are modern questions of culture that are transfered into questions of identity. An ethnic identity is the identification with a certian ethnicity, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry. Recognition by others as a distinct ethnic group is often a contributing factor to developing this bond of identification. Ethnic groups are also often united by common cultural, behavioral, linguistic, ritualistic, or religious traits. Processes that result in the emergence of such identification are summarized as ethnogenesis. Various cultural studies and social theory investigate the question of cultural and ethnic identities. Cultural identity remarks upon: place, gender, race, history, nationality, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and ethnicity. National identity is an ethical and philosophical concept whereby all humans are divided into groups called nations. Members of a "nation" share a common identity, and usually a common origin, in the sense of ancestry, parentage or descent. Cultural identity is the (feeling of) identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as she/he is influenced by her/his belonging to a group or culture. ... An ethnic group is a human population whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry (Smith 1986). ... This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ... For publications of this name, see also Nation (disambiguation) A nation is a community of people who live together in an area (or, more broadly, of their descendants who may now be dispersed); and who regard themselves, or are regarded by others, as sharing some common identity, to which certain...

A religious identity is the set of beliefs and practices generally held by a individual, involving adherence to codified beliefs and rituals and study of ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as faith and mystic experience. The term "religious identity" refers to the personal practices related to communal faith and to rituals and communication stemming from such conviction. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In business, a professional identity is the "persona" of a professional which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives. A professional identity comes into being when there is a philosophy which is manifest in a distinct corporate culture - the corporate personality. A business professional is a person in a profession with certain types of skills that sometimes requiring formal training or education. The career development of an individual focuses on how individuals manage their careers within and between organizations and how organizations structure the career progress of their members, can be tied into succession planning within some organizations. In organizational development (or OD), the study of career development looks at: how individuals manage their careers within and between organizations and how organizations structure the career progress of their members, can be tied into succession planning within some organizations. ...

In sociology, gender identity describes the gender with which a person identifies (i.e, whether one perceives oneself to be a man, a woman, or describes oneself in some less conventional way), but can also be used to refer to the gender that other people attribute to the individual on the basis of what they know from gender role indications (social behavior, clothing, hair style, etc.). Gender identity may be affected by a variety of social structures, including the person's ethnic group, employment status, religion or irreligion, and family. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Interpersonal identity development

Social relation can refer to a multitude of social interactions, regulated by social norms, between two or more people, with each having a social position and performing a social role. In sociological hierarchy, social relation is more advanced then behavior, action, social behavior, social action, social contact and social interaction. Social relations form the basis of concepts such as social organization, social structure, social movement and social system. Social relation can refer to a multitude of social interactions, regulated by social norms, between two or more people, with each having a social position and performing a social role. ... Social interaction is a dynamic, changing sequence of social actions between individuals (or groups) who modify their actions and reactions due to the actions by their interaction partner(s). ... In sociology, a norm, or social norm, is a pattern of behavior expected within a particular society in a given situation. ...

Interpersonal identity development is composed of three elements:

• Categorization: Labeling others (and ourselves) into categories.
• Identification: Associate with certain groups.
• Comparison: Compare a groups with other groups.

Interpersonal identity development allows an individual to question and examine various personality elements, such as ideas, beliefs, and behaviors. Social influences by the actions or thoughts of others change an individual. Examples of social influence can be seen in socialization and peer pressure. This is the effect of other people on a person's behavior. Interpersonal identity development occurs during exploratory self-analysis and self-evaluation ending at various time with the establishment of a easy-to-understand and consolidative sense of self or identity. For Wikipedias categorization projects, see Wikipedia:Categorization. ... In sociology, a group is usually defined as a collection of humans or animals, who share certain characteristics, interact with one another, accept expectations and obligations as members of the group, and share a common identity. ... A comparison is an evaluation of similarities and differences - described by Gregory Bateson in his book Mind and Nature as the two quanta of experience. ... IDEA may refer to: Electronic Directory of the European Institutions IDEA League Improvement and Development Agency Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Indian Distance Education Association Integrated Data Environments Australia Intelligent Database Environment for Advanced Applications IntelliJ IDEA - a Java IDE Interactive Database for Energy-efficient Architecture International IDEA (International Institute... Look up belief in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the Pet Shop Boys album of the same name see Behaviour Behavior or behaviour (see spelling differences) refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Self, other, and interaction

Main article: Hegelian dialectic

During the interpersonal identity development an exchange of propositions and counter-propositions occurs resulting in a qualitative transformation of the individual in the direction of the interaction. The aim of the interpersonal identity development is to try to resolve the undifferentiated facets of an individual. The individuals existence is undifferentiated but this, upon examination, is found to be indistinguishable from others. Given this, and with other admissions, the individual is lead to a contradiction between self and others; thus, forcing the withdrawal of the undifferentiated self as a truth. In resolution of this incongruence, the person integrate or rejects the encountered elements which results in a new identity. During each of these exchanges human beings encounter when they go through life, the person succeed in resolving the exchange and faces future exchanges. The exchanges are recurring, as the changing world constantly presents exchanges between individuals thus allowing individuals to redefine themselves. Broadly speaking, a dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is an exchange of propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses) resulting in a disagreement. ...

Affiliation

Individuals gain a social identity and group identity by their affiliation. This is from membership in various groups. These groups include, among various categories,: Social Identity Theory is a theory formed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

The term collective identity is a sense of belonging to a group (the collective) that is so strong that a person who identifies with the group will dedicate his or her life to the group over individual identity: he or she will defend the views of the group and assume risks for the group, sometimes as great as loss of life. The cohesiveness of the collective goes beyond community, as the collective suffers the pain of grief from the loss of a member. A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... Look up Occupation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behaviour between two or more humans. ... The term date can refer to: A day according to a calendar; see calendar date. ... It has been suggested that Masculinity be merged into this article or section. ... The term collective identity is a sense of belonging to a group (the collective) that is so strong that a person who identifies with the group will dedicate his or her life to the group over individual identity: he or she will defend the views of the group and assume...

See also

• Erving Goffman
• George Herbert Mead
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
• Lev Vygotsky
• Moral development
• Psychological identity crisis
• Social identity
• Social theory
• Symbolic interactionism

Erving Goffman Erving Goffman (June 11, 1922 – November 19, 1982), was a sociologist and writer. ... George Herbert Mead (February 27, 1863 – April 26, 1931) was an American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. ... Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel [] (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, in present-day southwest Germany. ... Lev Vygotsky Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (Лев Семенович Выготский) (November 17 (November 5 Old Style), 1896 – June 11, 1934) was a Soviet developmental psychologist and the founder of the Cultural-historical psychology. ... Kohlbergs stages of moral development were developed by Lawrence Kohlberg to explain the development of moral reasoning. ... Erik Erikson, the psychologist who coined the term identity crisis, believes that the identity crisis is the most important conflict human beings encounter when they go through eight developmental stages in life. ... Social Identity Theory is a theory formed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. ... Social theory refers to the use of abstract and often complex theoretical frameworks to explain and analyze social patterns and large-scale social structures. ... Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective which examines how individuals and groups interact, focusing on the creation of personal identity through interaction with others. ...

External articles and references

Further reading

Websites

• A positive approach to identity formation of biracial children". ematusov.soe.udel.edu
• Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research. "Identity" is the official journal of the Society for Research on Identity Formation.