In sociology, a person’s identity is the way that people see themselves and the way other people see them. Identities develop as we come to see ourselves in a particular way. Paid work or the lack of it is a major element. Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... // Computer programming In object-oriented programming, object identity is a mechanism for distinguishing different objects from each other. ...

Income and status

Occupation and employment are both functions of a larger economic system which governs the control of capital. Carl Marx believed that an industrialized, capitalist society could produce three distinct economic classes, and that the population of these classes was inversely proportional to the control of property and means of production. The elite class, the [[bourgeois]] own property and control the means of production. They represent the vast minority of the population but majority of the wealth. The working class, or [[proletariat]], would be fundamentally removed from the product of their labor, thus creating a strcuturalized exploitation of the working class. The third class is really a subset of the upper class, known as the petty bourgeios who were small property owners who both employed laborers and labored for others, essentially middle class. In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was an influential German philosopher, political economist, and a revolutionary. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ...

The proletariat no longer refers simply to the disenfranchised manual laborer. Technological advance is quickly replacing the need for intellectual labor (aside from the furtherment of that technology) thus reducing the monetary and cultural capital of the intellectual laborer. The modern incarnation of the middle class consists of the few remaining petty bourgeios and the intellectuals laborers (doctors, lawyers, educators, etc.). However, the growing economic divide between the bourgeios and the working classes (manual and intellectual)is evidence of structural oppression. But I digress.

Many social schools of thought (anthropology, sociology, philosophy, etc.) have noted that economic class is a major influence/determinant of identity, along with socio-cultural class (Read Bourdieu) Pierre-Félix Bourdieu (August 1, 1930_January 23, 2002) was a French sociologist. ...

The nature of work

Full time workers spend a large part of their time working, and what happens when a person is working has a profound effect on identity. Some people may feel pressured into doing things they feel are immoral, and especially if this is repeated this may affect their self-respect and self-esteem. For example a secretary may have to lie to cover for their employer, or a therapist may not feel able to report inappropriate behavior by colleagues. Such people sometimes reason away what they do or get into denial about it. In those cases they can continue to feel good about themselves but their moral sense may be weakened. Therapy (in Greek: θεραπεία) or treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a diagnosis. ... // General Morality, in the strictest sense of the word, deals with that which is regarded as right or wrong. ...

The working environment

Self-esteem can also be damaged if a worker has to accept regular put-downs from employers, customers, co-workers etc. For example waiters and shop assistants routinely have to listen without answering back when customers complain regarding matters over which they have no or little control. Employers and co-workers can behave similarly. In psychology, self-esteem or self-worth is a persons self-image at an emotional level; circumventing reason and logic. ...

First Time Employment

In the context of being within a culture of capitalism, a person's first paid job is considered by some to be a step towards adult independence. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

See also

• John L. Holland
• Holland Codes
• Industrial and organizational psychology
• Personality psychology

This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Holland Codes are career types created by psychologist John L. Holland [1], [2], [3], [4]. Holland mapped these types into a hexagon which he then broke down into the RIASEC job environments : Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic Social - cooperative... Industrial and organizational psychology (or I/O psychology) is also known as occupational psychology (in the United Kingdom) and work psychology (from the German, Arbeitspsychologie). ... Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual different processes - that which makes us into a person. ...

References include

The Course Texts for the Open University course, DD100. The Open University (OU) is the UKs open learning university, established in 1969. ...