Grow through what you Go through

 

When we get older, we always think about who is the person we are going to be? We have this plan of our future and how we think we are going to be, but do we really pull through with it? I know for me, I went through so much, didn’t understand why my life was different than others but it made me understand the female I am today. When it comes to Social identity theory (SIT), this theory shows us what influenced us at different aspects in life that shape us into the person we are. Though, there are two subcategories that fall into this theory, Personal Identity and social identity; I must say I fall under the personal identity.

I’m very much an introvert and I achieve everything on my own by myself. Growing up, I never had my father. I had my younger sibling’s father take me as their own and he was there while I grew up. We’ve endured hardships and I always questioned why other people it have better than I do. But I used all that I went through, the pain, the good times to become the person I am today. When it comes to personal identity, the name itself gives it away, it’s what we deal with personally that gives us the power to be the person we are or why we react the way we do.

I believe this subcategory in the social identity fits more to those people that are better in groups and learn from who surrounds them, that’s how I took it at least. In this category, you start to act like those around you. You start talking like them, using their language, dressing like them, acting, just doing everything based on who you are socializing with. Unlike the category I deem to be under, I looked at those around me and said to myself very young, “I will be different. I will be better. I will raise my kids in a better environment, and they will have a better life. “This theory brings out different aspects in peoples lives. We all express it differently and look at it all in our own perspective. Sitting in more a personal identity, there are pros and cons such as I can socialize more instead of being such an introvert. But it’s something I work on and no matter how we all grew up, we grow through what we go through. Either being more personal about your lifestyle or being more social.

 

 

Reference:

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. ProQuest eBook Central. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com.

7 comments

  1. Allison Dee Buckman

    SIT allows the understanding of how different social settings or categorizations can influence how individuals think of themselves in terms of a group or individually (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016).
    I see how you applied the theory to your own life, stating that you see yourself as an introvert. Describing your childhood, and emotions you felt due to the lack of your father and how others had it better than you, your social setting influenced how you thought of yourself at that time and now. It would be interesting to see how your siblings felt in the same setting and if there would be the same description of such for them. Is it likely their views of themselves individually and as a “family” group are the same, and would their definitions be the same?
    Consider religion, as a whole, an individual religion has the same standards of life, and morals, they identify with the social similarities. It is likely members of a specific religion would agree on a matter, as they view themselves as part of a group with similar thinking and moral standards.

    References
    Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. ProQuest eBook Central. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com.

  2. As a new SINGLE* mom

  3. As a new mom I find identifying with my social identity easier and more calming as an approach to fit in and feel more adapted with my new single mom status. before becoming a single mom I used to greatly identify with my personal identity , but ever since that changed I’ve dragged myself to associate myself with my social identity as an escape ( Gruman,2016)
    Reference:
    Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. ProQuest eBook Central. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com.

  4. References:
    Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. ProQuest eBook Central. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com.

  5. The social identity theory suggests that different contexts determine which type of identity we choose to express (Gruman, Schneider, & Coutts, 2016). I think this means that regardless of the situation we find ourselves in, there’s always going to be an interaction of the two identities to some degree. With this pandemic for example, the collective has been encouraged to stay indoors and wear masks to protect others. Our decision to stay indoors or wear masks in this case are both affected by our characteristics and societal expectations. In addition, an individual who worships a certain religion, let’s say Buddhism, may be walking alone along the road one day and finds a 100 dollar bill. According to buddhism, one of the disciplines is to not steal. This individual is walking alone, meaning they are probably predominately expressing their personal identity but the 100 dollar bill brings up a dilemma which goes against the rules of the group they affiliate themselves with. For me, each day a different identity of mine predominates, it really depends on what I have planned.

  6. Pablo Camba Diez De Bonilla

    References

    Kwantes, C. T., & Bergeron, S. (2016). Applying Social Psychology to Diversity. In L. M. Coutts, J. A. Gruman, & F. W. Schneider (Eds.), Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (pp. 484-523). SAGE Publications.

  7. Pablo Camba Diez De Bonilla

    I was of the mindset that I too was only personal identity driven. Howver, I have recently discovered that the application of both is potentially beneficial. The social identity is the person we are when we are with certain groups or with people from certain groups (Kwantes & Bergeron, 2016). It is developed mostly unintentionally, but through proper observation and focus on oneself, it may be possible to identify the changes between personal and social identity. By identifying how we are different with each different group, we are able to identify how we are to behave to get the best results from each group.
    Though I completely agree on the embpdiment of solely the personal identity, I have found it is useful to embody a social identity from time to time.

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