Identity formation, also called individuation, is the development of the distinct personality of an individual[1] regarded as a persisting entity (known as personal continuity) in a particular stage of life in which individual characteristics are possessed and by which a person is recognised or known (such as the establishment of a reputation). This process defines individuals to others and themselves. Pieces of the entity's actual identity include a sense of continuity, a sense of uniqueness from others, and a sense of affiliation. Identity formation leads to a number of issues of personal identity and an identity where the individual has some sort of comprehension of him or herself as a discrete and 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.[citation needed] Identity is often described as finite and consisting of separate and distinct parts (family, cultural, personal, professional, etc.), yet according to Parker J. Palmer, it is an ever evolving core within where our genetics (biology), culture, loved ones, those we cared for, people who have harmed us and people we have harmed, the deeds done (good and ill) to self and others, experiences lived, and choices made come together to form who we are at this moment.[2]
Many theories have aspects of identity formation included in them. Two theories stand out in regards to this topic: Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development (specifically the “identity versus role confusion” stage of his theory) and James Marcia’s identity status theory.
Erikson’s belief is that throughout each person’s lifetime, they experience different crises/conflicts at various stages. Each of the conflicts arises at a certain point in life and must be successfully resolved for progression to the next of the eight stages. The particular stage relevant to identity formation takes place during adolescence (ages 12-20). This stage is called “Identity versus Role Confusion”
The Identity vs. Role Confusion stage consists of teenagers trying to figure out who they are in order to form a basic identity that they will build on throughout the remainder of their life. The primary concerns of a basic identity for this theory are social and occupational identities. Once an adolescent has accomplished the task of figuring out “who they are”, they are ready to enter the next stage of Erikson’s theory “Intimacy versus Isolation” where they will form strong friendships and a sense of companionship with others. If the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage is not completed successfully, an adolescent will be confused about their identity and the roles they should have as adults. The idea is that failure to form one’s own identity leads to failure to form a shared identity with others, leading to instability in many areas as an adult. Evidently, the identity formation stage of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is a crucial stage in life.
James Marcia created a structural interview designed to classify adolescents into one of four statuses of identity. The identity statuses are used to describe and pinpoint the progression of an adolescent’s identity formation process. In James Marcia’s theory, the operational definition of identity is whether an individual has explored various alternatives and made firm commitments to: an occupation, religion, sexual orientation and a set of political values. The four identity statuses in James Marcia’s theory are…
The authors of this study hoped to provide a better view of identities and how they are formed is affected by various changes. They did this by checking in with males and females for 5 years and rating their exploration, in regards to what Erik Erikson called crises in his theory of development, and their commitment to an action in regards to the crisis. They hoped to learn whether identity is formed primarily in late adolescence or is in progress throughout the adolescent period of life and they also hoped to clear up the inconsistencies that were found in other studies. An extra hope for the study was to try to see if there were differences between the identity development in males and females. The easiest way they found to do this was to look at changes in their scores for exploration and commitment in that they would explore less (as they would be more sure about their choices) and would be more committed to these choices. Based on the scores, they would assign them an "identity status" (these being, in order from lowest to highest, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement), which would hopefully improve over the years that each student was being tracked.
This longitudinal study consisted of approximately 1,300 participants who were either 12 or 16 at the beginning of the study. Each year they gave them a questionnaire of 13 questions based on a 1 to 5 scale of truthfulness (from completely untrue to completely true) on questions related to exploration, commitment, and reconsideration of their choices. They would chart the average results of participants to see when their "identity status" seemed to reach the most adaptive (achievement). The authors found that there wasn't necessarily age-related changes but more a change as time past. Meaning that it wasn't that commitment peaked when students hit 17 but it increased the older they got. As time past, the people taking part in the study dealt with changes in commitments in more effective means. The authors of the study took this as a sign that identity formation occurs throughout adolescence and not just in late adolescence like previously assumed. However, the authors also mentioned that changes in Erikson's crises would be hard to note in a study that marked changes only at one year intervals, so perhaps if someone were to re-do the study with longer intervals they might find more accurate results. Also, of course, if more accurate information would be wanted, it would be wise to do a longer study that acquired the same information.[3]
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 requires formal training or education.
The career development of an individual focuses on how individuals manage their careers within and between organisations and how organisations structure the career progress of their members, and can be tied into succession planning within some organizations.
Within the business realm and many careers is the role of management. Management tasks enhance leadership, by creating an environment where all team members know and assume responsibility for their roles. Employees' self-concept and affiliation are often aligned with their roles in the organization.
Training is a form of identity setting, since it has not only effects on knowledge, but also affects the team member's self-concept. Knowledge, on the other hand, of the position introduces a new path of less effort to the trainee, which prolong the effects of training and promote a stronger self-concept. Other forms of identity setting in an Organization include Business Cards, Specific Benefits by Role, Task Forwarding, ....[4]
Self-concept or self-identity is the sum of a being's knowledge and understanding of his or her self. The self-concept is different from self-consciousness, which is an awareness of 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 self-esteem[citation needed] as different types of identity coming together in one person. These types of identity can be broken down into the following.
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 transferred into questions of identity. Historical culture also influences individual identity, and as with modern cultural identity, individuals may pick and choose aspects of cultural identity, while rejecting or disowning other associated ideas. Ajay K. Ojha argues that "one individual’s epistemological sense of knowing or coming to terms with her/his identity will be different than the next person." [5]
An ethnic identity is the identification with a certain 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 summarised 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.[citation needed]
A religious identity is the set of beliefs and practices generally held by an 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. This identity formation begins with association in the parents' religious contacts, and individuation requires that the person chooses to the same--or different--religious identity than that of his/her parents.[citation needed]
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.
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 than 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.
Interpersonal identity development is composed of three elements:
Interpersonal identity development allows an individual to question and examine various personality elements, such as ideas, beliefs, and behaviors. The actions or thoughts of others create social influences that change an individual. Examples of social influence can be seen in socialisation and peer pressure. This is the effect of other people on a person's behavior, thinking about one's Self, and subsequent acceptance or rejection of how other people attempt to influence the individual. Interpersonal identity development occurs during exploratory self-analysis and self-evaluation, ending at various times with the establishment of an easy-to-understand and consolidative sense of self or identity.
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 individual's existence is undifferentiated but this, upon examination, is found to be indistinguishable from others. Given this, and with other admissions, the individual is led 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 integrates or rejects the encountered elements. This process results in a new identity. During each of these exchanges which human beings encounter as they go through life, the person must resolve the exchange and then face future exchanges. The exchanges are recurring, since the changing world constantly presents exchanges between individuals and thus allows individuals to redefine themselves.
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.
Individuals gain a social identity and group identity by their affiliation. This is from membership in various groups. These groups include, among various categories,:
One of the most important affiliations is that of their family, whether they be biological, extended or even adoptive families. Each has their own influence on identity through the interaction that takes place between the family members and with the individual person.[7] "Information regarding possible identities of possible selves comes from various contexts that surround adolescents and temporal commitments are tested and practiced in interaction with others."[8] Researchers and theorists basically state that an individual's identity(more specifically an adolescent's identity) is influenced by the people around them and the environment in which they live. Also if a family does not have integration this seems to help create identity diffusion (this is one of James Marcia's 4 identity statuses, meaning that an individual has not made commitments and does not try to make commitments.[9]) This is true for both males and females.[10] These concepts prove that a family has influence on an individual no matter if the influence be good or bad.
Peers have one of the most influential roles in forming one's identity. Although peer influence has been mentioned above, it is not the peers themselves that should be focused on, but rather the conversations between these peers. More specifically, conversations regarding romantic relations. Peer groups are almost always intertwined with eachother regarding romantic relationships. The ways in which peers react to eachothers romantic relationships, through providing support and advice has been a main contributer to their devlopment of identity.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of same-sex friendships in the devlopment of one's identity. This study involved the use of 24 same-sex college student friendship triads, consisting of 12 males and 12 females, with a total of 72 participants. Each triad was required to have known eachother for a minimum of six months. A qualitative method was chosen, as it is the most appropriate in assessing development of identity. Semi-structured group interviewers took place, where the students were asled to reflect on stories and experiences with relationship problems. The results showed 5 common responses when assessing these relationship problems. The responses involved joking about the relationship problems, providing support, offering advice, relating others' experiences to their own similar experiences, and providing encouragement. The results concluded that adolescents are actively constructing their identities through common themes of conversation between same-sex friendships, in this case, involving relationship issues. The common themes of conversation that close peers seem to engage in, help to further their identity formation in life. [11]
There is an abundant amount of influences on identity formation. Some of which have already been touched on in other sections of this article. Among the many influences, four influences stand out to be especially important. Those include: cognitive influences, scholastic influences, sociocultural influences and parenting influences.
Cognitive development has an impact on identity formation. When adolescents are able to think abstractly and reason logically they have an easier time exploring and contemplating possible identities. When an adolescent has advanced cognitive development and maturity they tend to resolve identity issues more so than age mates that are less cognitively developed.
Adolescents that have a post-secondary education tend to make more concrete goals and stable occupational commitments. So going to college or university can influence identity formation in a productive way.
Sociocultural influences are those of a broader social and historical context. For example in the past, adolescents would likely just adopt the job, religious beliefs, etc. that was expected of them or that were the same as their parents. In a society like today's, adolescents have more resources to explore identity choices as well as more options for commitments. Therefore, sociocultural influences have a significant impact on identity formation.
The type of relationship that adolescents have with their parents has a significant role in identity formation. For example when there is a solid and positive relationship between parent and adolescent they are more likely to feel freedom in exploring identity options for themselves. In contrast, when the relationship is not as close and the adolescent fears rejection from the parent, they are more likely to feel less confident in forming a separate identity from their parent(s). These are just examples; of course there are other outcomes possible in adolescent identity formation when examining the parenting as well as the parent-child relationship.
Carolyn Sartor and James Youniss produced a study to determine the relationship between positive parental involvement and identity formation. The method of the study included a sample of 1012 high school students from the United States. 51% of the participants were female and 49% of the participants were male. The study measured identity formation by using the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (EPSI). The scale is designed to measure the degree of identity achievement and the degree identity confusion with a means of Likert scales. The study determined the degree of parental involvement using three different subcategories: parental support, social monitoring and school monitoring. Support was measured using the Interpersonal Relationship Scale. Social monitoring was measured using the Behavioural Control Scale. School monitoring was measured using the School Monitoring Scale, which was created for this particular study.
The results of the study were the following… As hypothesized, identity formation was significantly and positively correlated with parental involvement (support, social monitoring and school monitoring). This was the case for both boys and girls. The study found that parental knowledge of the child’s daily activities was associated with higher identity achievement. The study also found that emotional support of the parents is positively related to identity achievement. Finally the study found that identity formation does not differ between genders. So ultimately the study found that for boys and girls, identity formation is positively influenced by parental involvement specifically in the areas of: support, social monitoring and school monitoring. [12]
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