Identity

Identity

1. The Importance of Identity

   • Identity influences communication
     • bring self images to communicative encounters
     • Communication creates and shapes identites
     • intercultural communication
     • identity is key site

2. What is Identity

   • Define: Who a person is; composed of individual and social categories a person identifies with, as well as the categories that others identify with that person
     • Personal Identity~ our differences from other people and what makes us unique
     • Social Identity~ our group's differences and what makes our group unique
       • primary~ most consist impact on our lives
         • race, gender, nationality
       • secondary~ dependent on situation
         • major, job, marriage
   • Identities can change
     • how is it viewed historically
   • created through interactions

3. The Individual and Identity

   • symbolic interactionism~ an individual's meanings for the objects, actions, and people around them arise out of social, or symbolic, interaction with others
   • 3 communication processes of identity development
     • 1. Reflected Appraisals
       • Particular Others
         • important ppl who influence a person's identity
           • develop ideas of what traits are desirable and acceptable
       • Generalized Other
         • collection of roles/rules endorsed by the community of which the person lives
       • looking-glass self
     • 2. Social Comparisons
       • compare ourselves to others in our group
     • 3. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
       • individual expects something & expectation influences behavior & influences outcome
         • outcomes can influence how we see ourselves
       • stereotype threat
         • reminding ppl of stereotypical expectations about identities can impact performance
       • self-concept
         • understanding how one is similar and different from others
       • self-esteem
         • who one perceives the self
       • self respect
   • how you see yourself influences communication behavior
   • Performance of Identity
     • we show the world who we think we are
   • Self presentation
     • influencing others impressions by creating an image that is consistent with one's personal identity
   • Enacting Identities
     • performing scripts deemed proper for particular identities
       • role expectations
   • Identities are mutable
     • subject to change

4. The Individual, Identity and Society

   • cannot understand self or others w/o understanding society
     • ppl who act contrary to social expectations might be pressured to change
   • Racial Identity
     • society defines race
     • racial categories are cultural
     • multiracial
   • national identity
     • citizenship
   • ethnic identity
     • tribal identites
   • gender identity
     • social expectations of masculinity and femininity
   • sexuality identity
   • age identity
     • self perception and what others understand that age to mean
   • social class identity
     • avoid this and look at meritocracy~ succeed/fail based on merit
   • disability identity
     • it is through communication that disabilities as an identity gain meaning
   • religious identity
     • religion can relate to political views and attitudes

5. Ethics and Identity

   • how to communicate with people whose identities are more or less valued
   • whether you reduce others to a single identity category

6. Skills for Communicating about Identity

   • becoming tolerant of the many ways to perform an identity

Images and files in the map