Who I am? This question is common but the answer is so unusual that it could be considered a rhetorical question. It is a question we often ask ourselves regularly when we feel insecure or don’t know how to take control of our lives.
However, this article does not pretend to be an existential philosophical essay on being, nor does it pretend to give a transcendental answer that will make you reinvent yourself. Simply I will show what Psychology has to say about identity and how this largely determines our behavior.
With a simple look at different profiles on social networks we can see the small descriptions we make of ourselves. There are those who define themselves as a student, soccer player, reporter, movie buff; while others will define themselves as a happy, friendly, fun, curious, passionate person, etc.
As can be seen, these two types of definitions are the most common and present a fundamental difference between them. Some people are defined by the groups they are part of, while others are defined by their personal traits. Psychology defines the self-concept, the self or “self” as the same construct formed by two different identities: The personal identity and the social identity.
The social identity
The social identity defines the self (the self-concept) in terms of the groups of membership. We have as many social identities as there are groups to which we feel we belong. Therefore, group membership determines the group, an important aspect of self-concept, for some people the most important aspect.
Let’s take a famous Latin singer as an example. Ricky Martin plays numerous roles, and he could define himself as a man, artist, dark-skinned, singer, homosexual, millionaire, son, Latin American, father, etc. He could define himself with any of them, but You will choose to identify yourself with those adjectives that you feel differentiate you the most and provide a differential value to the rest
Another representative example can be seen in the small biographies that each of us have on the social network Twitter. Defining yourself based on the groups you belong to is as human as judging other people based on their attire and non-verbal behavior.
By forming such a broad part of our self-concept, groups inevitably determine our self-esteem. Let us remember that self-esteem is an emotional-affective assessment that we make of our own self-concept. Therefore, defining oneself based on groups with high social status will mean high self-esteem, while those who are part of groups with little social value will have to use strategies to support personal identity to deal with the decrease in their value.
In this way we see the high impact that the different groups to which we belong have on our self-esteem and self-concept.
Effects of social identity
In the article in which we talk about stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination, we mention the social identity theory by Tajfel in which the effects of social categorization on intergroup relations in the form of prejudices, stereotypes and discriminatory behavior were revealed.
Tajfel showed that The mere fact of identifying with a group and considering oneself different from others gave rise to differentiated treatment since it affects the cognitive process of perception, increasing the magnitude of the similarities with those in the same group and the differences with those who are not part of our group of belonging. This perceptual effect is known in social psychology as the double accentuation effect.
As we have pointed out before, Social identity and self-esteem are closely related Part of our self-esteem depends on the valuation of the groups we belong to. If we like the group we belong to, we like each other. “Shine with the reflection of the glory” of others. We identify with the achievements of the group or some of its individuals and this is reflected in a positive state of mind and self-esteem. This effect can be widely seen in football fandom.
When the team that wins is ours, we proudly go out into the street identified with the success of our team and we attribute it to ourselves, since they are part of our identity. Did you see someone not very excited about feeling Spanish? When Iniesta gave us victory in that wonderful summer of 2010?
personal identity
Social identity defines the self (and self-concept) in terms of social relationships and idiosyncratic traits (I am different from others). We have as many “selves” as there are relationships we are involved in and idiosyncratic characteristics we believe we possess.
But what differentiates us from others when we are part of the same group? Here Our traits, attitudes, skills and other characteristics that we attribute to ourselves come into play yes Those who are defined by their sympathy, solidarity, tranquility or bravery; They have a personal identity of greater dimension than the social one. This may be because their groups do not make them feel good due to their low social status, or simply the individuality of these people is better reflected by their attributes and than by their social roles.
I’m sure that as you read this article, you were trying to figure out what identity you make yourself known to others when you introduce yourself. You can go further, you know that the basis of promoting one’s self-image is maintaining high levels of self-esteem. So Take care and cultivate those groups or traits with which you define yourself and with which you want the world to know you, since if you define yourself with them it means that they have a high emotional value for you. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing yourself.
