Cultural And Cultural Identity Change

856 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impacts on cultural identity

In order to understand how identity changes, one must first understand what identity is. Identity is, “the reflective self-conception or self-image that we each derive from our family, gender, cultural, ethnic, and individual socialization process” (Hou, et al.). Because of this, identity changes as we grow and develop as a person, take on more responsibilities, find our religion, political views, and friends. Even though some may think that a person's identity stays the same, identity actually changes. Identity changes are caused by factors related to personal, social, cultural, and ethnic identity.
Personal identity is created by “components of the self that are primarily intrapersonal and connect to our individual interests and life experiences” …show more content…

The main difference between a person’s cultural and social identity is the historical roots that create and help shape their cultural identities (“Communication in the Real World”). Unlike someone’s personal and social identity, cultural identity is not something that constantly changes. This is due to the fact that a person is born into this type of identity. However, the development of “culture is an ongoing negotiation of learned patterns of beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors” (“Communication in the Real World”). Although others may view this as a way of saying that people cannot change the identity they have, even though their cultural identity does not change as much as the others, the different types of identity that form who they will become and shapes their overall identity will change throughout life. There is more than just a person’s personal, social, and cultural identities, they also develop an ethnic identity that changes as they …show more content…

Ethnic identity includes things relating to “race, religion, language, and lifestyle” (Hou, et al.). Ethnic identity is similar to cultural identity because they do not change as often as personal and social identity does. However, ethnic identity does change depending on the situation a person is in. For example, if a person that has two ethnic backgrounds such as Native American and Hispanic were filling out paperwork and knew that one ethnic identity would benefit them in that situation more than the other the person changes their ethnic identity to the one that will benefit them most. Therefore, ethnic identity changes based upon someone's

Show More
Related

  • Culture Baggage By Barbara Ehrenreich Summary

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because

    Read More

  • Two Kinds Amy Tan Essay On Cultural Identity

    511 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Our own culture is often hidden from us, and we frequently describe it as “the way things are.”” People do not even realize their own cultural identity, so then how do people know what shapes it? A person’s identity is shaped by cultural experiences that make them into the person they are today. Some of these experiences include someone’s parents, the media, and where they grew up.

    Read More

  • F Word by Firoozeh Dumas

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before beginning the explanation of how an identity is formed, one must understand what an identity is. So, what is identity? To answer this, one might think of what gives him individuality; what makes him unique; what makes up his personality. Identity is who one is. Identity is a factor that tells what one wants out of life and how he is set to get it. It tells what kind of a person one is by the attitude and persona he has. And it depends upon the mixture of all parts of one’s life including personal choices and cultural and societal influences, but personal choices affect the identity of one more than the others.

    Read More

  • The Myth of the Latin Woman

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them are. The most interesting point about identity is that some people know what they want and who they are, while it takes forever for others to figure out the factors mentioned before. Many of the individuals analyzed in this essay are confused about the different possible roles or positions they can adopt, and that’s exactly the reason they look for some professional help.

    Read More

  • Identity in Object Lesson

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    People identify themselves using not only qualities within them, but through culture and family as well. Through these few examples, it is easy to see some of the foundations that can foster an entire, complex identity. It is understandable how interesting and varied humans can be, drawing from so many directions to build who they are. Identity is not very complex at all, it comes through living day to day.

    Read More

  • An Indian Father's Plea '

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Cultural identity is a broader term: people from multiple ethnic backgrounds may identify as belonging to the same culture” (Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco). Though people may identify themselves with a certain culture, their beliefs and actions varies and adjust to their experiences. “…We do not consciously pick and choose attributes from the total set; rather, the conditions and events in our individual lives…” (Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco). A person is easily influenced by their culture which also makes an impact on their beliefs as well as their view of the world which can cause conflict with another person.

    Read More

  • Influence A Person's Identity In American Born Chinese By Gene Luen Wang

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    A person shouldn’t let anyone or anything other than themselves change who they are. However, many allow themselves to constantly be changed and molded by the world around them. This world contains many factors that can influence one’s identity. This shows that identity isn’t something that remains the same over time, in reality, it’s always changing. A few things that could influence a person’s identity may be society, family, and life experiences.

    Read More

  • I Was Born a White, Middle Class American

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    Culture and identity are two very strange ideas. They are received at a very young age, yet they are very hard to give to someone else. They will affect you for the rest or your life, yet for the most part you are born into them. However, they soon become very important to us and we cannot, no matter what we do, live without them. They are a part of us, and a vital aspect of society. However, it took me a very long time to recognize that I had an identity and a little while after that before I knew what it was.

    Read More

  • Deaf People By Charles Taylor

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    “A human being’s sense of self is established in the context of their ethics and morals. The concept of identity is related to ‘who I am’. Individuals situate themselves in a contextual environment that may include their relationships with family and friends, and their abilities and the occupations in which they are, or have been. This identifies what is ultimately important to an individual and how that relates to where their identity is in relation to this.” (Thomas, 2013)

    Read More

  • Ethnic Identity and African Americans

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethnic identity is the sum total of group member feelings about those values, symbols, and common histories that identify them as a distinct group (Smith 1991). Development of ethnic identity is important because it helps one to come to terms with their ethnic membership as a prominent reference group and significant part of an individuals overall identity. Ethnic reference group refers to an individuals psychological relatedness to groups (Smith 1991). These reference groups help adolescents sense, reflect and see things from the point of their ethnic groups in which they actively participate or seek to participate.

    Read More

  • What Does it Mean To Be Human?

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many philosophers and psychologist from Jean Piaget to William James have theorized what makes a person who they are, their identity. Jean Piaget believed that the identity is formed in the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage. This means that a child is forming his identity as late to the age of seven (Schellenberg, 29) However, identity is strongly impacted by society such as school, church, government,and other institutions. Through our interactions with different situations our personality develops (Schellenberg 34). "In most situations there is a more diversified opportunity for the development of social identities, reflecting what the individual wants to put forth to define the self as well as what others want to accept,"(Schellenberg 35). Therefore, humans, much like animals, adapt to different situations based on who they are with. Individuals are always changi...

    Read More

  • Identity

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand but yet very interesting if understood. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez and Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki are two remarkable books that depict the identity theme. They both have to deal with people that have an identity that they've tried to alter in order to become more at ease in the society they belong to. The families in these books are from a certain country from which they're forced to immigrate into the United States due to certain circumstances. This causes young people in the family trauma and they must try to sometimes change in order to maintain a comfortable life. Both authors: Alvarez and Houston have written their novels Is such an exemplifying matter that identity can be clearly depicted within characters as a way in adjusting to their new lives.

    Read More

  • Shaping Identity

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Identity. What is identity? One will say that it is the distinct personality of an individual. Others will say that identity is the behavior of a person in response to their surrounding environment. At certain points of time, some people search for their identity in order to understand their existence in life. In regards, identity is shaped into an individual through the social trials of life that involve family and peers, the religious beliefs by the practice of certain faiths, and cultural awareness through family history and traditions. These are what shape the identity of an individual.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Positive Cultural Identity

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is therefore important to be a multicultural person by first forming a positive cultural identity. Manning and Baruth (2009, p.24) defines culture as “people’s values, languages, religions, ideals, artistic expressions, patterns of social and interpersonal relationships and ways of perceiving, behaving and thinking.” However, in this paper, cultural identity also relate to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class and all that defines the self. Hence to have a positive cultural identity (PCI), one must be able to identify with and integrate those identities that bring about a well-built, healthy self-perception and a sense of well-being. PCI would also be ingrained into a person’s self-concept seeing as culture affect how a person thinks, understands and perceives the self. “I am a psychology student, my mother’s daughter and I am gay.” The sentence used to describe myself illustrates how culture shapes the structure of self-concept with the use of more social self-descriptions indicating an interdependent self, typical in collectivistic cultures (Franzoi, 2009).

    Read More

  • What Is Our Identity Essay

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is interesting to wonder about what aspects creates someone’s identity. Identity is something that distinguishes someone’s character and what makes a person unique and different. The topic of identity is a very controversial topic and has many viewpoints and opinions. As more and more people have shared their opinions and joined the conversation about identity, people can start figuring out what their own opinion of identity is. It is important to realize that there is a mass aspects of identity that can change a viewpoint when looking at each different one. Some questions that will hopefully be answered -- “Are people born with an identity?”, “What makes us who we really are?”, “Is our sense of identity true?” -- to rectify for you what identity truly is.

    Read More

More about Cultural And Cultural Identity Change

Open Document