From society to family to media, external influences never seem to disappear from everyday life. These outward forces tend to leave a lasting impression on us for as long as we live. Because they are so prevalent in our daily lives, exterior factors will have a significant influence on us, specifically our sense of self and happiness. When defining our sense of self, it eventually comes down to how we interpret our individual self-image. In most cases, we do not truly know who we are from our own mindset. Therefore, we take into account the reactions that those around us have an influence on our actions and decisions. From these external effects, we create the persona of who we are. In his article, Immune to Reality, Daniel Gilbert explains …show more content…
We believe that once we find our true “self,” we will attain happiness. In his article Thurman states, “[k]nowing something is a way of controlling it, being able to put it in its proper place in relation to us so that we can use it effectively” (Thurman 446). When a dominant party controls our impressions by means of peer pressure, we alter how we define ourselves in regards to the commanding group. Therefore, our sense of self is significantly affected by the peer pressure of external influences creating a lack of happiness. In addition to peer pressure from exterior factors, conformity contributes to the idea of self-validation and contentment. Conformity revolves around the concept of matching behaviors, ideologies, and decisions to those of a certain group. Individuals, such as us, want to fit in with the majority. Therefore, we alter ourselves by conforming to be accepted in a group. After we are accepted into the group, we attain positive self-validation. This constructs the foundation for what Johnson describes in his article when he explains complex systems. (INSERT JOHNSON SHIT HERE) Conformity leads us to be accepted into groups. From there, we look at ourselves in a more positive manner because we are validated by our peers. Outward entities make us feel valuable because with conformity, external influences significantly affect our sense of self and how we pertain to
“Don't worry about society's conditioning and the labels that are put on you by external forces. Hold onto your true self.” This quotation by (Gugu Mbatha-raw) states that negative external forces can affect one's characteristics and identity by urging them to change. Unfavourable external forces are all around the world, the environment that you live in, family and friends are some examples of rejecting external forces. They all have the power to change one's characteristics and identity.
What the texts suggest about the relationship between how an individual sees themselves vs how the individual is seen by others, is through the concept of identity. An individual’s identity is shaped by many factors: life experiences, memories, personality, talents, relationships and many more.
To begin, one of the major reasons that make people who they are is self-image.
Our lives are defined by our experiences of growing up and of who people are when people are developing. Both, in their respective regards, are something that can be difficult to alter to the individual. Gender, race, classes, and other building blocks of our identity are always shifting to who anyone is and while a person can’t affect themselves, society can, and often does change their perspective towards their own identity and how they interact with the stimulation outside of their psyche.
...l, our self-concept is multi-dimensional. We have three ways of perceiving ourselves, the private me, the ideal me, and the public me. The private me, is the way that we believe ourselves to be. The ideal me, is how you desire yourself, who you wish you were. Lastly, there is the public me, the way that we present ourselves in public, the face that we try to show others. Ego boosters and Ego busters affect us in everyway possible and affect the way we perceive ourselves to the world we live in.
Individuals often have a strong desire to pursue their aspirations and desires due to their ambitious, determined innate nature. However, through these numerous achievements they have successfully fulfilled, other people’s perception of the individual will vastly differ depending on their relationship with him/her. In the poem “Prodigal”, Bob Hicok suggests that when individuals have successfully accomplished their ambitions, others will perceive the individual’s changed identity in vastly different ways depending on their relationship with the individual. An individual’s ambitious nature will also significantly impact themselves due to their ever-changing perception of themselves, which will greatly affect their own perceptions and decisions
Conformity is defined as the occurrence of people yielding to social pressures as a result of pressure from a group of their peers; when faced by the pressure to conform, people will alter their behaviour and actions to fit the norm demonstrated by their peers (Lilienfield et al., 2012). Conformity is studied so that is can be understood and used in society to facilitate positive outcomes, and help avoid situations where peoples’ predisposition to conform leads to negative consequences (Lilienfield et al., 2012). By understanding conformity and other social processes society as a whole is able to understand themselves better and motivates them to work on improving as a whole (Lilienfield et al., 2012).
We often believe that others are more like ourselves than they really are. Thus, our
You are as others see you, yet others do not always see you as you are. With the importance others play on the sense of identity, it's no wonder that peers influence the minds of individuals early on in life. As young toddlers, children do not recognize biological
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...
Conformity is defined as behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. This is not a good or bad thing, this just is. It exists as a compliment to earlier humans congregating into larger groups, using agriculture and domestication to create sustenance. Also, conformity is essential for life. We need people to share the same ideas, ideologies and a way of thinking in order to work efficiently and effectively. There many examples that exist like, at work or in your house and even within yourself. Sigmund Freud has explained the phenomena of group psychology in a piece titled, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Using Freud’s theory of conformity I will explain the self, what we call “me”,and its different constituents using The Principles of Psychology by
There are many types of self that people can fit into. There is who I am (actual self), who I might become (po...
The inability to conform in society can lead to unhappiness and the feeling of inequality
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
Humans are designed to act with self-awareness, apply self-control, illustrate conscience, guiltiness, and make decisions based on some symbol of what they are, what they have been, as well as what they desire to be. Development of self has numerous descriptions including the development of physical or motor self to that of the mind. In the center of this all, three sociologists, including Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Jean Piaget offer varying views on the development of self. The varying theories offered by these and other sociologists means that there is no universally accepted concept of development of self or how people come to aware of themselves. In fact, each individual has their own answer when it comes to answering