Understanding The Self And Society: Importance Of Personal And Societal Identity
Types of Self: Bad and good
The self of the individual is their reflective consciousness. This reflection is usually subjective as individuals consider themselves as objects while recapitulating about the exposed performance. As a matter of specification, there are two kinds of self- bad and good. The bad self of the individuals instructs them to indulge in erroneous tasks, which lead to negative outcomes (Williams and Vannini 2016). This deviates them from their targeted goals. On the contrary, the good self of the individuals helps them in executing good tasks, which enhances their social status. The individuals are instructed to have control over their selves in terms of establishing a strong personality. Overcoming the bad self-enhances the capability of the individuals towards adding value to their existence. Incapability in this case classifies the individuals within the group of foolish creatures attempting to find value within the worthless existence.
The conglomeration of the people from different socio-cultural backgrounds is the society. Hailing from different socio-cultural backgrounds tends to generate conflicts between the individuals (Chrisman and Williams 2015). This contradicts the aspects of unity and coordination, which should prevail in a society for a peaceful existence. Festivals and gatherings are the times, when the closeness is reflected between the society people. These are symbols, which enhances the culture and traditions of the society as well as strengthen the bondage between the inhabitants of the society.
The individuals earn respect and place within the society through their actions. Their actions reflect their true personality. Rationality in behavioural approach enhances the position of the individuals in the society. On the contrary, extravagant approach creates the negative image about the individuals in the society (Fisher, Cain and Martin 2015). Enhancement of the personality is the sole responsibility of the individuals. This is because; it is the individuals, who are to reside within the society.
In order to get a place within the society, the individuals need support from the neighbours. This is because the people cannot exist alone. The support is needed in terms of carrying out the basic activities. Without this support, the humans would act like a foolish being, compelled to suffer from the meaningless existence. Herein, attachment theory can be brought into the discussion. From the infancy, the child develops an attachment to its mother (Fook 2017). Mary Ainsworth proposes that proper guidance and support from the parents enhances the stability in the relationship between the parents and the children. The background of the individuals plays an important role in the life of the individuals. This is reflected in their approach towards dealing with the people in their surroundings. The help and support assure the individuals of the world being a safer place to lead a meaningful existence. When the trust and assurance of the people are interplayed, they feel that their existence is frail and agile.
Conflicts in society: Importance of unity and coordination
Ill-treatment, taunts and mocking break the attachment with the society people. Here, psychological affection overpowers the existentialist struggles. This is because thoughts of being stranded on an island add an ombre shade to the present performance (Dishon et al. 2017).
Individuals expose a different kind of behaviours in different situations. The major drive behind this is the circumstances, in which they are placed. Here, insight needs to be provided on the different types of people existing within the society. Some people are introvert while others are extravagant. The introvert people suffer from inferiority complex and are hesitant towards attending the social functions. This is because of the fear regarding taunt and mocking. These people find the secluded place, away from the social gatherings. According to the psychologists, the introvert people are more likely to have a better observation power. This is because they talk less and observe more. From this observation, they enhance their knowledge (Goffman 2018). This connotation results in a classification of the introverts, who try to gain their knowledge. Even in the social functions, they are found engrossed in books. When all of the people are enjoying themselves at parties, these people find enjoyment in the books.
Some people love extravagance in their lifestyle. Simplicity is just an obstacle to their happiness and satisfaction. They fail to understand that sometimes, they have to lead a simple life. These kinds of people have a very lackadaisical attitude towards life. They think there is enough time for the things to be done. This type of behaviour compels them to suffer from many ailments, making their life hell. Even in the process of fulfilling the basic survival needs, these people do not find any enjoyment (Sedikides and Brewer 2015). They do the workplace activities just for the sake of the professional development. After a hard day’s work, they return back home, order readymade foods, watch TV and go off to sleep. This is their everyday routine, which compels them to suffer from drab monotony. Based on these aspects, the existence of the people can be considered as “frail”.
Even there are other people, who try to add meaning to their fragmented existence. This is through the means of incorporating innovative ideas of survival like gardening, nurseries, looking after pets among others (Rosenberg 2015). They do these things out of their interest. Some of the people do these things very carefully and rationality, that they emerge successful in maintaining the balance between the personal and professional life. Most of the people find it hard to maintain this balance. This is in terms of failure. The neighbours feel jealous of others success and try to destroy their lives. Some even succeed in these plans, compelling the individuals to suffer from mental and emotional breakdowns.
Earning Respect in Society through Actions
Some of the circumstances are so intensified in nature, adversely affecting the psyche of the individuals. This affectation heavily influences the performance of the individuals in the personal as well as professional lives. The most common outcome is depression, filling the minds of the individuals with negative thoughts (Hermans 2014). At this stage, the humans experience incapability in terms of leading their life. This is the stage, when the humans need a strong and flexible helping hand for moving on in their life. This support can be from the teachers, friends, family members or senior and influential people, who have gone through this stage. Mention can be made of the psychologists and counsellors, who recommend therapies for restoring the lost balance in the life of the people.
Neighbours also play an important role in the existence of the individuals. There are different types of neighbours. Some are very helpful while others just find the opportunity to mock and taunt. Some are pretentious while others are transparent (Cooley 2017). Taunts and mocking from the neighbours generate negative feelings about the existence. When the individuals need support, mostly the neighbours’ help. This strengthens the bondage between them, indicating the prospect of help in future.
Experiencing ill treatment from the neighbours as well as colleagues in the workplace makes the existence “fractured”. Delving deep into the aspect, it also fragments the identity of the individuals. Herein, the identity theories can be brought into the discussion.
Individuals enter into the threshold of the society for establishing a strong and flexible identity. In this sense, the humans can be classified into a group. For establishing the identity, the individuals need to secure their position within the group or class to which they belong. Consciousness is needed in this direction for enhancing the personality (Sedikides and Brewer 2015). Awareness towards upgrading the social status adds firmness in the existence of the individuals. Turning the negative aspects of the group into positive aspects is the main attribute of the social identity theory. This attempt might result in conflicts between, discriminations and harassments between the groups. Along with this, racism can also generate between the groups, adding negative shade to the aspect of cultural diversity.
Henri Tajfel, the founder of this theory, proposed that the nomenclature of the individuals is based on the cognitive process. Herein, lays the appropriateness of cognitive learning theory, which is based on the observation power. The humans observe their surroundings, which enhances their preconceived notions, ideas and thoughts (Sanford 2017). Classification of the people results in exaggeration of the similarities and differences. The humans possessing similar characteristics are placed within one group and those with different characteristics are placed within different groups. The mixture of the similarities and differences in the society, which is the broader version for the classes and groups. Consideration of the prejudice and attitudes in the process of this nomenclature creates biasness between the groups. There are wrong means, which generates negative feelings in the people regarding the unfair classification (Alberts, Nakayama and Martin 2015). These unfair means adversely affects the psychological self of the individuals, creating an obstacle to the development of their identity. Herein, lays the appropriateness of the three stages of the identity formation, as proposed in theory- social categorization, social identification and social comparison. Adoption of wrong means distorts the integrated structure of this theory.
Attachment Theory: The Role of Support and Guidance
According to this theory, the personality of an individual develops through various stages. This is based on the experiences, which the individuals have in their life. One of the main elements of this theory is “formation of ego identity”. Societal interactions enable the individuals to be acquainted with their true self. Here, transitions are crucial in terms of gaining an insight into the different characteristic shades of the individual selves (Smith 2017). Each of the stages proposed by Erikson is focused on the competence level of the individuals. This competence determines the capability of the individuals to overcome the fragility of their existence. Motivation is the prime element for the individuals in enhancing their competency level. Without this motivation, the individuals are mere creatures.
An efficient and effective accomplishment of the stages adds to the strength of the individuals. This addition enhances the living standards of the individuals, which contradict the adjective of fragile, brittle, fractured and fragmented in terms of existence. On the contrary, lack of rationality in the stages makes the life of the individuals insecure. This insecurity is an obstacle to the personal development of the individuals (Newman and Newman 2017).
As a matter of specification, the psychosocial stages proposed by Erikson are: 0-2 years, 2-3 years, 4-5 years, 6-11 years, adolescence, young childhood, middle childhood, late adulthood. From the birth to 2 years, the child experiences doubts over trusting the people around them. For example, it regularly sees a figure caring for it, loving it and understanding its needs. Therefore, it creates a trust for that motherly figure. When it sees that the motherly figure was loving another being like him, the child develops mistrust for the motherly figure. In the age of 2-3 years, the children develop doubts about the people they meet. Here, shame and guilt are the attributes, which are developed for the actions, which the child performs (Simmel 2017).
In the adolescent stage, there is a confusion, which the infants experience regarding their identity. This is because at this stage, the ideas, concepts and thoughts are at a raw stage. In the young adulthood, the maturity level of the adolescence is fluctuating, which brings noticeable differences in their behavioural approach. Here, they experience confusion regarding the true supporters and the hypocrites. The wrong step in providing motivation and encouragement can hurt the individual sentiments of the individuals, compelling them to suffer from isolation, depression and marginalization (McAdams and Zapata 2015).
Different Types of People Existing within Society
In the stage of middle adulthood, the individuals experience doubts regarding generativity and stagnation. This stage involves doubts sticking to the new thoughts and ideas, which arises with the observation of the surroundings. On the other hand, there are doubts regarding the sticking to the gathered information and ideas. Late adulthood involves thoughts regarding integrity and despair. Here, the main concern of the people is following the integrated structure of the social hierarchy. Psychological affectation compels the people to suffer from despair, deviating them from their targeted goals and objectives (Dannefer 2015).
The challenges of adulthood compel the individuals to suffer from identity crisis. This leads to obstacles to recognizing the needs for survival. In terms of these aspects, the existence of the people can be considered as fragile, fragmented, fractured and brittle. Strong will power is needed for enhancing the vision towards overcoming the existential struggles. Urge to add meaning to their existence enables the individuals to seek innovative ways and means, which broadens the avenues before them. When the individuals are aware of their strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats and competencies, they gain the ability to establish their identity (Morss 2017). This capability enhances the personal standards of the individuals, adding meaning to their existence.
Exploration and commitment are the two main dimension of the identity theory proposed by James Marcia. He proposes four identity statuses, which results from these dimensions- identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, moratorium and identity achievement. Exploration of the ways and means of overcoming the challenges reflects the commitment of the individuals. This reflects the true essence of firm establishment of the identity. Here, the introvert people are excluded, as they fear the crisis, which deviates them from the targeted goals and objectives (Gilleard and Higgs 2014). Confusions regarding the role or identity are generated if commitment or challenge is avoided. This avoidance reflects weak management in case of the individual, affirming the fragility of their existence.
The identity foreclosure involves the situation when the individuals expose commitment towards overcoming a challenge. This is without the exploration of the ways and means of establishing the identity. The typical example of this is the moment when the individuals try to fulfil the goals of others, instead of their own. The third stage is the moratorium, which results in consolidating the challenges into exploration without commitment. The penultimate stage is identity establishment, where experiences and challenges are collaboratively considered for firm establishment of identity (Baudrillard 2016).
Significance of Neighbors in the Existence of Individuals
Commitment to the execution of the basic activities is essential in terms of strengthening the identity. This commitment reflects the true self of the individuals and upgrades their social status. One of the main assumptions of the theory is that a person with adequate maturity and adjustable skills is capable of developing the identity with specificity. Countering this, all of the persons, who do not possess the same maturity level, therefore does it mean that the persons lacking the maturity levels would not be able to enhance their identity? If this thought is affirmed, the people with low grasping quality are marginalized from the society (Alexander, Thompson and Edles 2016). This affirmation favours the perspective of existence as fragile, brittle, fragmented and fractured. Motivating the people regarding their capability would add enable them to achieve an understanding of the circumstances in their surroundings. Achievement of positive outcomes through the effective utilization of the motivation, results in assurance for the people. This is in terms of mitigating the fragility of the existence.
In the modern sense, the aspects of meaningless, drab monotony, selfishness are related with the society. This is because of the experiences, which the individuals are compelled to experience. Drab monotony entraps the creativity, which pressurizes the individuals to think of other ways in terms of overcoming the existentialist struggles (Skinner, May and Rollock 2016). This pressurization deviates the normal balance in the life of the individuals. The present age is that of the machines, which has obliterated the source of recreation for the individuals. The typical example of this is the daily routine, which the individuals are compelled to follow for overcoming the existentialist struggles.
In terms of the introvert people, the society is full of traitors, which adds vulnerability to the societal position. According to the extrovert people, the society consists of people from different socio-cultural backgrounds, which indicates the possibility of conflicts, discriminations and harassments. These issues contradict the true essence of cultural diversity (Petersen 2017).
The role of media is crucial in terms of portraying the society before the individuals. Typical examples of this are the films and the advertisements, which influence the mentality of the people. The way the society is portrayed, creates the negative image in the minds of the individuals. Herein, the aspect of identity formation is hampered, affecting the personal development. Here, behavioural aspect can be related. Stereotypical notions about the social influence the thought process of the individuals. Some of the people experience intensified level of depression, which affects their health and psyche. Various kinds of therapies and counselling sessions are applied to them for restoring the lost balance (Middlemiss 2014).
Dealing with Ill-Treatment from Society and Workplace Colleagues
Micheal Foucault proposed the concept of postmodernism for producing the self-reflection of the individuals towards the society. Here, the approach is philosophical in terms of projecting the diversity, which prevails in the society. The various dimensions of postmodern society can be found in the art, literature and culture. Postmodern art can be considered as one of the efficient means of projecting the society. Herein lays the role of the media, which develops the identity of a nation (Karakayali 2015). However, some of the advertisements are against the ethics, which generates conflicts between the individuals. Based on the revolting attitude, the individuals can be placed in one group. On the other hand, the advertisement can be placed in the group of traitors, as they play with the emotions of the people.
Assurance regarding taking the appropriate steps does not always prove successful. This is in terms of the selfish approach of the people towards their neighbours. This selfishness makes the existence futile, compelling the individuals to bear the existentialist struggles (Middlemiss 2014).
The present society is the age of machines, compelling the people to find meaning in their existence. The people in this postmodern society are considered mere powerless creatures in the hands of fate. Drab monotonous life aggravates the complexities in terms of exposing their creativity and innovation. This aggravation is an obstacle in the process of identity formation. Little attempts at overcoming the struggles are subdued in terms of making the humans aware of the fragile existence, in which they have to exist until they are frustrated and achieve death. All these connotations affirm the statements of Shakespeare, “All worlds is a stage and all men and women are merely actors.” The humans would continue to be foolish unless they gain the understanding regarding the meaningless existence.
References
Alberts, J.K., Nakayama, T.K. and Martin, J.N., 2015. Human communication in society. Pearson.
Alexander, J.C., Thompson, K. and Edles, L.D., 2016. The contemporary introduction to sociology: Culture and society in transition. Routledge.
Baudrillard, J., 2016. The consumer society: Myths and structures. Sage.
Chrisman, L. and Williams, P., 2015. Colonial discourse and post-colonial theory: A reader. Routledge.
Cooley, C.H., 2017. Human nature and the social order. Routledge.
Dannefer, D., 2015. Right in Front of Us: Taking Everyday Life Seriously in the Study of Human Development. Research in Human Development, 12(3-4), pp.209-216.
Dishon, N., Oldmeadow, J. A., Critchley, C., & Kaufman, J. (2017). The effect of trait self-awareness, self-reflection, and perceptions of choice meaningfulness on indicators of social identity within a decision-making context. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 2034.
Fisher-Borne, M., Cain, J.M. and Martin, S.L., 2015. From mastery to accountability: Cultural humility as an alternative to cultural competence. Social Work Education, 34(2), pp.165-181.
Fook, J., 2017. Critical reflection and transformative possibilities. In Social work in a corporate era (pp. 34-48). Routledge.
Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P., 2014. Cultures of ageing: Self, citizen and the body. Routledge.
Goffman, E., 2018. Stigma and social identity. In Deviance and Liberty (pp. 24-31). Routledge.
Hermans, H.J., 2014. Self as a Society of I?Positions: A Dialogical Approach to Counseling. The Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 53(2), pp.134-159.
Karakayali, N., 2015. Adapting, defending and transforming ourselves: Conceptualizations of self-practices in the social science literature. History of the Human Sciences, 28(1), pp.98-117.
McAdams, D.P. and Zapata-Gietl, C., 2015. Three strands of identity development across the human life course: Reading Erik Erikson in full. The Oxford handbook of identity development, pp.81-94.
Middlemiss, L., 2014. Individualised or participatory? Exploring late-modern identity and sustainable development. Environmental politics, 23(6), pp.929-946.
Morss, J.R., 2017. The biologist of childhood: Developmental psychology and the Darwinian myth. Routledge.
Newman, B.M. and Newman, P.R., 2017. Development through life: A psychosocial approach. Cengage Learning.
Petersen, A., 2017. Return of the age of anxiety: The embedding of a late modern social pathology. In Late Modern Subjectivity and its Discontents (pp. 24-40). Routledge.
Rosenberg, M., 2015. Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton university press.
Sanford, N., 2017. Self and society: Social change and individual development. Routledge.
Sedikides, C. and Brewer, M.B. eds., 2015. Individual self, relational self, collective self. Psychology Press.
Sedikides, C. and Brewer, M.B. eds., 2015. Individual self, relational self, collective self. Psychology Press.
Simmel, A., 2017. Privacy is not an isolated freedom. In Privacy and personality (pp. 71-87). Routledge.
Skinner, D., May, V. and Rollock, N., 2016. Self-identity and its discontents: Sociology in the 1990s. Sociology, 50(6), pp.NP13-NP23.
Smith, M.B., 2017. Values, self and society: Toward a humanist social psychology. Routledge.
Williams, J.P. and Vannini, P., 2016. Authenticity in culture, self, and society. In Authenticity in culture, self, and society(pp. 17-34). Routledge.