Describe how others can influence a person’s identity development through reflected appraisals

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: A primary influence on identity development is a communication process called reflected appraisals. The term describes the idea that people’s self-images arise primarily from the ways that others view them and from the many messages they have received from others about who they are. The reflected appraisal process is repeated with family, friends, teachers, acquaintances, and strangers as the individual grows. If, as a child, you heard your parents tell their friends that you were gifted, your teachers praised your classroom performance, and acquaintances commented on how verbal you were, you probably came to see yourself those ways. However, if family, friends, and acquaintances commented on how they couldn’t “carry a tune in a bucket” and held their ears when they sang, then over time they likely came to view yourself as someone who couldn’t sing. Interaction with two types of “others”influences this process of identity development. Particular others, specifically, are the important people in someone’s life whose opinions and behavior influence the various aspects of his or her identity. Parents, caregivers, siblings, and close friends are obvious particular others who influence identity. Your sense of self is also influenced by the generalized other, or the collection of roles, rules, norms, beliefs, and attitudes endorsed by the community in which you live. For example, if you notice that your family, friends, and strangers comment on people’s appearances and that the media associates certain characteristics with attractiveness, then you develop a view of your own attractiveness.