Define four essential characteristics that make up identity

Question

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

Answer: The first characteristic is that identities exist at the individual and the societal levels. For example, if a person is an athlete and is thinking about how he or sheis different and unique from others who are not athletic, then he or sheis focusing on part of his or herindividual identity. If the personis focusing on how his or hersports team is different and unique from other sports teams, then the personis focusing on his or her social identity. A second important aspect of identity is that it is both fixed and dynamic. Certain aspects of people’s identities change over time. For instance, a person may be born male, but he grows from an infant to a boy, teenager, young man, middle-aged man,and old man, and the meanings of his male identity change over this time. What it means to be male, individually and socially, alters as he ages. A third characteristic of identity is that individual and social identities are created through interaction with others. For example, people who travel abroad and then return home may experience stress, but they also experience growth and change. A fourth consideration is that identities need to be understood in relation to historical, social, and cultural environments. For instance, throughout history, we have varied notions of what it means to be female.