Identity:

According to psychologist identity speaks about one’s self image (a person's mental model of him or herself), self esteem and individuality.  A significant part of identity in psychology is gender identity, as this states to an important degree how an individual views him or herself both as a person and in relation to other people, ideas and nature. In cognitive psychology, "identity" refers to the capability for self-reflection and the awareness of self.

Psychologists generally use the term identity to portray personal identity, or the idiosyncratic things that make a person distinctive. Meanwhile, sociologists use the term to explain social identity, or the compilation of group memberships that define the individual.

Erik Erikson was one of the initial psychologists to be openly interested in identity. Identity formation has been most broadly explained by Erik Erikson in his theory of developmental stages, which extends from birth through adulthood.

According to Erikson, identity formation, while beginning in childhood, achieves importance during adolescence. He also coined the phrase identity crisis to describe the transitory unsteadiness and mystification adolescents experience as they struggle with alternatives and choices.

The Eriksonian structure rests upon a distinction among the psychological sense of continuity, known as the ego identity or simply called as the self. The personal idiosyncrasies that divide one person from the next, known as the personal identity; and the collection of social roles that a person might play, known as either the social identity or the cultural identity.

According to Erickson the psychodynamic tradition is aimed to investigate the process of identity formation across a lifespan. Components of identity include a sense of personal continuity and of uniqueness from other people In addition to figuring out a personal identity based on the need for uniqueness, people also attain a social identity based on their association in various groups-familial, cultural, professional, and others.

These group identities, in addition to satisfying the need for affiliation, help people define themselves in the eyes of both others and themselves. Identity is also described as "a prejudiced sense as well as an apparent feature of personal similarity and stability, paired with some belief in the sameness and continuity of some shared world image.

Questions:

• Why is it important to show our identity?
• How does identity portray our self qualities?