In order to explore our identities regarding class, race, gender, religion, and other aspects of life, we must look at the ideas that make up social identity. Social identity consists of four elements: categorization, or attaching labels to people; identi
In order to explore our identities regarding class, race, gender, religion, and other aspects of life, we must look at the ideas that make up social identity. Social identity consists of four elements: categorization, or attaching labels to people; identification, which refers to associating oneself to certain groups; comparison, or viewing other groups differently from our own; and psychological distinctiveness – we each want to be different from other groups. Reflecting upon and writing about my social and cultural identity was not as easy for me as I thought it would be when given this assignment. Before starting this course I believed I could categorize my identity quite easily which after some thought was not the case. After much consideration about my roots, how I identify myself in relation to others, what parts of my social identity influences my behavior, how others treat me etc., I saw that the two elements that have had the most effect on my identity are nationality and gender.