[1][2][3][4] Identity emerges during childhood as children start to comprehend their self-concept, and it remains a consistent aspect throughout different stages of life.
It fosters internal harmony and serves as a behavioral compass, enabling individuals to orient themselves towards the future and establish long-term goals.
[16] Mark Mazower noted in 1998: "At some point in the 1970s this term ["identity"] was borrowed from social psychology and applied with abandon to societies, nations and groups.
An essential feature of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development was the idea of the ego identity (often referred to as the self), which is described as an individual's personal sense of continuity.
[19] The ego-identity consists of two main features: one's personal characteristics and development, and the culmination of social and cultural factors and roles that impact one's identity.
[26] From the vantage point of self-psychology, there are two areas of interest: the processes by which a self is formed (the "I"), and the actual content of the schemata which compose the self-concept (the "Me").
[29] Laing's definition of identity closely follows Erikson's, in emphasising the past, present and future components of the experienced self.
He also develops the concept of the "metaperspective of self", i.e. the self's perception of the other's view of self, which has been found to be extremely important in clinical contexts such as anorexia nervosa.
However, some "sociological" social psychology theories go further by dealing with the issue of identity at the level of both individual cognition and collective behavior.
George C. Homans, former President of the American Sociological Association, in a study of group outcomes, found that social isolation would lead to increasingly random and unpredictable behavior.
For example, in work relating to social identity theory, it has been shown that merely crafting cognitive distinction between in- and out-groups can lead to subtle effects on people's evaluations of others.
The strategic manipulator is a person who begins to regard all senses of identity merely as role-playing exercises, and who gradually becomes alienated from their social self.
For Gergen, these strategies follow one another in phases, and they are linked to the increase in popularity of postmodern culture and the rise of telecommunications technology.
Anthropologists have most frequently employed the term identity to refer to this idea of selfhood in a loosely Eriksonian way[37][better source needed] properties based on the uniqueness and individuality which makes a person distinct from others.
This was reinforced by an appreciation, following the trend in sociological thought, of the manner in which the individual is affected by and contributes to the overall social context.
Both approaches need to be understood in their respective political and historical contexts, characterised by debate on issues of class, race and ethnicity.
[39] Others, by contrast, have sought to introduce alternative concepts in an attempt to capture the dynamic and fluid qualities of human social self-expression.
Stuart Hall for example, suggests treating identity as a process, to take into account the reality of diverse and ever-changing social experience.
In the same way as Barth, in his approach to ethnicity, advocated the critical focus for investigation as being "the ethnic boundary that defines the group rather than the cultural stuff that it encloses",[42] social anthropologists such as Cohen and Bray have shifted the focus of analytical study from identity to the boundaries that are used for purposes of identification.
As a non-directive and flexible analytical tool, the concept of boundaries helps both to map and to define the changeability and mutability that are characteristic of people's experiences of the self in society.
Identity is made evident through the use of markers such as language, dress, behaviour and choice of space, whose effect depends on their recognition by other social beings.
It is possible that the newcomer is either aware or unaware of this, depending on whether they themself knows other languages or is conscious of the plurilingual quality of the people there and is respectful of it or not.
Religious identity refers to the personal practices related to communal faith along with rituals and communication stemming from such conviction.
[55][56][57][58][59] Due to the multiple functions of identity which include self regulation, self-concept, personal control, meaning and direction, its implications are woven into many aspects of life.
[7] Identity is an ongoing and dynamic process that impacts an individual's ability to navigate life's challenges and cultivate a fulfilling existence.
[68][69][70] Consequently, some individuals opt not to define themselves solely by their occupation but strive for a holistic identity that encompasses all aspects of their lives, beyond their job or work.
[9] The modern notion of personal identity as a distinct and unique characteristic of individuals has evolved relatively recently in history beginning with the first passports in the early 1900s and later becoming more popular as a social science term in the 1950s.