[2] Furthermore, research suggests that self and identity have significant impacts on well-being, behaviour, self-esteem and interpersonal relationships within a society and culture.
[8] This suggests that self and identity are significantly dependent on whether the culture one associates with is individualist or collectivist, specifically due to the difference in normative rule and the structure of these societies.
Collectivist cultures tend to be more interdependent societies, which is likely to result in “the individual (being) connected to significant others”, thus creating fluidity of self and identity across time and contexts.
This has been presented through cross-cultural – individualistic versus collectivist society – comparisons of the self-concept through the use of structured inventories, which demonstrated numerous cultural differences in self for self-statements and self-esteem statements.
Negative treatment between groups can lead to adverse outcomes, while positive interactions can increase individual collective self-esteem.
This was demonstrated by a study which suggested cross-group friendships provide "a sense of collective self-esteem among minority group members.
[15] High quality, positive relations among minority group members is necessary for the promoting of both collective self-esteem and well-being.
Self-knowledge has the capacity to influence self and identity due to the information that is stored or made available at a specific time, depending on the context of the situation.
These forms of self-knowledge and, subsequently, self as a whole are impacted by social groups through their providing of context and meaning to inform emotion and behaviour.
This is particularly the case with children, who have been demonstrated to not display all emotions presented in adults, such as empathy and embarrassment until their self-awareness is developed.
This was discovered following patients suffering from Alzheimer’s losing their identity once the disease caused the loss of personally relevant knowledge.
Over time these generalised patterns of communication among group members create social norms and cause "each individual self (to be) a collaborative output of the entire cultural community".
The formation of in-groups and out-groups by individuals results in intergroups dynamics through the difference in social influence and norms across groups.