Assess the Different Sociological Explanations for the Formation of Identity

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Assess the different sociological explanations for the formation of identity Identity is how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you. There are many different types of identity, personal identity is how you distinguish yourself, social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership, A collective identity refers to individuals' sense of belonging to a group (the collective), stigmatised identity is the process by which the reaction of others spoils normal identity i.e. being disabled or having a criminal record. There are two main ways of looking at the formation of identity; macro and micro, macro such as Marxists, feminists and functionalists theorists look at it on a grand scale whereas micro theorists such as symbolic interactionism look at it from a small individual scale. Post modernists believe that some aspects of identity can bought, therefore changing how identity is formed. There are many agencies of socialisation which help form identity. The family are primary agents of socialisation, showing us how to act from a young age, giving us gender typical toys to play with and changing the way to speak to different genders i.e. ‘stop acting like a boy!’ Or ‘be man and get on with it!’ Family teaches us to accept our ascribed status, feminists say that from an early age the family socialise girls to be taught to be housewives via the toys they play with. Education and school are also agents of socialisation although it is secondary socialisation. Schools help shape our identities by putting us in large social situations and also by using the hidden curriculum to teach us norms and values. Our peers and social group play a huge role in shaping our identity through what music we listen too, what clothes we wear, the leisure activities we do, this leads to the development of sub cultures. Functionalists, Marxists and
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