Wikipedia on the scientific exploration of identity as we do it
Identity (social science) is not to be confused with personal identity.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Identity may be defined as the distinctive characteristic belonging to any given individual, or shared by all members of a particular social category or group. Identity may be distinguished from identification; the former is a label, whereas the latter refers to the classifying act itself.
Identity is thus best construed as being both relational and contextual, while the act of identification is best viewed as inherently about process.
However, the formation of one's identity occurs through one's identifications with significant others (primarily with parents and other individuals during one’s biographical experiences, and also with ''groups'' as they are perceived).
These others may be benign such that one aspires to their characteristics, values and beliefs (a process of idealistic-identification), or malign when one wishes to dissociate from their characteristics (a process of defensive contra-identification) (Weinreich & Saunderson 2003, Chapter 1, pp. 54–61).
A psychological identity relates to self-image (a person''s mental model of him or herself), self-esteem, and individuality. Consequently, Weinreich gives the definition "A person''s identity is defined as the totality of one''s self-construal, in which how one construes oneself in the present expresses the continuity between how one construes oneself as one was in the past and how one construes oneself as one aspires to be in the future".
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