If I were to describe the particular body of ideas that makes me who I would have to point first to the speech from William Shakespeare’s As You Like it Act II, Scene VII, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts” (Shakespeare, n.d.). Having moved, a lot, due to my dad being in the military and then as a minister when I was younger, I realized early that depending on the situation, the people I was around, and the “part” I was expected to “play”, that those parts were not always consistent. This corresponds with Stets and Burke (1998) assumption that an individual’s sense of self is reflexive. Rather, it can be identified as an object
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These could be at work, at school, at church, with friends, etc. Tajfel and Turner (1979) suggested that through social identification people categorize themselves through the groups they identify. Therefore, I initially identified myself as a daughter, sister, cousin, niece and granddaughter because we were always around family. As we moved I identified myself as military brat, preacher’s kid, student; to that extent, because we moved so much I identified a lot as the “new kid”. Never truly disclosing information about myself or my family (Schutz, 1958, Altman & Taylor, 1973) and weighing the cost of any relationship with one of my classmates or someone from church (Social Exchange Theory).
Throughout my academic and work careers I can relate to Turner’s (1982) findings that one’s sense of social identity can be turned off and on based on the norms of the particular group or social category I belonged. And, by extension, the relevant situation I found myself in. I have therefore identified and incorporated into my thinking and actions bits of the various jobs I have held – health care, K-12, higher education, government, as well as being in the military myself. I have also embraced the experiences I have had in academics as well as my international
These could be at work, at school, at church, with friends, etc. Tajfel and Turner (1979) suggested that through social identification people categorize themselves through the groups they identify. Therefore, I initially identified myself as a daughter, sister, cousin, niece and granddaughter because we were always around family. As we moved I identified myself as military brat, preacher’s kid, student; to that extent, because we moved so much I identified a lot as the “new kid”. Never truly disclosing information about myself or my family (Schutz, 1958, Altman & Taylor, 1973) and weighing the cost of any relationship with one of my classmates or someone from church (Social Exchange Theory).
Throughout my academic and work careers I can relate to Turner’s (1982) findings that one’s sense of social identity can be turned off and on based on the norms of the particular group or social category I belonged. And, by extension, the relevant situation I found myself in. I have therefore identified and incorporated into my thinking and actions bits of the various jobs I have held – health care, K-12, higher education, government, as well as being in the military myself. I have also embraced the experiences I have had in academics as well as my international