Concepts Of Identity In Sociology

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Through Sociology, not only can we study human social behavior, but we can also aim to analyze the behavior through certain concepts. With the help of media we are able to demonstrate these concepts to give us a more in-depth view of how they function. Both television shows and movies can be great for giving us the illustrations we need to understand an idea. Over the course of the essay, Dexter will be used as a model for some of the ideas focused on in Sociology. Through the concept of identity, a piece of self, we can dive deeper into how humans manage impressions and techniques used in face saving. In various episodes of Dexter, notions of identity, impression management, and saving face can be observed.
TIE IN TRANSITION OF IDENTITY Before discussing the identity of Dexter himself, we must take a look at what identity upon itself is. “Identity is a piece of self that is established in social interactions” (Hutson, 2016a). It is through identity that we can understand how we portray ourselves in different environments. A good way to express this idea is using the way we act in a work/school setting compared to a social setting. You wouldn’t walk up to your professor and/or boss and start a conversation about your personal or private life, rather you keep things work related. Your professor knows you as a student, and most likely nothing more. Contrary, your friend is going to know you a different level than your professor would. Your best friend is going to know how you interact at parties and your professor is going to know you based on your work ethic. This shows how one person may obtain more than one identity. While one person carries many identities, this does not mean that we one identity is not true.
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In fact, each of these identities are true, rather just displayed in different circumstances, like the school and social settings. There are three types of identities that we use in different circumstances, they are: social, situational, and personal identity. A social identity is one that is “tied to a position in social structural relations” and is tied to a value system in one’s society (Hutson 2016a). This type of identity is related on what group a person gains a sense of pride from being a part of. Examples of these groups could include one’s social class or possibly even a football team. The second type of identity is known as a situation one, which is “tied to temporary social roles” (Hutson 2016a). An example of this identity might be a customer in a supermarket or a passenger on a flight. When a person is in a certain situation, they may choose one out of number of their social identities that they feel is most appropriate for that given circumstance (Neuman & Ryutov 9). In the same article, Neuman and Tatyana use the example of a person who may be half Italian and half French. Even though the person is equally both ethnicities, they may identify with only one of the two depending on their social situation (Neuman & Rytutov 9). Lastly, we have the third type of identity which is personal identity. This is defined as our identity “tied to a unique aspect of self” (Hutson 2016a). Our personal identity could be as easily described as referring to yourself as a basketball player or maybe even a Belieber. Our personal identity can even be formed by things we have no control over, like the color of our skin or where a person has grown up. A person could even hold more than one personal identity, with some being more public and some private. The television …show more content…
We can define this as “the work done to avoid humiliation” (Hutson 2016b). There are four techniques offered through face saving, that include underscoring, substituting, deflecting, and neutralizing.
Underscoring and substituting both take qualities and skills and work around highlighting them. Underscoring focuses mainly one a specific skill and highlights that, while with substituting we are switching out one quality with another that is more improved. However, with deflecting we are changing the direction of the blame and placing it another person. The last of the four techniques is neutralizing, where a person contradicts their humiliation by means of “humor, apology, or confrontation” (Hutson

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