Identity In Psychology

Identity comes from the Latin root idem (identitas) meaning the oneness or a state of being the same, and has been used in English since the sixteenth century. It has a technical meaning in algebra and logic and has been associated with the perennial mind-body problem in philosophy. The meaning of identity in this philosophical context is close to its meaning in ordinary usage, which is given as follows by the Oxford English Dictionary: the sameness of a person or thing at all times or in all circumstances; the condition or fact that a person or thing is itself and not something else; individuality, personality. Personal identity (in Psychology), is the condition or fact of remaining the same person throughout the various phases of existence;

Our identity is what we think of ourselves to be combined with how we choose to express it and further coupled with what others think is the best way of expressing ourselves. It is a thread of overlapping psychological states while being located in different locations. Creation of the self is always an active ongoing process where in, the answer to the question “Who am I?” is given by the story we tell about ourselves which highlights the interaction of the interior development of an individual’s personality and participation in society by internalising the cultural norms, acquiring different statuses and playing various roles in a particular context. It is a combination of our values, beliefs and our personality. However, there is nothing that we can point out within our self that is the core essence which will never change. We think of it as a given that we each have a sort of fixed essence that makes us who we are, so all we have to do is to recognise and acknowledge it. Although it does largely depend on what the society around each one of us says about us. Identity is much more inconsistent than we commonly imagine, The Buddha’s teaching of no-self is about letting go of our stories, or in short, our egos. The stories we tell about ourselves brings us security, but in reality they distort our vision. At the same time, it is about being immersed in and open to the present moment to know clearly what the situation is which includes our own strengths and weaknesses.
Thesis Statement: Our identity is never a static state of being, thinking or expressing. Our meaning of self may be affected when we fail to integrate the shifts in identity, thus experiencing identity