Identity formation is the process of developing a distinct personality and characteristics, becoming an individualized person separate from others. It occurs throughout life, with different aspects shaping personal identity, self-concept, and self-perception. Affiliations, such as race, gender, religion, and culture, are also part of identity formation. Life changes, such as acquiring a disability, can alter one’s identity.
Identity formation is the process of developing a distinct personality and characteristics, becoming an individualized person separate from others. As people go through various stages of development from infancy to maturity, different aspects of the identity formation process take place, shaping personal identity, self-concept and self-perception. Some people may experience dramatic identity changes as they mature, especially as they begin to leave home and experience life in new environments separated from parents and siblings.
During the process of identity formation, people will transform their sense of self-awareness, the awareness that they are separate human beings, into an understanding of their uniqueness. Personality traits will begin to develop and thrive. Certain aspects of a person’s personality will shift and fade, especially during adolescence when people often try on different identities to see how they fit and explore the boundaries of the traits they love on their way to settling into a more fixed method of seeing and presenting themselves .
At the same time as people understand the ways they are separate from other people, they may also begin to develop affiliations. Race, gender, religion, and culture are all part of identity formation, providing a common ground for connecting with other people and sharing life experiences. In identity formation, people may seek out members of the groups they belong to so they can gain insight into that group’s behavior, and they may seek mentorship and assistance from people with life experience. In many cultures, this assistance is part of cultural values, as seen in many religious faiths where young people may seek counseling and mentorship from religious officiants or knowledgeable older people.
Many things can disrupt identity formation. Moving between radically different environments can cause significant change, as people attempt to transition to different cultures and places. Someone raised as a British citizen, for example, may have trouble adjusting to China as a teenager and would likely seek out other Britons to find common ground and avoid losing national and cultural identity.
While identity formation is often extremely rapid during childhood and adolescence, people can also experience alterations in their identities as older adults. Life changes such as acquiring a disability can change the way people think about themselves and change the way they want to interact with the world. Some aspects of identity may only become apparent later in life; for example, a 40-year-old man may come to an understanding through therapy and community interactions that he is transgender and may pursue life as a woman.
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