Identity and culture - Essay Example

Identity and Culture Identity and Culture Humans are social beings, thus, an individual’s identity is greatly linked to the manner by which other members of the society perceive him or her. The paper is aimed to present the influences of culture and identity to how people want others to perceive them. There are two elements in the query namely the individual’s perception about himself or herself and the individual’s view of how others perceive him or her. Based on the said elements there are varying types of perception based on the individual’s interaction in the social context.

Individualism is one of the types of cultural perception of a person which is focused on personal achievement and prioritizes the self-concept. If a person favors the said outlook, the main priority is to be viewed as a being apart from others in the society. He/she is an individual thriving in an out-group on the belief that he/she can better exist in the said setting. On the other hand, there are individuals in the society who prioritize collectivism. They want to be perceived as one of the members of the in-group.

As compared to people who advocate individualism, people in this group wanted to maximize interpersonal relationship and communication. They thrive and operate exceptionally through cultural empathy and can be considered as those people who have great understanding of the need for unity regardless of differences. People who wanted to be perceived as one who understands culture and the behaviors of other people are often open to acculturation and enculturation.The main query of the paper explores the influence of identity and culture on the manner by which a person wanted to be perceived by others.

It can be considered that identity and culture are interacting elements that produce a person’s character. A person who wanted to be perceived as an individualist gives more priority to his or her individuality while a person who wanted to be perceived as a very social and cooperative person gives more priority to his or her role in the society contribution to the culture.ReferenceWeedon, C. (2004). Identity and culture. Open University Press.