Dr. Dilarom Demiralay, PsyD
(Research on behalf of a private company, summary 4 pages, year2018)
The problem of the formation of a person’s social identity has been increasingly studied in foreign and domestic psychology in recent years. The interest in this problem is connected with the processes of migration and mobility that are increasing in the world community, the expansion of business and intercultural interaction, the development of new types of communications, etc. In the conditions of a rapidly changing society, the established ideas of a person about himself and his place in the social world are constantly being tested and, as a result, they become questions of social identity.
As a result of my research, I have once again determined that social identity represents one of the factors that form the psychological basis of a person’s conscious behavior in various social settings, and the importance of solving this problem.
The research of the phenomenon of social identity was carried out by representatives of various directions: psychoanalysis (E. Waterman, E. Erickson), symbolic interactionism (D. Mead, S. Strucker), behaviorism (D. Campbell, M. Sheriff), cognitive and constructionist approaches (A. Tashfel, J. Turner). However, for the first time this concept was introduced in the works of E. Erikson (1968), where identity is considered as the most important characteristic of a person’s integrity, identification with certain social groups of a given society.
In Russian psychology, the phenomenon of identity appeared only in the mid-nineties of the last century in the works of N. V. Antonova, N. M. Lebedeva, V. N. Pavlenko, G. U. Soldatova and T. G. Stefanenko. According to the definition of Russian authors, social identity is the result of a person’s awareness of his group membership and the adoption of appropriate norms and rules in this group [1].
The results of modern research (G. M. Andreeva, E. P. Belinskaya, N. M. Lebedeva, V. N. Pavlenko, T. G. Stefanenko, L. B. Schneider) have shown that the formation of social identity originates in preschool age. As the child grows up, the range of social relations in which he is included expands.
Social identity reaches its relative peak of development in adolescence. At this time, the teenager actively understands his life in general and his place in the system of public relations in particular [4].
According to E. Erikson, the inability of a teenager to achieve identity leads to an identity crisis characterized by depression, inability to adapt to life, lack of desire to continue education and choose a career [5].
As a condition of development and existence, the social environment plays an important role in the formation of a teenager’s social identity. The family, the company of peers, the school class are those social groups that make up the immediate environment of an individual and act as carriers of various norms and values.
According to E. Erickson, in early childhood, the basis for successful identity formation is laid in the processes of identification with parents and significant close people [5]. Therefore, the family is one of the important factors for the successful achievement of a sense of social identity, the influence of which the child experiences first of all.
The style of relationship with parents has a huge impact on the formation of a teenager’s identity. In a bad relationship, a teenager often does not have a clear idea about the choice of a life path or some ideal. However, excessive attachment, symbiotic upbringing can be the cause of immaturity, infantilism of judgments and choices [2].
The importance of the factor of social ties with peers is confirmed by many researchers, since the emotional well – being of a teenager largely depends on the place that he occupies in the team. The desire of the child is aimed at acceptance by a group of peers whose interests he shares, it can be a school class, a group of classmates, and children from the yard. Rejection by the group is perceived as a great tragedy, so the teenager seeks to gain recognition among his peers by his actions (including negative ones) in order to establish himself in their eyes.
Also at this age, there is a public acceptance of the role, which consists in understanding the point of view of another person, comparing it with the assessments set by the reference group. Adapting to social requirements, a teenager needs to understand what social role he can fulfill.
L. S. Rubinstein asserts that when choosing roles, an individual is guided by his life goals, some of which are permanent in social scenarios (the role of a daughter or son, a permanent assistant and support for the mother), others are transient (the role of a duty officer) and temporary (the head of the class, the head of a hiking trip) [3].
In this context, there may be a bifurcation problem in which a teenager forcibly fulfils the requirements of the team. In other words, a child may wear a mask to hide his true face, to hide his true motivations. If the role played is alien to young people, it can still somehow counter the “alien face.””But if he is very emotional and doesn’t always think first and think after, then he can become the object of manipulation by stronger men. The child becomes weak-willed, suggestible, obeys the crowd of his peers [3].
In our view, the social environment and especially the peers of a teenager primarily contribute to the formation and development of social identity. In communicating with them, the child learns about various human – human interactions, learning to reflect on the possible consequences of his or her own and someone else’s actions, expressions, emotional manifestations. Poor social bonds with peers, or lack of such bonds, can lead to a teenager not developing the necessary social interaction skills, which can lead to a deviation in their behavior.
I did a study to decipher the formation of adolescent social identity among decipherment students aged 13-14 at a middle school.
I chose the following methods to diagnose: J. Moreno’s “Sociometry”, T. Leary’s method of diagnosing interpersonal relationships, m. Rokich’s method of studying value orientations.
In the course of a sociometric study, we found out that among students, 2 teenagers (8%) are pronounced “leaders”, 5 teenagers (20%) have the status of
“preferred”. Classmates willingly communicate with such guys, listen to their advice, try to invite them to their group. The majority of” accepted “teenagers — 11 people (44%) do not have a significant impact on classroom relationships, they are more often subject to the influence of” leaders “and”preferred”. At the same time, 7 teenagers (28%) were” unreliable “and” rejected ” among the tested, who often suffer constant ridicule and neglect, which does not give them the opportunity to show their abilities and establish strong relationships with classmates. These results indicate that half of the students in this group have poorly formed social identity.
The analysis of the results obtained using the method of interpersonal relations diagnostics by T. Leary showed that the selfish type of interpersonal relations is typical for 5 adolescents (20%). Such teenagers tend to be above everyone, but at the same time apart from everyone. They are characterized by narcissism, prudence, braggadocio, arrogance. The difficulties that arise are mainly shifted to others. In 7 adolescents, which is 28% of the class, an aggressive type of interpersonal relations was revealed, which is characterized by straightforwardness, irreconcilability, irritability, a tendency to blame others for everything. 4 teenagers (16%) are authoritarian in their relations with others. They are energetic, confident, persistent and persistent, like to give advice, demand respect for themselves. Also, among the subjects, 7 adolescents revealed a dependent type of interpersonal relationships (28%), in which they do not show their character, their behavior often depends on the behavior of others. Suspicion, characterized by the desire to live separately from their peers, was detected in 2 adolescents (8%). Such results indicate that the most common types of interpersonal relationships in this group of students are aggressive and dependent, which, in our opinion, interfere with the formation of the social identity of adolescents.
The analysis of the results of the study of terminal values using the method of studying the value orientations of M. Rokich showed that adolescents attach the greatest importance to such values as an active active life (24%), health (56%), love (36%), freedom (32%), happiness (44%), confidence (32%). Having good friends (20% of the class) and development (20%) are considered important values, but the number of teenagers who think so is relatively small. The following were considered insignificant values: beauty (12%), pleasure (16%), happiness of others (8%) and creativity (16%). These values were put in the last place by many teenagers.
Such results indicate that students do not consider these values as guidelines for their immediate development.
The analysis of the results of the study on instrumental values showed that the most significant values are such as good manners (36%), education (56%), responsibility (40%), honesty (48%). A smaller number of elections received independence (20%) and broad-mindedness (12%), but these values were also among the priorities. Low significance are: high requests (16%), intolerance to the shortcomings of others (16%) and sensitivity (8%).
According to the results of this methodology, it can be concluded that the position of adolescents in relation to socially significant values is unstable, therefore there are quite a lot of teenagers in the class who do not attach primary importance to such values, which indicates a weak formation of social identity.
Summing up, it is important to note that the most important aspect of human existence is the problem of self-determination, self-identification, involvement in others. Throughout life, a person identifies himself with various social groups on various grounds, which is the basis of social interaction.
The results of modern research suggest that social identity reaches its relative peak of development in adolescence. During this period, the teenager actively understands his life in general and his place in the system of public relations in particular. The formation of the social identity of adolescents is influenced by several factors, the most important of which, in our opinion, is interaction with peers.
From the results of the study, it was found that the social identity of adolescents is poorly formed. The main problems in the adolescent environment were the insufficiently developed ability to establish and maintain contacts, the inability of adolescents to emphasize their individuality in constructive ways.
The study of the problems of the formation of the social identity of adolescents is of great practical importance for the development of recommendations and the program of work of a teacher-psychologist on the development of the social identity of adolescents.
Literature:
- Myers D. Social psychology. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000 y. – 688 p.
- Maleev A. L. Features of the formation of social identity in adolescence. [Electronic resource]. URL: http://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=20377687. Date of application (17.03.2016).
- Rubinstein S. L. Fundamentals of general psychology. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000 y. – 688 p.
- Khrustaleva V. V. Features of the social identity of adolescents. [electronic resource]. URL: http://www.mpsu.ru/sites/default/ files/files/pub/actual_problem_n 4_14 site.pdf. Date of application (17.03.2018).
- Erikson E. Identity: youth and crisis: trans. from English / general ed. and preface by A.V. Tolstykh. 2e ed. M.: Flint: 2006 y. – 352 p.
