“Social psychology of Identities” by Judith A Howard is an opinion based journal with recent research given as evidence to support her argument. She clearly states her intentions of this journal early on, helping us understand the argument she has given. She firstly explains the definition of “Identity” and how this meaning has changed within the recent years and so looks into how social cognitive and symbolic interaction can contribute to the segregation of people’s identities. By doing so she looks into many different theories, specifically where people begin to differentiate themselves mainly due to their physical appearance. She also reviews key questions that relate to this theme and tries to educate us about how identities are formed from a numerous amount of diverse factors. The main themes that she looks into within her current research on identity are: Social psychological, sociological and interdisciplinary. She takes particular interest into the social bases of identity, looking at the main factors and how each can intersect with one another.
Howards main purpose through writing this journal was to show how people and their identities have changed due to society over several decades. The meaning behind a persons “identity” has evolved with time. It has more to do with who one is, i.e. outside influences making you who you are in society. Now a day’s society dictates a lot about who a person is, especially in a work place. A person has to adapt quickly to succeed. You have to build up recognition and respect in a short amount of time in order to achieve what someone would have in one job over many years. Her research into the fields of “Identities and space” “Nationalisms identity struggles” and “Identities across time” gives evidence to support these theories, backing up her own opinions she has voiced throughout. This can coincide with one of the many factors that Howard looks into when breaking down people’s identities: Different role identities.
Judith believes that “Interactionism” is when people give a “symbolic” meaning to things and carrying on developing these meanings forward through interaction. This then creates “role identities” which cause people to adapt and take on their new roles that create a sense of hierarchy within different groups of people. This automatically changes the dynamic of a group. The structural approach relies on the idea of role identities, the characteristics a person develops in a particular social position, therefore linking social structures to people. (Stryker 1980).
Another observation made this time by Goffman is how in hierarchical groups people feel the need to control the views that others have perceived about them. They have a desire to “normalize judgments”. This is a big change that society had created over the years, where perception of ones self has become more of a priority. The supposed basic level of interaction is simply through their talk. There have been many studies taken place that analyze this through everyday interaction. (Hunt 1994). Many such studies have focused particularly on the population experiencing identity struggles. Anderson (1994) does a study into the two different strategies that homeless people use. The outcome is an example showing how people react or behave when in different circumstances or environments, proving that identities can also change within different situations. To reinforce this idea Howard could have set up her own tests with a numerous amount of varied people –both in appearance and in personality- to work on exercises in specific groups. This would have then backed up her own views.
The extensive research located for this journal has a vast amount of sources therefore proving to be a popular topic. Howards uses these sources to highlight the many different views based on the change within peoples identities caused by society. It is very much a journal filled with Howards views and concerns rather than an unbiased report. She narrows in on the main basis of identity.
Sexual, Gender, Class, Identities of (Dis)ability, and Age are the main areas that have been greatly influenced over the years. Talking about peoples insecurities towards their physical appearance she highlights the difficulties that can effect people and their need to try and “fit in”. When exploring the topic of sexual identities, Howard discovers that this identity formation is one that usually isn’t realized till later on in life compared to the others that are already set in place. Gender as Howard states has been thoroughly researched and so does not research this herself, just refers to others work.
People are always trying to fit in to their surroundings so when it comes to the issue of space, there are many forms this can take. In terms of literal space Howard looks into the views of Espin (1995) that connects special identity with gender, sexual identities for example and explores the struggles on immigrant woman’s sexual behaviours and gender performances. She highlights the fact that by crossing borders through migration may also encourage woman to cross other boundaries of their own. From this Ruddick’s (1996) views are less literal and looks at public crime and how by analysing this it shows how people feel the need when in a public space to behave in a realistic manner, as apposed to the sheltered persona everyone displays. Looking at “space” in a different context brought people like Kendall (1 998a,b) and O’Brien (1999) together to think about cyberspace and whether or not people when in this realm they play with identities and some how adopt a new identity that is the complete opposite to their offline one.
Taking a completely new approach on how people can behave differently and change their identity in different settings is the book: Inquiry By Design by John Zeisel. His main objective is to answer questions such as: “What information can social scientists offer designers about the ways in which people and groups with different needs and purposes behave in different settings?” And “How can designers use this information to their best advantage?” Zeisel tries his best to approach the questions as well as put across his own views by referring to projects in North America and Europe to validate his views, whilst explaining the integration of research and design.
His research into this area also gives us the perspective of an environmental behavioral researcher and a designer. From this he is able to argue his believes that designers and researchers can and are able to work together to resolve design problems that they wouldn’t necessarily be able to do on their own. While looking into this area he is further able to resolve a major issue, providing us with the answers once again. He discovers through his curiosity for this topic that research material must be in a form that designers are able to use but that can also be used to improve the chances that research information can be tested. This may no be an obvious matter when approaching the topic about identity but it takes a form of connection.
Zeisel has made a point to think about what people want to achieve from the gathering and researching of all their data. He states “Environment-behaviour research illuminates both of these purposes simultaneously, showing the interrelationship between environment and people” This proves to be his purpose throughout his book: trying to find a connection and how this affects both areas.
He then explores the different environments that cause people to react, i.e. places of work, leisure areas, your homes. This change can affect their behaviour reactions to not just the ones that are most common to them but to others as well. From looking at peoples past experiences in different environments this can also affect behaviour. He believes that we should discover how people respond to “abstract” environments as well as “actual” ones to gives us a better understanding into the way people and environments amalgamate.
“Making sense of environment is a process of perception: the way persons select and organize what they are aware of in a situation through all their senses.” (Goodey, 1971: 2-3: Theodorson & Theodorson, 1970: 295) This statement is valued in terms of how reliable it is, not just as evidence but of a generalisation of the actual progression of defining whom a person is. The process of observing what you are looking at is one that can be interpreted in different ways, as each person will choose to see differently. From looking into the means behind someone’s identity and then seeing how people and environments combine, from piecing all the information together that I have gathered, it has shown me, how effortlessly the two combine with one another. Due to the masses of information gathered it also proves to be a valued conclusion.
From historical sources he also argues in favor of Goffmans (1963) studies just like Howard, into middle class etiquette as a source of evidence to back up his views about connections of people and environments. The results from this research have become very useful in sensing what was appropriate behaviour when in public and private places at that period of time. Taking into account that this evidence is many years old, it does prove to be reliable, as past situations have provided clues to how present-day definitions have evolved over a period of time. This research over a space of time is one that Howard herself felt was an important indication into behavioral patterns. A variety of documentation collated over time for different uses e.g. projects can also be used to study behavioral patterns of activity and change.
“Visual records can show how uses of a building, street, or plaza evolve slowly over centuries” (Gunter et al. 1978)
These two different writers have given a great insight into a person’s identity and how one can change based on the environments they are placed in. When people are in difficult situations or are presented with something that is unfamiliar to them studies have shown that their behaviour changes, resulting in a changed identity. For the topic to be one that has a vast amount of data its surprising that people such as Howard, Ziesel, and Goffman seem to agree with the majority that has been said. They agree with the ways that an environment can or will have an effect on people despite each having their own individual personalities, or being subject to different stimuli.
Whilst documented research is valid and useful there are different forms of research that Zeisel has also accumulated. As well as written reports used “running records” are another reliable source to find out about changing patterns both in people’s behaviour and the environment. The use of vocal transcripts can indicate the change that does exist between the interactions of people. There are some files for example that are a lot more accessible to the public and therefore still have to be researched enough before they can be used as a format of evidence. Zeisel uses published documents as a form of data to produce results of research criteria about older people.
From researching this topic into identity and environments I have concluded how important it is especially for me as an interior designer to take into account the whole process of a design and also respect the environment you are working within. The surrounding environment plays a huge role in determining peoples behaviour therefore you have to apply this research when designing for a particular client.
Bibliography
Anderson L, Snow DA, Cress D. 1994. Negotiating the public realm: stigma management and collective action among the homeless. Res. Commun. Soc. (Supp.) 1:121-43
Espin O. 1995. "Race," racism, and sexuality in the life narratives of immigrant women. Fem. Psychol. 5:222-38
Goffman E. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday
Goffman E. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Hunt S, Benford RD, Snow DA. 1994. Identity talk in the peace and justice movement. Contemp. Ethnogr. 22:488-517
Kendall L. 1998a. Meaning and identity in "cyberspace": the performance of gender, class, and race online. Symb. Interact. 21:129-53
Kendall L. 1998b. "Are you male or female?" Gender performances on MUDS. See O'Brien & Howard 1998, pp. 131-53
O'Brien J. 1999. Writing in the body: gender (re)production in online interaction. In Communities in Cyberspace, ed. MA Smith, P Kollock, pp. 76-104. New York: Routledge
Ruddick S. 1996. Constructing difference in public spaces: race, class, and gender as interlocking systems. Urban Geog. 17:132-51
Stryker 5. 1980. Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin--Cummings
