Michael Mason Communication 2520 Tuesday Class 10/4/15 Societal Influences on Communication and Perception

Michael Mason (18661886)
Societal Influences on Communication and Perception

Michael Mason (18661886)
2015
2015

What is identity? It’s what makes us who we are, whether we are black, white, Hispanic, Jewish, and gay. “When you enrolled in college, you were most likely required to provide a piece of identification, such as a birth certificate, passport, or driver’s license. Identity is tied closely to identification; it refers to who you are and the specific characteristics that make you different from other individuals. In communication studies, identity includes not only who you are but also the social categories you identify yourself with and the categories that others identify with you.” Alberts (2013). The three identities developments through communication are reflected appraisal, social comparisons, and self-fulfilling prophecies.

Reflected appraisal is a primary influence on identity development. It’s the self-image on how others view them. It’s also known as the “looking-glass self” Alberts (2013), it’s the self-image that others reflect back to you. When we are born our identity starts, we don’t have a sense of self yet, our parents talk to us and we learned to respond and figure out who we are. Parents that have a nice happy baby will be closer the baby, whereas the baby cries a lot they will feel frustrated and not be drawn to their baby. The reflected appraisal happens with your friends, family, teachers, people you know and also strangers.

Social comparison is how we act in groups of other people. How we measure ourselves in a group in our group identity. For example your mom tell you to never use swear