Identity (social science)

Identity in psychological terms relates to self-image, self-esteem and individuation. An important part of identity in psychology is gender identity, as this dictates to some degree how a person views themself as a person in relation to other people.

The concept that an individual has a unique identity developed relatively late in history. Factors influencing the emphasis on such psychological identity include:


 * Protestant stress on one's responsibility for one's own soul
 * Psychology itself, emerging as a distinct field of knowledge and speculation
 * The growth of a sense of privacy
 * Specialisation of function in early modern times, as opposed to the undifferentiated masses of socially immobile underlings in the feudal pyramid
 * How Occupation and Employment can affect Identity
 * Gender identity; see also gender identity disorder, transgender