Identity Basics
This is the way a person understands who they are.
What is identity
Name one outside influence that can affect self-concept.
Possible Answers:
These are beliefs about what matters most to you and can guide your choices.
values
This term means the way you think about and understand yourself.
What is self-concept?
Your friends make fun of a hobby you genuinely enjoy.
Which concept from today's lesson is being challenged?
Authenticity / identity / peer influence.
Name three things that can make up someone's identity.
Possible Answers:
Someone repeatedly hears:
“You're lazy.”
Eventually they begin saying:
“I'm just a lazy person.”
This is an example of what?
Internalizing a message or label.
Name four examples of values.
Possible answers:
True or False:
Acting differently at school than you do around close friends automatically means you are fake.
False
Someone values independence, but their parents highly value safety and supervision.
What concept does this demonstrate?
A values conflict.
T/F: Your identity should stay basically the same throughout your entire life.
False
Which has the greatest influence on identity?
A. Family
B. Friends
C. Social media
D. Experiences
E. It depends on the person
E — It depends on the person.
Someone says family is their most important value but consistently refuses to make time for family.
What doesn't match?
Their behavior and stated value.
What is the difference between adapting and pretending?
Adapting means adjusting your behavior while still remaining connected to who you are.
Pretending involves hiding or changing important parts of yourself primarily for acceptance.
A teenager changes their clothing, interests, friend group, and opinions every time they start dating someone new.
What might be worth examining?
Whether they are compromising versus losing their individual identity.
Adolescence is an important time for identity development because teens begin doing more of this.
What is developing their own beliefs, values, interests, and sense of self?
True or False:
A positive label can still create pressure.
True
Your friend tells you a secret about something harmful they did and asks you not to tell anyone.
You value both loyalty and honesty/safety.
What is happening?
There is a values conflict.
Someone says:
“I'm just an angry person. That's how I've always been.”
What is one problem with this statement?
It turns a changeable behavior or pattern into a fixed identity.
A student has always been known as “the successful one.” After failing a class, they say:
“I'm nothing if I'm not good at school.”
Which concept does this show?
Overidentifying with one part of identity / self-worth being tied to achievement.
Someone says:
“I'm a student, daughter, artist, friend, athlete, and someone who values honesty.”
What does this example demonstrate about identity?
Identity is made up of multiple parts.
Someone acts tough and says they don't care whenever they're hurt.
Other people eventually describe them as “cold.”
What might be happening?
A protective behavior may be mistaken for personality.
If someone watched everything you did for one week but never asked you what mattered to you, how might they determine your values?
By looking at your choices, priorities, time, and behavior.
Someone behaves very differently when they feel safe compared with when they feel judged or threatened.
What does this tell us?
Environment can influence which parts of personality come forward.
You say honesty, loyalty, family, and independence are your strongest values—but a decision forces you to choose between them.
What should you do?
There may not be one automatic correct answer; values sometimes need to be prioritized depending on the situation.