Identity Formation through Communication
Kayla Preston
September 18, 2016
COMM 300 6980 - Communication Theory Daily involvement with people through communication is a part of everyone’s day to day engagement. Communication can be broken down into three basic types: verbal communication, written communication, and nonverbal communication. A person’s social and cultural activities can explain their identity and lifestyle. Social class, ethnic identity, or someone’s political affiliation can be determined by engaging in a simple conversation. One’s identity changes through the progression in life, but communication is the prime mechanism for establishing your identity and fulfilling your personal …show more content…
We all tend to present ourselves differently depending on the environment or context. A person’s civic engagement entitles how they are working to make a difference in their communities by improving the quality of life of community members. We all have a civic duty to raise awareness about social, cultural, or political issues. As stated in the textbook: “The civic part of our lives is developed through engagement with the decision making that goes on in our society at the small group, local, state, regional, national, or international level.” (2014) Civic involvement is giving back to the community for the greater good. Cleaning up a park, providing school supplies for a local school, or just deciding to serve your country is a civic duty. Positive involvement to the community can promote confident intercultural and interpersonal …show more content…
Relationships are always constantly evolving. People engage in conversations with one another and develop shared meanings. Relationship involvement is how communication functions to move relationships along different courses. There are three relational dialectics: “integration-separation (desire to be close and separate), stability-change (desire for predictability and spontaneity), and expression-privacy (the desire to be open and private).” (McDermott, 2009) This theory outlines people in relationships that often want two different things at the same time. The concept of you have to give to get is described in social exchange theory. “Relationships are commodities and attributes movement in relationships to people's desire to maximize their rewards while minimizing their costs.” (McDermott, 2009)
Social and cultural activities formulate a person’s identity and involvement in society. The ethnic identity, social class, lifestyle, and success is established through understanding one’s own personal identity. Co-curricular, family, and work experiences play a vital role in the way you