Personal Identity Development
Culture determines people’s beliefs, values, and self-interests. Personal culture refers to current affiliations with several civilizations. One may identify the why and how of many actions, beliefs, and values by looking at each source of cultural conditioning. People draw from various sources to create their personalities and characters. Culture is significant because it enables people to uphold their sense of individuality in society. While most cultures share similar interests, some could have very different customs from one another (Valsiner, 2019). Modern civilizations have been significantly impacted by technology. Therefore, this essay aims to examine personal culture, evaluate the individual cultural identity model, and assess the factors influencing culture’s artistic development and impact on human services and health.
Personal Culture
I am a mother, raised Christian, have a child on the spectrum, and work as a behavioral therapist. My own culture, among others, has undergone significant change due to the development of technology. Because of how drastically different cultures are, people from the same culture may not share others’ values, which can lead to social and ethical problems. Also, integration (combining into one whole) is a fundamental aspect of personality development. Essentially, individuals interact with their environment, thus identifying with the people in those environments (Gill, 1997).
For many people, having a sense of belonging to one’s cultural identity can play a significant role in their overall sense of well-being. I get to sit with individuals traveling this path in my profession as a behavioral therapist. It is not essential to be conscious of and embrace one’s cultural identity to be happy or content; instead, the critical question is whether doing so is something one intentionally chooses to do. There are many cultural aspects of culture that I embrace. These include marriage, family, values, religion, customs, language, technology, science, literature, and arts. However, I am uncomfortable with my culture’s dress code and some social norms, such as shaking hands when greeting people.
In most cases, dress code requirements for headwear when attending church violate my right to express my religion. On cultural diversity, at my workplace, I have learned that workplace attitudes toward individualism and teamwork might also be present. Moreover, regarding the dress code, youngsters embrace individual expression more than older people, who value uniformity and traditional career clothing and dress more casually at my workplace.
Personal Cultural Identity Model
The racial and cultural identity development (R/CID) model applies to my personal culture. Sue created a conceptual model to comprehend the stages of minority development and the difficulties that come with living in the supreme culture (Nelson et al., 2018). Social workers can benefit from the approach to strengthen their interactions with people from diverse cultures. The paradigm for developing racial and cultural identity has five phases: compliance in Stage 1, dissonance in Stage 2, immersion and resistance in Stage 3, introspection in Stage 4, and integrated understanding in Stage 5 (Nelson et al., 2018). The characteristics of one’s attitudes toward oneself, members of the same unit, members of another vulnerable minority, and members of a distinguished group define each of the model’s components. Because it is rooted in the belief that the sensations connected to a particular group’s membership exceed other emotions and experiences, the racial and cultural identity formation model can be helpful to me as a behavioral therapist.
Following the conformity phase, I am fair to my parents, churchmates, and clients. Besides, at this stage, I am unbiased towards everyone else in the community, even if we do not belong to the same group. In the dissonance phase, I am usually torn between having a group-appreciative attitude toward myself and having a team-depreciating mentality about other team members. Following the immersion and resistance stages, I appreciate groups and sometimes experience ethnocentrism when interacting with the same group. I struggled with my empathy feelings for individuals of a vulnerable minority. I was worried about the personal appreciation idea regarding my attitude.
On evaluating the R/CID) model, I do not think it is good because it is biased and discriminatory towards specific people and dominant groups. Therefore, I think it should be improved on the conformity stage, where people should learn to become neutral and positively appreciate the other different groups. The immersion and resistance phase should also be improved so that when confronting a superior group, a person should be self-aware and avoid group demeaning.
Cultural Development
Social transformation is a result of some historical factors. Natural disasters like floods, cyclones, famines, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and conflict cause great societal suffering. The civilization’s position, size, and membership alter significantly due to these circumstances. Old culture ended its existence, and novel civilization emerged because of this cultural transition (Jahoda, 2021). New cities, towns, industries, and factories result from economic considerations, and these unique social formations bring about social transformation. According to financial status, production methods might be agricultural, industrialized, urban, or rural, determining how far society will advance. Social classes, including entrepreneurs, industrialists, middle-income, and poor individuals, are products of industrialization (Hanna, P., Nataliya & Tamara, 2019).
Further, politics primarily drive social transformation. The federal and state governments adjusted the regulations and rules applied to people to alter the colonial state. The various political parties influence social change across the nation with their respective philosophies (Jahoda, 2021). Social change is brought about through laws that prevent child marriage, reduce child labor, improve education, and other violations against women. Social factors such as educationists alter society using their educational ideals. The primary and most effective tool for social transformation is education. Publications like books, periodicals, and newspapers, among other things, significantly impact people’s social lives (Hanna, P., Nataliya & Tamara, 2019). Thus, education is considered significant to transform the culture in all dimensions.
Impact of Health and Human Services
Health is a cultural concept because culture defines and determines how people perceive their surroundings and experiences. My artistic experiences and identity have helped me appreciate how medical professionals and patients interpret health and disease and what medical professionals and patients think about the origins of disease. For instance, some patients may not be aware of medical science and think of fate, demons, or the “evil eye. They might reject a diagnosis and perhaps feel powerless to alter the sequence of events. Instead, they are limited to accepting events as they happen. The cultural experiences will also help define why some illnesses or disorders are stigmatized (Safeer & Allen, 2019). For example, depression is a prevalent stigma in many cultures, and consulting a psychiatrist is seen as “mad.”
Moreover, through my cultural identity, I will learn what health promotion practices are used, advised, or covered. For example, becoming “strong” in certain cultures refers to having a reserve of stamina against starvation, and “powerful” women are viewed favorably and as being in good health. Furthermore, I will learn how people perceive and express pain and disease. Despite the excruciating suffering, stoicism is the custom in some societies (Safeer & Allen, 2019). People freely display mildly painful emotions in other cultures. Examining or treating pain to the same extent may not always be necessary. Self-cultural identity will enlighten me on how, where, and maybe when patients initially ask for assistance. For example, some cultures prefer to seek the advice of auxiliary health care professionals before visiting a doctor, delaying a visit to the physician till a situation becomes serious. Furthermore, I will learn about the interaction between patients and medical professionals (Safeer & Allen, 2019). For instance, in many cultures, avoiding eye contact is a gesture of respect; nonetheless, a caregiver may be concerned that the same behavior indicates that the patient has depression.
Conclusion
In conclusion, every aspect of our lives is impacted by culture. People interact, socialize, and cooperate with individuals from diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds. To achieve unity in these multicultural settings, we must understand that their beliefs and values may vary from our personal and widen our perspectives (Valsiner, 2019). Therefore, one should know how crucial culture is for interaction and shaping personality and community within a social group. How individuals interact with one another and themselves is defined by their culture, which may be considered a unifying force that permeates all aspects of people’s existence.
References
Gill, C. (1997). Four types of integration in disability identity development. Journal Of Vocational Rehabilitation, 9(1), 39-46. https://doi.org/10.3233/jvr-1997-9106
Hanna, P., Nataliya, L., & Tamara, B. (2019). The socio-cultural context of innovative development. Философия и космология, 23, 98-111.
Jahoda, G. (2021). Cultural influences on development. In The Social Child (pp. 85-109). Psychology Press.
Nelson, S. C., Syed, M., Tran, A. G., Hu, A. W., & Lee, R. M. (2018). Pathways to ethnic-racial identity development and psychological adjustment: The differential associations of cultural socialization by parents and peers. Developmental psychology, 54(11), 2166. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/dev0000597
Safeer, R., & Allen, J. (2019). Defining a culture of health in the workplace. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 61(11), 863-867. 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001684
Valsiner, J. (2019). Culture & psychology: 25 constructive years. Culture & Psychology, 25(4), 429-469.
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question 
I am a mother, raised Christian, have a child on the spectrum, and I work as a behavioral therapist.
For this paper, you will examine your identity development and what influences it. Understanding your personal identity development can help you know where your worldview comes from and how people with different backgrounds and experiences might have different worldviews.
Personal Identity Development
Before beginning work on this assignment,
Read the following in the textbook:
Chapter 4 (read-only pp. 82–85)
Chapter 9 (read-only pp. 205–213)
Consider downloading and using the Week 1: Personal Identity Development Download Week 1: Personal Identity Development template to complete your assignment.
Review at least one of the following articles or ebook chapters:
Racial and Ethnic Identity Development Models
The Cultural-Racial Identity Model: A Theoretical Framework for Studying Transracial Adoptees (Links to an external site.).
‘Race Isn’t What Defines Me’: Exploring Identity Choices in Transracial, Biracial, and Monoracial Families (Links to an external site.).
Classic and Contemporary Theories of Latino Identity Development (Links to an external site.).
Ethnic Identity Development of Internationally Adopted Children and Adolescents: Implications for Family Therapists (Links to an external site.).
The Validity of Cross’s Model of Black Racial Identity Development in the South African Context (Links to an external site.).
Native American Identity (Links to an external site.)
Asian American Identity Development: A Culture-Specific Model for South Asian Americans. (Links to an external site.)
The Biracial Identity Development Model: A Needed Addition (Links to an external site.).
Sexual Orientation & LGBTQ Identity Development Models
Analysis of LGBT Identity Development Models and Implications for Practice (Links to an external site.).
Identity Development Models: One Size Fits All? Heterosexual Identity Development and the Search for “Allies” in Higher Education (Links to an external site.).
Sexual and Gender Minority Identity Development: Recommendations for School Counselors (Links to an external site.).
Nonnormative and Multiple Dimensions Identity Development Models
Loosening Categorical Thinking: Extending the Terrain of Theory and Research on Demographic Identities in Organizations (Links to an external site.).
A Conceptual Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (Links to an external site.).
Gender Identity Development Models
From Passive Acceptance to Active Commitment: A Model of Feminist Identity Development for Women Download From Passive Acceptance to Active Commitment: A Model of Feminist Identity Development for Women.
“Putting My Man Face On”: A Grounded Theory of College Men’s Gender Identity Development (Links to an external site.)
White Male Identity Development: The Key Model Download White Male Identity Development: The Key Model.
Disability Identity Development Models
Initial Factor Exploration of Disability Identity (Links to an external site.).
Four Types of Integration in Disability Identity Development (Links to an external site.).
Religious and Spiritual Identity Development Models
Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity (Links to an external site.).
The Spiritual Self: Toward a Conceptualization of Spiritual Identity Development (Links to an external site.).
In your paper,
Define your culture.
Identify at least two to three different cultural groups with which you identify.
Identify several aspects of the culture you embrace and any elements of the cultural group you do not feel fit with you.
Discuss experiences you have had that relate to the concept of diversity.
Discuss how at least one cultural identity model applies to you.
Assess your identity development through this model.
Evaluate the model: What do you think is good? What do you think needs to be improved?
Discuss what has impacted your cultural development. Considerations should include at least three aspects: historical, family or social, economic, political, or laws or programs.
Examine how your cultural identity and experiences will impact your health or human services work.