Each person in this world is unique and unrepeatable because they were raised by different people with different views on certain things. It can be as simple moral foundations as more profound philosophical questions about life and death. Unfortunately, it is impossible to precisely say whose views on life are correct and follow them. On the contrary, every point of view has a right to life. In this regard, a new theory of personality has been developed based on the relationship between the essential components, namely race, socioeconomic class, and gender. According to the creator of this theory, these components form a person as an individual with his worldview and actions depending on the factors mentioned above (Carley, 2018). This theory is called the Intragroup Discrimination Theory.
As mentioned earlier, this theory does not focus on the previously accepted causes of personality formation, such as upbringing or peer influence, but tries to delve into man’s origins and biological factors, i.e., those given to him by nature. Man cannot influence what has been shown to him by nature, such as race or gender, so this theory delves into the issue, rather than looking at it superficially, unlike others like it. It is necessary to consider that although a person receives knowledge during his adaptation to the world and in the process of upbringing, that is, during interaction with other people, it is impossible to deny that some prejudices towards a child are allowed from their very birth (Crowne, 2017). These are skin color and gender identity. It is not necessary to recall history in order to think of examples from the past or even from one’s own life when a child was judged based on his physiology, and the first judgments were already made when they were born.
When it comes to the earlier developmental level of the child and the factors already mentioned, such as race or socioeconomic status, it should be understood that the former appears immediately at birth and gender. In contrast, the rate is obtained by older individuals, which will be discussed a little later. Unfortunately, it is commonly believed that the problem of racism has been eradicated, but this is far from being the case because children of other races are subjected, though not to the same persecution as before. They are treated with disdain and somewhat sceptically in the future, even despite the merits obtained.
Speaking of gender, the situation does not look much better. From an early age, boys and girls are taught differently and prepared for different developmental scenarios. Stereotypes cloud the minds of parents, and they do not understand that it is not necessary to divide everything into black and white because there are not only professions created for men or women. As you can see, nowadays, the topic of gender reassignment has gained a lot of popularity since teenagers do not feel who they are (Dick, 2019). This is the cause of the imposition of thoughts from childhood, which are then too difficult to fix.
Speaking of socioeconomic status, as mentioned earlier, the child cannot yet have it because he is too young. However, this does not mean that the status of his parents cannot judge him. There is a vast number of stereotypes about both wealthy families and poor ones (Cervone & Pervin, 2019). Of course, stereotypes are not born out of anything. Still, one cannot simply judge everything from life experience alone because various situations show the true essence of a person regardless of his status.
Comparing the earlier period of human life and the mature stage, one can notice a particular contrast and a small number of differences. Just as in childhood, a person is judged by the color of their skin. Compared to early adulthood, the racist problems of adults are significant. There are still problems with hiring a black person, getting certain services, and even walking down the street. This causes tremendous discomfort and makes it impossible to have an everyday existence. The prerequisites for this may not even be there. The main problem is just the color of the skin.
The same deals with the interpretation of social status. Whatever the case, one depends on the other because it is much harder for an African-American minority to achieve recognition at and high level than in other nations. As has been said many times, this is due to prejudice, which people do not fight and that prevents many other minorities from living with equal rights with others.
Regarding gender identity, it plays less of a role in shaping one’s identity at an older age because one is already fully formed and does not care as much what gender they are. Even though the person themselves understands their gender and does not care, this can still be a dispute among other people since the already mentioned stereotyping of professions by gender is accustomed from an early age (Dick, 2019). That is why it is more difficult for women to find a job in IT, and for men, for example, cooks. However, it should be noted that nowadays, such prejudices are abandoned, and these problems arise less and less every year.
In addition to all of the above, we should note such a component of gender as sexual orientation because it does not always depend on gender but on the psychological and moral desires of the person (Nitzan & Ueda, 2018). People who openly declare their orientation are treated differently, depending on their nationality, origin, age, and skin color. However, it should be kept in mind that this is stereotypical thinking, and another person’s choice should not influence how others will treat them. It should not be openly stated that this person is terrible just because of their preferences, not because of their character and actions.
Speaking specifically about minorities such as African Americans, it is worth noting that they are the most tolerant of such prejudices. This is not surprising because this minority knows no better than anyone else what it is like to be treated with contempt and not perceive how other people around you are treated. This is why African Americans are sensitive to their race and others. However, gender stereotypes are inherent in everyone without exception, so they are found in these individuals as well. When it comes to sexual orientation, opinions differ. In this case, a lot depends on the person themselves and their perception than on what the representative of sexual minorities looks like and what kind of character they have (Klopfer, 2017). Therefore, African Americans are more focused on themselves than on others, which rarely has an impact on prejudice toward other people.
If compare this theory with others, behaviorism comes to mind first as it affects the formation of personality, albeit in a completely different way. This theory says that the environment impacts the person and only it entirely affects the formation of a person as a personality (Wilde, 2018). Although this theory has lived for decades and proved that it had passed the test of time, it is impossible to agree with it entirely.
First of all, it looks at the already full-fledged man and how the environment hardens his character and makes him what he is. Intragroup Discrimination Theory works on a different principle. It is based on how a person is perceived immediately after birth and what traits may affect them in the future (Watson, 2017). These theories have in common that they are both designed for the perception of a person by others, but the one discussed in this paper does not claim that a person is born under the influence of others. Instead, it argues that it is not necessary to be the way one or another person is perceived by others and not to dwell on the perceptions of others. One must succeed despite everyone’s prejudices and personal opinions, creating oneself.
Speaking of another theory, namely, Freudism, it should be noted that it is not relevant in our time. Already proven that Freud’s views on the formation of personality do not fit the current realities and can not take his work as a basis for personality development (Jurjevich, 2018). Comparing it with the Intragroup Discrimination Theory, it is evident that they have no common features (Tar & Eros, 2017). Since Freud’s theory does not concretize issues of race or gender, at the time of writing his theory, such variables were not fully addressed.
This applies to most other personality formation theories as well since they do not consider the person’s qualities after birth. Such approaches focus more on the upbringing of a more mature person and how much influence society has as if denying the fact that there are personality traits and characteristics built-in at birth. Mainly that is why there are problems of discrimination nowadays, on racial or gender background. That is why this theory exists to prove that it is not only one’s environment or other people’s opinions that influence a person but their appearance and belonging to different ethnic groups.
Speaking of personal experience, must consider that although everyone’s experience is different and unique, I think that many people will recognize themselves from my words and this story. In this case, when this theory was not yet popular, it applies to all members of different ethnic and social minorities. In many ways, I am looked down upon by betrayers of the African-American population for several reasons that do not relate to my characteristics, but simply because of the stereotyping of me as a normal person.
This is primarily because of my political views, which most members of this ethnic group do not share because of my rather radical politics toward them. However, I do not have any attitude toward the actions of this party but support their course in general. Unfortunately, this is not an excuse for the rest of us, but on the contrary, it fosters a kind of hatred and inconsistency in my personality. In addition, the reason for discrimination is a higher education, which makes it seem as if I am above people who do not have such an opportunity. It is worth noting that everyone has the opportunity to get an education, just that fewer people take advantage of it than not only me, but others would like. In addition, the fact that I enjoy socializing with other white people speaks in favor of mistreating me as well. It doesn’t make me worse or better, but it does make me think of myself as a person sceptically and draw the wrong conclusions about my range of interests. Judging only by the information given above, it would seem that my views are completely against the African American minority, which is not the case.
To summarize the whole written work, despite the variety of explanations of why a person becomes the way they are, all have significant shortcomings. Some are more focused on the environment, others on just one attribute. For a proper analysis, it is necessary to consider all possible data and interpret them correctly. This will allow us to delve into the heart of the problem and determine why the person became the person we know them to be. This is not only sociometric studies but data that appears even at birth itself, how a person is perceived by others and whom they become in the future. In addition to this, the example given shows that one should judge a person not only from everyone’s side, but consider the opinions of others, their personality and character, rather than referring to stereotypes. It is the study of all causes, such as gender, race, and social status, that can form a complete picture of a person and who they are and what they have become.
References
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Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2019). Personality: Theory and research (14th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Crowne, D. P. (2017). Personality theory. Oxford University Press.
Dick, C. (2019). The perils of identity: Group rights and the politics of intragroup difference. Ubc Press.
Jurjevich, R. M. (2018). The hoax of Freudism: A study of brainwashing the American professionals and laymen. Dorrance.
Klopfer, P. H. (2017). Examining Behaviorism Behaviorism, Science, and Human Nature Barry Schwartz Hugh Lacey. BioScience, 33(6), 399–399.
Nitzan, S., & Ueda, K. (2018). Selective incentives and intragroup heterogeneity in collective contests. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 20(4), 477–498. Web.
Tar, Z., & Eros, F. (2017). Psychoanalysis, Freudism, Freudo-Marxism. Contemporary Sociology, 17(4), 556.
Watson, J. B. (2017). Behaviorism. Routledge.
Wilde, D. J. (2018). Jung’s personality theory quantified. Springer.