Remember to respond to two peers while being respectful of and sensitive to their viewpoints. Consider advancing the discussion in the following ways:

· Post an article, video, or visual to reinforce a peer’s idea or challenge them to see their point from a different perspective.

· Engage in conversation with your peers around the concept of identity and social change agency. Consider asking a question or sharing your personal experience.

All sources and ideas requiring attribution must be cited according to APA style.

To complete this assignment, review the Psychology Undergraduate Discussion Rubric . You will also need:

· Programmatic Themes PDF

· Norms of Practice for Online Discussion PDF

· Ethical Usage Practices PDF

PEER1-CA

Hi all, my name is Cheyenne. I am 26 years old and reside in Western Washington state. I am pursing my bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in mental health and am set to graduate come October! ??

Best of luck to everyone as we pursue our academic endeavors!

In your own words, define identity and describe its relevance to social change agency.

Identity is the manifestation and perpetuation of self-fulfilled/motivated descriptors and narratives attached to our persona. Identity are the characteristics, traits, experiences, morals, values, and social/emotional dynamics that cling to us throughout our lives. Identity defines us in every from we exist as and every phase of our existence. Identity coincides with social change through representation. Social change is driven through revolutionary change against flaws in our social system and social society. Representation is synonymous with diversity, equity, and inclusion. Social change is advocated for and fostered immensely when there is a lack of rights, standards, morals, and support. For our identities to feel safe, understood, and unthreatened social structure rooted in respect must exist.

In what ways have personal and social factors influenced the development of your identity?

My identity has morphed and taken shape over the years of development that I have experienced socially, emotionally, and mentally. The experiences we encounter, endure, enjoy, and learn through are the roots that elaborate our identity. Our social circle is an exterior motive that alter our identity. I consider how our identities shift as we exist in different spaces, and with different people. Or are our identities exact and we possess branches that manifest differently throughout our social circles, jobs, communities, etc. The personal factors that mold my identity have transpired through friendships, exploring new hobbies, adventuring into the unknown, arriving at new decisions, facing challenges, overcoming adversity, obtaining new employment, studying through a college course, trying new experiences, and venturing through constant life changes.

Describe which aspects of your identity would prove most beneficial to you in managing change and why.

(I’m not confident in what type of change we are encouraged to discuss. So, I am speaking on the life altering changes and adjustments we all experience throughout our lives…)

When considering how my identity can assist and be beneficial to my ability to manage change, I think of my standards of living in correlation with mental health and wellness. I think of my personality and how I appreciate attributes that improve my response to outside stimuli such as, change. For instance, I have always been the type of person to utter, “I hate change.” I value always knowing what is going to happen. I thrive when I know what is going to occur and how to manage with what is anticipated. However, change is inevitable. And change can be and is good! Therefore, now amid change my standards of living- being that I always consider my mental health and put fourth effort to ensure that I always put my emotional wellness as a priority. Now, I embrace change in steps and strive to find outlets to manage the fear/stress that occurs when experiencing alterations in our daily norms. In addition, I strive to view situations, conversations, and the unfolding of the world around me through different lenses and paradigms. Being proactive in straying from fallacies and cognitive distortions such as black and white thinking is an opportunity to replace looming concerns, fears, and negative frames with productive forethoughts.

Reflect on your BA Psychology program experience and describe one way that you would apply your knowledge of psychology to manage the effects of social change.

What I have recognized abundantly throughout my studies is that mental health is an ongoing crisis in our communities, in our jobs, in our homes, and amongst ourselves. There needs to be more advocacy, attention, de-stigmatization, and social change to eradicate the biases that exist over mental health. A majority of our population is suffering and enduring a mental health disorder. However, due to the inability to visually see the illness, (unlike a broken leg) there is a lack of empathy, resources, and awareness on mental health. Therefore, I feel that social change should be initiated in our communities to aide and support our vulnerable populations.

Describe how identity and social change agency connect to one of the following programmatic themes:

Social Justice

Our identities are our key and critical components that fabricate our existence and approach to social sciences. Therefore, in relevance to social justice, identity and social change are crucial social aspects that are our resources for cultural, political, economic, and social preservation. Social justice is an applied tactic to ensure that all forms of identity are recognized.

PEER2-DG

In your own words, define identity and describe its relevance to social change agency.

In my own words identity is who we are regarding our entire being. It is what makes our personality, what we believe in, the values we have for ourselves and others. “Social change is a significant, lasting alteration in a society’s culture, values, norms or behavior, especially as it relates to the goal of making the world a more equitable, stable place (Shaw, 2020, par.1).” Our identity can be portrayed to be many different things, but it comes down to the basics of what makes us who we are.

In what ways have personal and social factors influenced the development of your identity?

Personal and social factions have influenced the development of my identity in many ways. Depending on the people who raised you could impact your identity, also what may be your culture and its beliefs. People who associate with, call your family and friends, and the people who make up your social group can impact who you are. The things that we enjoy, the activities that bring us happiness, and lastly the things we enjoy as far as self-care, relaxation, and daily interest impact us and who we become. Social factors that are influenced by the development of your identity could be the apps and the social media outlets we choose to interact and use daily. Also, the environment and social upbringing we have had growing up can impact our identity as well.

Describe which aspects of your identity would prove most beneficial to you in managing change and why.

There are many distinct aspects of my idenitity that would help prove that it is most beneficial to managing change within life, myself, and things around me. My ethnicity and my race would be the most distinct. Often my race is the first part of my identity that people see. “Examples of social identities are race/ethnicity, gender, social class/socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, (dis)abilities, and religion/religious beliefs (Northwestern,2022, par.1). I am biracial (Trinidad and Tobago and Italian) and based off the color of my skin I was treated with disrespect and as treated differently. Due to my race being automatically attached to my identity I enjoy being able to take on the challenges and the tribulations I have had to face and present it in a perspective that not only educates others but helps advocate for others who may face or go through challenges based off their race like me. It is something that if you experience a racial or racism interaction it forever changes you, I have had adapt to change and things around me since I can remember being a child. Racism is still very much alive and present in the world today, but forever trying to allow the things that changed me, to be a way to use my voice for my children and their generation.

Reflect on your BA Psychology program experience and describe one way that you would apply your knowledge of psychology to manage the effects of social change.

My psychology program experience has been full of adventures and many opportunities to further my knowledge and education is psychology. “Social change can be defined as the way in which human interactions, relationships, behavior patterns, and cultural norms change over time. These changes ultimately transform cultural and social institutions, concepts, and rules, which will inevitably impact society for the long-haul (U.O. People, 2022, par.1).” I would apply my knowledge of psychology to manage the effects of social change by viewing cultures, peoples’ beliefs and values in different perspectives. Social change allows us to be able to gain a better understanding of how we humans are forever changing and how important our social wellbeing and social interactions are to us.

Describe how identity and social change agencies connect to one of the following programmatic themes:

Identity and Social change agencies connect to the following programmatic themes of ethics. “These are among the many issues relevant to an investigation into the relation between personal identity and ethics. “Ethics” here is broadly construed to be about the way(s) in which we ought to live our lives, and so it includes both self-regarding and other-regarding practical concerns. Among the self-regarding concerns for which personal identity seems relevant are those about the nature and grounds of survival and immortality, rational anticipation, advance directives, and general prudential concern (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2019, par.2).” Identity and Social change agencies relate to ethics based off the way we choose to live our lives. Our beliefs, values, and things that make up our personalities play a role in ethics.

Resources Cited:

Personal Identity and Ethics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Plato.stanford.edu. (2022). Retrieved 29 June 2022, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-ethics/ .

Shaw, K. (2022). Understanding the Elements of Social Change – MissionBox. MissionBox. Retrieved 29 June 2022, from https://www.missionbox.com/article/390/understanding-the-elements-of-social-change .

Social Identities: Searle Center for Advancing Learning & Teaching. Northwestern.edu. (2022). Retrieved 29 June 2022, from https://www.northwestern.edu/searle/initiatives/diversity-equity-inclusion/social-identities.html#:~:text=Examples%20of%20social%20identities%20are,%2C%20and%20religion%2Freligious%20beliefs .

What Is Social Change And Why Take It Seriously?. University of the People. (2022). Retrieved 29 June 2022, from https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/what-is-social-change/