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Sample Response to Real GRE Issue Questions
Issue # 9: "It is
primarily through identification through social groups that we define
ourselves."
As primarily social animals, human beings naturally seek out different
groups to which they feel they have a certain sense of belonging. But
there are two different aspects of this issue involved: identifying
oneself with a social group for its social implications and identifying
oneself with a social group for internal needs. A person can have two
different identities, one that involves an individual's self-perception
and the way that others see that particular individual. There is a natural
dichotomy between the two sides of one's personality that is usually
displayed between the different types of social groups with which an
individual may identify oneself.
Self-definition can either be honest or dishonest. A person may join a
social group because he or she thinks that the people that belong to this
type of group are the same as he or she, whether it is true or not. The
important detail to the individual is that he or she would like to be the
same as the people that belong to this particular social group. As one
example, consider a person who grew up poor and poorly educated, but
became wealthy through the luck of the lottery or an inheritance from an
unknown but wealthy relative. This individual then joins a wine-tasting
club and buys season tickets to the local Philharmonic Orchestra and opera
house. Although this individual knows nothing about wine, orchestras or
opera, he or she is seeking to identify him or herself as a culturally
literate person simply because the person is now wealthy. Through joining
these social groups, the individual is seeking to define him or herself as
socially elite, although the only difference now is that the person has
great wealth and in reality probably does not fit in with the other
members of the groups. In this case, one's self-definition by identifying
with social groups does not match up with how society still identifies the
individual.
On the other hand, there are individuals that very clearly demonstrate who
they are by their identification with certain social groups. At a very
basic level, younger people may join gangs based on a sense of
identification with certain gang members or gang ideas. By displaying
different identifying tattoos or certain colors, these people clearly
identify who they are and what they stand for by the particular to which
they belong. Certain religious groups also give a clear identity to their
members. Joining an Islamic fundamentalist group such as the Taliban or an
Orthodox Jewish organization indicates a certain identity that is common
to all of its members. Political organizations such as Greenpeace and the
National Organization for Women also make a certain statement about the
identity of an individual member. In all of these cases, an individual's
self-perception and how others view that individual are probably very
similar. These types of organizations speak to a person's very fundamental
values and joining one is probably that person's way of saying to the
world "this is who I am".
Joining other types of groups may or may not indicate a person's
self-identification. Being a Republican or a Democrat, for example, may
just be a matter of whichever party your parents belong to. Spending time
with a particular group of friends may only mean that you like only one of
the people in the group or you have nothing better to do, it may have
nothing to do with your self-identification. People that belong to these
groups do not necessarily belong to any one social group for
identification purposes; it may be only a matter of convenience.
It depends on the individual and the particular social group under
discussion as to whether we primarily identify ourselves through
association with social groups. Once the individual or the social group
has been identified, a determination must still be made as to whether the
individual has joined for self-identification purposes or to impress upon
others a certain image of that individual.
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