Hanna Hermanson

Victoria DeFransisco
Interpersonal Communication
22 January 2016
Identity Management Self-Analysis
1. As defined in the book, identity is the person we think we are and communicate to others, (pg.
26). So, what is my identity? Through my personal frame, I see myself as a peacemaker who is
constantly attempting to seek the love, share the love, and be the love for others. This is the image
that I construct within myself. Although there are many other aspects to my identity, this is the
one in which I strive to strengthen, no matter what societal aspects are placed on my identity. I do
not try to see through my personal frame the groups in which society places me in, because I hope
that others see me as being more of a person than just one that fits certain descriptions. Through
an enactment of communication frame, I would hope that my communication with others
develops an identity that closely fits the one of my personal frame. I try to bring positive energy
with my everywhere I go, and always try to communicate well with others by use of eye contact,
smiling, and other positive attributes of communication. Through a relationship frame, I am seen
as a daughter, sister, cousin, niece, aunt, friend, co-worker, and classmate, possibly even more.
Each of these relationship frames, however, are seen from a different perspective and I act
differently (most of the time subconsciously) in the presence of different relationships. Finally,
my identity seen through a communal frame would be that I am a twenty-year-old female college
student that is a bartender and a dancer. These, in my opinion, would be the groups that society
places me in. I say in my opinion because I cannot talk for the perceptions of others. With
every aspect of my life playing a role in my identity, big or small, my identity is idiosyncratic.
2. Formulating my identity are many different facets, some being more important or having a
stronger influence on my identity than others. Most obviously, I identify myself with being a

woman. Although I would not consider myself a girly-girl, I do present myself in feminine
ways. For example, I put makeup on and do my hair each morning, almost always finding a cute
and coordinated outfit to match. Even when I do have a comfy day, I wear leggings - pants that
are only socially acceptable for women to wear. I pride myself in being presentable because my
mother and aunts always taught me, look good, feel good. This being the main reason that I like
to do these womanly things, society and my need to be socially accepted have to play a small part
in it, too. Another aspect that I feel is central to my identity would be my family. Although it
seems cliche, my family is an important group that I belong to. Even though every relationship
that I have with each family member would technically be involuntary, I have blended
relationships with all of them (my cousins also being my friends, my aunts and uncles also being
my friends, etc.) I would consider them voluntary relationships as well. Growing up, the majority
of my time was spent with family. Although this time has lessened over the past few years with
my being away at college, I still maintain the strong relationships I have with all of them. My
family is a huge part of who I identify myself as. Along with that, my heritage is something else
that I strongly identify with. I have Italian roots on my mothers side and Norwegian roots on my
fathers side. Both sides of my family strongly pride ourselves from where we are from or our
attributes because of it. For example, every family gathering on my moms side is extremely loud
because we talk over each other and overwhelming with food that everyone brings, because we
are Italian and those are a few characteristics of Italians. On my dads side I have always been
taught to pride myself in the fact that we are Vikings, strong and courageous. Most of my family
members on that side have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a really big head. These are also attributes
that we recognize and relate to our heritage. Finally, a central characteristic to my identity would
be that I am a dancer. Ever since I was a mere three years of age, I have been engaged in the art of
dancing. Being a dancer is one way I could categorize myself into a social group or membership,
receiving the need fulfillment of a close relationship with the girls that I dance with. However,
being a dancer is something that has a deeper meaning to my idiosyncrasy. It is a way I express

myself, a way to cope, a form of artwork in which I am the artist. More often than not, I dance by
myself, not letting the distractions of team performance goals or deadlines get in the way of the
therapeutics of it. Although being on teams or in a dance company are not options that will
always be available to me, I will always identify myself as a dancer. It is a sport, yes, but it is also
a way of life; my life.
3. After consecutively observing the ways I manage my identity, I realized one way I do so is
through attractiveness deception. Although it is not something I pride myself in or try to think
about too much, I have a lot of followers on instagram and usually get hundreds of likes on a
given photo. When I post a photo of myself, I generally, although not all the time, post ones that I
am looking my best in. Because I know a lot of people see these photos, I get the feeling that I am
being judged or looked down on when I go somewhere not looking my best and am surrounded
by my peers, or people that I know have seen my photo. One way I manage this aspect of my
identity is to put makeup on, do my hair, and pick out an outfit for the day that makes me feel like
I am looking good. Another way I manage my identity is through the fifth principle; identity
influences our evaluations of self. When I wake up in the morning, if I decide to get ready and
look presentable, I tend to get the feeling that I have dressed for success and will be more
productive and positive that day. On the contrary, if I roll out of bed and throw my hair in a bun,
rock the no makeup and slip on a pair of leggings, I am less likely to hold myself accountable or
place high expectations on myself for that day. The same principle applies when I am physically
active on a daily basis or not. When I have better physical health, my mental and emotional health
are better as well. I feel better about myself all around and allow myself to have higher
expectations for myself, meeting those expectations with the utmost confidence.
4. Overall, this was a very positive learning experience for me. Even though I was considerably
aware of the ways in which I manage my identity, I furthered my knowledge about why I might
do these things and how they affect my self-esteem, communication, and identity as a whole. One

of the most interesting things I took out of this is that although one stays true to certain parts of
their identity, one can work on and change certain aspects of their identity as well. There is
always room for improvement in anything that you do. I would definitely like to improve my
identity in multiple ways, starting with bettering my communication. While I believe I am a good
communicator, I have been able to discover ways in which I can better my communication so
much more. I look forward to learning more about communication, management and identity
itself.