Social processes are those in which we interact with people and all the ways in which we interact with our environment, while introspective processes are those in which we use the cognitive thinking to evaluate ourselves. Identity formation is the development of a person's distinct personality considered as his or her continuing or known personality, achieved at a particular stage of life, when these individual characteristics are achieved, a person is believed to be known or formed his full identity. Distinct aspects of person identity include a sense of continuity, a sense of uniqueness from others, and a sense of affiliation. Identity formation concerns both the creation of a person's personal identity and the identity they hold as a member of certain groups such as friends, family, and coworkers. Identity is generally considered finite and made up of separate and distinct parts (family, cultural, personal, professional, etc.), although according to Parker J. Palmer, it is an ever-evolving part of our being in which our genetics, our culture, family, friends, those who have harmed us and vice versa, our actions, our experiences and our choices made come together to form who we are at any given moment. The two main theories that deal with identity and its formation are Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Development Theory and James Marcia's Identity Status Theory. Erikson believes that throughout a person's life, they go through different crises/conflicts. His theory is that there are eight main stages in a person's life during which they form their identity. He states that when conflict arises, it must be handled properly because if it is not overcome, a person will fail to move on to the next step. The scene considers...... middle of paper ...... a person identifies, that is, whether a person perceives themselves as male, female, or describes themselves in a less conventional way , but can also be used to refer to the gender that other people assign to the individual based on what they know about gender role indications (social behavior, clothing, hairstyle, etc.). Gender identity can be affected by various social structures, including a person's ethnic group, employment status, religion or irreligion, and family. So this shows that although we all have our own personal opinions about ourselves, based on our religion, gender, job, etc., all have been greatly influenced by society, whether from the perspective of many of these traits being predetermined or based on the fact that we feel the need to conform in order to fit into society, thus basing our identity on social norms..