Question

How does our membership in various groups—families, schools, neighborhoods, nations—affect how others think about us? how does it affect how we think about ourselves? are those impressions ever accurate?

Answer 1

1. Other people would most likely use our memberships to our chosen social group as a way to judge us.
For example, it does not matter if you're a model student at school, if people spot you hanging out with bikers and covering your body with tattoo, they would automatically perceive you as a delinquent.

2. Even though we often do not want to admit it, how other people think of us would actually affect how we think about ourselves in some way.
If the majority of other people in our society do not acknowledge us or our identity, we will much more likely to consider ourselves as a failure.

3. Yes, more often that we imagine.
It even payed a major factors in the cause of depression or suicide rates.
For example, in China, they record the official suicide rates are 22%. And from studies, about 17% of them are done because they consider themselves as a failure in society.