"I'm only human", is a response everyone hears when someone makes a mistake. Does this mean that humans are hereditarily fallible? Or are we fallible because of society? In Mexico it is polite to greet someone by kissing them on the cheek, in the United States it is considered an invasion of personal space. Personal traits make up society, however there are characteristics common to all of our species. People's identity is formed through their moral behavior and conscience, making them human. For centuries human beings have functioned according to morality and conscience, but in today's society we have a social order. The government and those in power help form our opinions and are used to keep us in check. The fundamental aspect of human beings is morality and their relationship in society due to their interaction based on the efforts of conscience to maintain order. Many philosophers and psychologists, from Jean Piaget to William James, have theorized what makes a person who they are, their identity. Jean Piaget believed that identity is formed in the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage. This means that a child forms his identity until the age of seven (Schellenberg, 29 years old). However, identity is greatly influenced by society such as school, church, government and other institutions. Through our interactions with different situations our personality develops (Schellenberg 34). “In most situations there is a more diverse opportunity for the development of social identities, which reflects what the individual wants to propose to define himself and what others want to accept” (Schellenberg 35). Therefore, humans, just like animals, adapt to different situations based on who they are around. Individuals always change... middle of the paper... such as during the 19th century we were allowed to own slaves, or in the early 20th century men were allowed to beat their wives. The more individuals reach Kohlberg's post-conventional stage, the more we will advance as a society. Our identity and morals motivate our intelligence, aggression and attraction, all fueled by our conscience and the society around us. Our conscience is motivated by our morals. Kohlberg states that “the main experiential determinants of moral development appear to be the quantity and variety of social experience, the opportunity to assume a number of roles and to encounter other perspectives” (Schellenberg, 55). Therefore, society has a great influence on ourselves and through relationships on our morals. Works Cited Schellenberg, James A. Exploring Social Behavior: Investigations in Social Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1993. Print.