Mod 52. Identity

M. 3.6

Developing an identity

• Main goal during adolescence is to develop a clear sense

of “self”

• Will try on various roles in different settings (home,

school, with friends, etc)

• Explore their own values
• While they are trying to define themselves, there is still a

need to “fit-in”.

– This can be difficult for teens who feel different from others

regarding parts of their identity

Parent and Peer Influence

Although teens become

independent of their parents as

they grow older, they

nevertheless relate to their

parents on a number of things.
Including religiosity and career

choices. Peer approval and
relationships are also very

important.

Erik Erikson and Psychosocial

Development

• Personality is profoundly

influenced by our experiences
with others (he was a
Neo-Freudian)

• Believed people face different

crises in their lives that they
must resolve in order to continue
healthy development (8 stages)

Erik Erikson studied in Austria under Anna

Freud. He fled to U.S. in 1933 from
Austria due to threat of Nazi power.

(1902 – 1994)

Multiple Choice

How many stages of psychosocial development did Erikson describe?

• 4

• 8

• 10

• 12

Erikson’s 8 Stages of Psychosocial

Development

Infancy - Trust vs. Mistrust

If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic

trust.
Toddlerhood (1-3)- Autonomy vs. shame and doubt

Toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for

themselves or they doubt their abilities

4

Multiple Choice

Mary and Fred have one child and want to adopt a second. Mary was excited at the possibility of adopting an older child, perhaps a 3 year-old, and skipping the infancy period entirely. In the 3 year-old's case, what stage would the would the child be in when they were adopted?

• Intimacy vs Isolation

• Trust vs Mistrust

• Role vs Role Identity

• Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt

Multiple Choice

The stage that occurs between birth and one year of age is concerned with:

• Trust vs. Mistrust

• Initiative vs. Guilt

• Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

• Identity vs. Role Confusion

Stages 3-4

Preschool (3-6) - Initiative vs. Guilt

Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or

they feel guilt about their efforts to be independent

Elementary (6-puberty) - Competence vs. Inferiority

Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks or

they feel inferior

Multiple Choice

Which is an example of the initiative vs. guilt stage?

• An infant chewing on a teething ring

• A middle-schooler completing a challenging math assignment

• A preschooler insisting on picking out her own clothes, no matter how mismatched they are

• A teenager trying out new fashions and hairstyles

Multiple Choice

According to Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development, the stage in which a child needs to learn important academic skills and compare favorably with peers in school to achieve competence is the ____ stage.

• Trust vs Mistrust

• Identity vs Role Confusion

• Initiative vs Guilt

• Industry/Competence vs Inferiority

Multiple Choice

If a child struggles to do well in school, what problem might emerge?

• Struggle with feelings of inferiority

• Develop a poor self-identity

• Experience a sense of guilt

• Begin to mistrust the people around him

Stages 5-6

Adolescence (teens to 20s) - Identity vs. role confusion

Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and

integrating them to form a single identity, or they become
confused about who they are.

Young Adult (20s-40s) Intimacy vs. isolation

Young adults struggle toform close relationships and gain

capacity for intimate love, or feel socially isolated

6

Multiple Choice

Annie's parents are doctors. Her grandparents are doctors. In fact, Annie's parents have told her that after her high school graduation, they are looking forward to her entering the same college and medical school they attended. Annie waits for just the right time to announce her plans to travel to Europe after high school to pursue her interest in drawing and painting, and to learn Italian.

• Trust vs. Mistrust

• Identity vs. Role Confusion

• Generativity vs. Stagnation

• Initiative vs. Guilt

Multiple Choice

The crisis that arises in young adulthood is concerned with:

• Trust vs Mistrust

• Industry vs. Inferiority

• Integrity vs. Despair

• Intimacy vs. Isolation

Stages 7-8

Middle adulthood (40s-60s) Generativity vs. Stagnation

Middle-aged people discover a sense of contributing to the

world, usually through family and work or feel a lack of purpose
Late Adulthood (60s+)Integrity vs. Despair

Reflect on their lives. Older adults may feel a sense of

satisfaction or failure.

Multiple Choice

A 38-year-old woman quits her high-paying marketing job to focus on her children and become a school counselor. What stage would Erikson consider this to be:

• Identity vs Role Confusion

• Integrity vs Despair

• Generativity vs Stagnation

• Industry vs Inferiority

Psychosocial Development

Multiple Choice

Which of the individual's below is in the identity versus confusion stage?

Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adulthood spans from 18-25 years.

During this time young adults live with their parents

and attend college or work.

They marry on average in their mid-twenties.

Ariel Skelley/

Corbis

Multiple Choice

What stage am I?

the child begins school and must tame imagination and impulses, and please others. If adults support the child's efforts, a sense of competence develops

• Trust vs. Mistrust

• Initiative vs. Guilt

• Industry vs Inferiority

• Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

Multiple Choice

Identify, which half of the psychosocial crisis has resulted.

Danny is sad because he feels his job is meaningless. He set out into his career hoping to become a well-known writer, but 20 years after college he is still working for the government rewriting training manuals that nobody reads. Right now Danny is experiencing what Erikson calls...

• Stagnation

• Isolation

• Role Confusion

• Inferiority

Multiple Choice

Identify, which half of the psychosocial crisis has resulted.

Rocco tries to engage his friends in a game of pretend but is prevented from doing this by his preschool teacher. He feels bad because he wants to be a good boy and realizes that he should not have done this while the teacher was talking. If this happens often, according to Erikson he may feel...

• Mistrust

• Guilt

• Shame/Doubt

• Inferiority

Multiple Choice

What term was made widely known by Erik Erikson?

• Trust issues

• Encouragement

• Identity crisis

• Initiative

Identified four “identity

statuses.”

These statuses occur anytime

during adolescence.

James Marcia’s Identity Development Status

Identity Diffusion

Moratorium

Foreclosure

Identity Achievement

No exploration

Exploration

No commitment

Commitment

Marcia’s Identity Dev. Status

James Marcia furthered work on Erikson’s theory by using interviews
and surveys of male college students. He differed from Erikson in that
he proposed identity statuses rather than stages. Statuses don’t
necessarily occur in a linear fashion, but can change in response to
environmental crises (1). Identity statuses may occur in many domains
such as school, relationships, and values.
____________

1)

Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity

status, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 3, pp. 551-558.

Multiple Select

What is the theory about? (Choose two options)

• Commitment

• Emotions

• Crisis

• Biology

Low commitment to a particular identity.

We may not think about a particular identity until we experience

a crisis or are otherwise compelled to adopt an identity.

Status 1: Identity Diffusion

Jason

Graduating in the following semester.

Has not thought about what he

wants to do after graduation and has

not explored college or

job prospects.

Identity Diffusion

According to Marcia's theory, the Identity Diffusion status may occur anytime between the ages of 12
to 18 and even beyond. An adolescent who experiences Identity Diffusion finds him or herself unable
to commit to a particular identity. During this stage, an adolescent may not think about a particular
identity until they experience a crisis or are otherwise compelled to adopt an identity (1). During this
identity status, there is low commitment to an identity as well as low exploration.
_______
1)

Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status, Journal of Personality and

Social Psychology 3, pp. 551-558.
Identity diffuse people do not know how they will end up, nor do they care. They are just living for
the moment and give little thought to the future.
If diffuse people do not mature by adulthood – bad news. They have little self-esteem and little
autonomy; they are usually disorganized, complicated, and somewhat unethical. They are withdrawn,
wary of peers, and unfavorably received by others.

Multiple Choice

Select the option that describes the "Diffusion" in the theory.

• It is when the crisis is low and the commitment is low too.

• It is when the crisis is high and the commitment is low.

• It happens when the crisis is low and the commitment is high.

• It is when the crisis is high, and the commitment is high too.

A commitment to an identity without a

crisis.

Status 2: Identity Foreclosure

Jennifer

Passionate about music.

Parents expect her to follow in their

footsteps.

Enters pre-med college program.

Abandons musical interests.

Identity Foreclosure

Another identity status identified by Marcia is Identity Foreclosure. Foreclosure
involves committing to an identity prematurely without exploration or choice. This
occurs when parents hand down their traditions and commitments and the
adolescent does not make a conscious choice (1). The negative consequences are
that the adolescent may later feel resentment about not being allowed to choose for
herself or himself. This stage involves being highly committed to an identity without
any exploration.

_______
1)Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 3, pp.
551-558.

2)Foreclosed people commit to an identity, but they commit to an identity that has been handed to them, usually by some
authority. This is natural at a young age, but often in young adulthood, children of wealthy parents accept the predetermined
identities that their parents give them.

3)Foreclosed adults are characterized by a disapproval of showing strong emotion, support for authoritarian views, a need for
social approval, poor results in stressful situations, stereotypical relationships, great behavior, and happy family life.

Multiple Choice

Select the option that describes the "Foreclosure" in the theory.

• It is when the crisis is low and the commitment is low too.

• It is when the crisis is high and the commitment is low.

• It happens when the crisis is low and the commitment is high.

• It is when the crisis is high, and the commitment is high too.

In the midst of a crisis, searching for an identity to adopt.
Can create conflict between adolescents and their authority figures.

Status 3: Identity Moratorium

Samantha

Raised Catholic

Reading about other religions

Attended a Buddhist temple and has also attended a

synagogue.

Unsure which religion, if any, she

wants to follow.

Identity Moratorium

Marcia describes identity moratorium as a stage of active exploration and a low
commitment to a particular identity (1).This is an interesting, exciting, and potentially
dangerous stage for an adolescent since they are able to try many things as they seek to
discover their identities. This stage occurs at any point during early to late adolescence
and is one of the most typical identity statuses for adolescents. During this particular
status, adolescents may come into conflict with parents and other authority figures as
they explore their identity. Adolescents need to be free to safely explore their identities
but also need guidance and support to proceed safely through this status.

_______
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 3, pp.
551-558.

People in the moratorium status are exploring their identities, but they have not yet committed to any certain ideology yet. They
are experimenting and searching for a set of ideas and beliefs to call their own.

Moratoriums are characterized by anxiety, high self-esteem, internally oriented behavior, cultural sophistication, a need for both
rebellion and acceptance, short deep relationships, and favorable reception from others.

Multiple Choice

Select the option that describes "Moratorium" in the theory.

• It is when the crisis is low and the commitment is low too.

• It is when the crisis is high and the commitment is low.

• It happens when the crisis is low and the commitment is high.

• It is when the crisis is high, and the commitment is high too.

Identity is said to be achieved when the adolescent has

undergone a crisis

(exploration) and now made a

commitment to a particular identity.

Status 4: Identity Achievement

Richard

Reads about vegan diets

Consults nutritionist

Become vegan; has been a vegan for three years

and is secure in his identity.

Identity Achievement

Marcia conceptualized the achieved status as the completion of the moratorium status.
This means that the individual has explored aspects of a particular identity before
adopting it. During the achieved status, the individual has a high degree of commitment
and an equally high degree of exploration with regard to that identity.

_______
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status, Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 3, pp. 551-558.
People who are identity achieved have explored their options and have committed to a
certain ideology that fits them. They have taken on a set of values and beliefs that are all
their own. “They know not only who they are, they know how they became that, and that
they had a hand in the becoming.” - James Marcia
These people are independent, smart, and confident. They are generally well-received
by others, and they have high self-esteem, even in unfamiliar situations.

Multiple Choice

Select the option that describes the "Achievement" in the theory.

• It is when the crisis is low and the commitment is low too.

• It is when the crisis is high and the commitment is low.

• It happens when the crisis is low and the commitment is high.

• It is when the crisis is high, and the commitment is high too.

Multiple Select

Choose the two options that describes the "Diffusion" in the theory.

• Low crisis.

• High crisis.

• Low commitment.

• High commitment.

Multiple Select

Choose the two options that describe the "Moratorium" in the theory.

• Low crisis.

• High crisis.

• Low commitment.

• High commitment.

Multiple Select

Choose the two options that describe the "Foreclosure" in the theory.

• Low crisis.

• High crisis.

• Low commitment.

• High commitment.

A positive self-identity is connected to positive

self-esteem!

Having a social identity that is devalued will

affect overall self-esteem

Reinforcing positive social identity

development is very important.

Identity and Self-Esteem

Many psychologists have found that identity and self-esteem are
highly correlated (1, 2). Having a positive self-identity enhances
self-esteem, which is particularly important during adolescence.
Adults can help adolescents by fostering a sense of positive
self-identity as they explore the meaning of their various
identities. Adolescents need the freedom to explore their
identities but at the same time require guidance to achieve their
identities without encountering dangers.