Erik Erickson Impact On Society

Every year I look back on the previous and I see how much I have changed. I see the friends I have gained and lost. The heartbreak and the happiness. Despite how rough times have gotten, it has truly made me stronger. Everything has shaped who I am today, it has shaped my identity. Identity is a complex topic because it consists of changeable and unchangeable traits and outside internal influences; my own identity has been shaped by going from private to public school, young life camp, and my current friends.

Identity has been defined in many ways. It is the concept used to describe an individual's sense of who he or she is (Dashefsky and Shapiro, 1976). Changes in identity occur throughout the life cycle, however, the changes in identity are usually most notable during adolescence. Integrating a positive sense of ethnic identity into one's overall personal identity is an important task of late adolescence (Steinberg, 1996).

This identity is constantly being personally refined and reshaped. By having the understanding of where they come from, trying new things and being told that they aren’t good enough, and admittedly sometimes making the wrong choices, people must create their identity from scratch. All of the pieces of literature mentioned each show a different way identity can be made by someone. This proves that it is impossible to be born with life already planned out and that there is a journey to finding a true identity. And with the words of Thomas Merton, “identity is much more than the name or features one is born with… Identity means having ideas and values one lives by.”

According to Steinberg (2016), individuals who have a healthy sense of identity are able to take responsibilities for their actions, and have a clear idea of who they are and who they would like to be. However, Steinberg

There are many things that shape our identities from society, and family to things we learn on our own like experiences. Many struggle to find their identity and struggle between two (or more) identities. Some are very secure with their identities whether it’s their own, a combination of society and theirs, or society’s alone. The question is which one plays a bigger role? I think when we’re young authority figures and society plays a bigger role in life, but as you grow older, and become a teenager (sometimes even adult) the roles switch and your own identiy is the biggest part in your life.

Identity is who you are as a person, but where does it come from? Are you born you or are there other factors. Many people may argue you are born with it, but others will argue there are factors and it has the stronger side. The factors that influence a person's behavior and identity in society are a person’s environment and life experiences brought upon through day to day life. First and foremost, environment is a major factor that influences a person’s character and identity.

According to Erikson, the development of the lifespan is a lifelong process from birth to death and includes the formation of identity (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010). I will cover in the paper six life events that influence my identity development from childhood to middle adulthood. Each life event will be explained based on the significance of the event as well as the impact the event had on my development. Also, theories will be discussed as they relate to my development.

Our identity can sometimes be shaped by the way others see us. As we have seen, the way in which others view us can have some sort of impact on how we see ourselves. There are also other contributing factors such as our years of adolescence, the basic human need of wanting to belong and maturing; all play an equally important part in the forming of our character and who we are. On balance it appears that there is not only one influence in the shaping of our identity, but there are many.

All throughout our lives, we wrestle with the question of who am I and what do I want in life? However, it is usually during the adolescent years that this issue really comes to a head and we begin a more earnest search into finding ourselves and deciding the direction we want to take with our lives. One of the theorists who studied this idea of identity formation was James Marcia. Marcia proposed that there were four different stages or statuses in the development of identity which he labeled Identity Diffusion, Identity Foreclosure, Identity Moratorium, and Identity Achievement. In this essay, we will briefly summarize his four different stages and then apply his theory to my own identity development during the adolescent years.

For Erikson (1950) adolescence is a period during which individuals seek to avoid dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion by establishing a sense of personal identity. Individuals have to find answers for two major questions “who am I?” and “what is my place in society?” Identity is a “conscious sense of individual uniqueness” and an “unconscious striving for a continuity of experience” (Erikson, 1968, p. 208).

The word “identity” is an unclear concept; it debates a social category or distinguishable features. Identity development is the process through which individuals go through in life. Identity development is examined in various stages. These stages happen around different ages. In Erikson’s psychological identity development theory. He explains the eight stages through which identity is present during adolescent and early adulthood. His ideas were influenced by Freud’s theory. The eight stages of Identity development is more significant during childhood and adolescent to during an adult.

One’s identity is who or what a person is and how they are perceived by themselves and others. Your identity defines who you are and where you fit in. It is a self-representation of your interests, relationship, social activity and much more. Some believe our sense of identity and belonging is shaped by various factors, including our experiences, relationships, and our environments. Conversely, others believe that personality is shaped by nature, and that one is defined by their biological characteristics and hereditary traits passed down from previous generations. Nevertheless a combination of both nature and nurture shapes us throughout life. For a majority of the population their journey to find their identity and belonging can often

Identity is what evolves us, it is what makes us think the way we do, and act the way we act, in essence, a person’s identity is their everything. Identity separates us from everyone else, and while one may be very similar to another, there is no one who is exactly like you; someone who has experienced exactly what you have, feels the way you do about subjects, and reacts the same to the events and experiences you have had. This became prevalent to me as I read through many books, that everyone goes through the process of finding who they are. A prevalent theme throughout literature is the idea that over time one develops their identity through life over time, in contrast to being born with one identity and having the same

Erik Ericson psychosocial theory attempts to explain some of the natural changes that occur in each human being in relation between the social environment and self-understanding. In his eight stages, he describes, “the emergence of the self, the search for identity, the individual's relationships with others, and the role of culture throughout life” (Woolfolk, 2013, p. 87). In one of the eight stages, Ericson established the role that adolescence plays in a person’s life, identity versus role confusion. Identity refers to the organization of the individual's drives, abilities, beliefs, and history into a consistent image of self” (p. 90). According to Erickson in the adolescence, a person must confront the “central issue of constructing an identity that will provide a firm basis for adulthood… adolescence marks the first time that a conscious effort is made to answer the now pressing question: ‘Who am I?’” (p. 90)

Identity is first confronted in adolescence between the ages 12 – 19 years old, due to physical and hormonal changes in the body. An introduction to formal operations in cognitive development and societal expectation contributes to an individual’s identity to be explored and established (McAdams, 2009), this also leads to the discovery of one’s identity, however the (internal and external) forces that promote identity development, usually creates a sense of tension within/ for the individual. The basic task is, in Erikson’s terms, “fidelity or truthfulness and consistency to one’s core self or faith in one’s ideology”, in a nutshell: "Who am I and where am I going?" (Fleming, 2004: