The Eight Stages Of Erikson's Theory Of Identity And Identity

According to Erik Erikson, adolescence is marked by the child’s questioning his or her identity during what he refers to as the identity versus identity confusion developmental stage. During this phase, the adolescent becomes mindful of his or her identity and seeks his or her purpose in life, as well as the answer to the eternal question, “who

Adolescence is Erikson’s fifth stage of development wherein the person must master the conflict of identity versus role confusion. The question, who I am? Is a question that arises during this time? The child is concerned with

With respect to Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, the adolescence is the stage of identity versus role confusion. He also believes that identity as the significant personality achievement of adolescence is an essential step toward becoming a productive happy adult (Feldman, 2006). I remember so vividly my high school experience; especially

The personality theory that I have chosen to focus on will be Identity Theory. It was developed by Erik Erikson in the nineteen hundreds. Erik Erikson believed that every individual goes through a certain number of stages to reach his or her full development or potential (Erikson, 1994). He theorized that a human being goes through eight different stages ranging from birth to death (Erikson, 1994). Identity Theory focuses on eight psychosocial stages of development, and an epigenetic principle of maturation (Schultz, 2008). The stages of development are

It outlines the struggle an individual faces in finding stability between developing a sense of forming a unique identity while still being accepted and “fitting in” with society. Erikson believed that when teenagers adequately navigated their way through this crisis, they would transpire into having a clear understanding of their individual identity and easily share this new ‘self’ with others. However, if an individual is unable to navigate their way through this crisis period, they may be uncertain of who they are which can result in a lack of understanding, leading to disconnection from society and the people around them. If youth become stuck at this stage they will be unable to become emotionally mature adults, according to Erikson’s theory. This period of an individual’s life allows them to investigate possibilities which will lead them to discovering their own identity based upon the result of their explorations.

The next stage of Erikson’s psychosocial theory is stage five, “Identity versus Role Confusion.” This stage is according to Erikson, “Adolescence is a time when young people explore who they are and establish their identity. It is the transition period from childhood to adulthood when people examine the various roles they play and integrate these roles into a perception of self, an identity. Some people are unable to integrate their many roles and have difficulty coping with conflicting roles; they are said to suffer from role confusion. Such persons feel confused and uncertain about their identity.” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013, p. 315) During my own adolescent years I played various roles such as sister, daughter, student, Christian, African American, dancer,

Adolescent is a disconcerting time when there are many life changes emotionally, physically, socially and psychologically. There are unrealistic expectations which lead to disappointment and rejection. The maturity level of adolescents makes them feeling life is not fair and things will never change to benefit them. Erikson’s identity vs. role confusion is an example of how developing into owns identity can be challenging, especially when learning how to transition into adulthood. Adolescence is one of the most importance stages in life where the mind and body goes through varies changes. When changes cause impairment or interfere with activities of daily living it results in

Erik Erikson named the stage of adolescents “identity versus role confusion” (Sigelman, C. & Rider, E. pg. 343). This is a pivotal time in an individual’s life where many future endeavors; personal, academic, and professional, depend on the outcome of this stage. During this time, adolescents are trying to refine the many facets of their personality such as, political, sexual, religiousness, just to name a few. This is an arduous

During the adolescent years, the conflict of interest in Erikson’s psychosocial theory deals with identity and identity confusion (Ashford et al, 2013). These years are crucial in developing a youth’s self-esteem. Young people are highly self-conscious. Their perceptions of self

Erikson also noted that identity is not only developed by the individual but also, through interaction with, recognition and confirmation of friends and family. Showing how just like in particular Internet sites, children learn social competence through “cliques” and large crowds of people who impose various types of influences (Schöpflin). This concept relates back to two assumptions based on identity. “Identity” is currently used in two concurrent senses, one of which is “personal” and the other “social” (Schöpflin). In the first aspect of identity, an individual’s identity is some distinctive trait, or a fixed category, that that person views as socially significant but more-or-less unchangeable. In other words, an identity is given to you. One of the key principles of developmental psychology, applicable to personal identity change, is continuity and discontinuity. In simple terms, this discusses what changes and what stays the same within an individual over time. From the moment of birth to the last day of life, people change along numerous parallel pathways, including association, cognizance, social skills and emotion. Discontinuity occurs when differences between a person of one age and either earlier or subsequent ages appear rather brusquely rather than steadily. Discontinuity tends to be seen when children hit ‘milestones,’ like their first steps and words. Just the day prior, the child did not have these behaviors but they still emerged with little warning. Some

Discussions about identity most often than not begins with Erikson’s formulation of the eight psychosocial stages of human development. Each success that is achieved is caused due to the completion or overcoming of a task or crisis. When a child grows into adolescence, he/she arrives at the fifth stage of human development. Identity versus role confusion is examined and experienced as the young adult either overcomes the task by developing an identity or by facing a crisis of confusion. At this point, the teenager is dealing with a “unified and consistent sense of self that integrates pubertal changes into a mature sexual identity, assumes adult social and occupational roles, and established personal values and attitudes” The adolescent is

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.

Erik Erikson proposed a theory that identity formation was an important developmental aspect of adolescence, which has been characterized by progressive developmental shifts. However, there has been a lack of longitudinal studies that support the multiple aspects of identity formation across adolescent. Therefore, there have been debates on whether or not identity formation fluctuates or if it’s stable throughout adolescence. The main purpose of this study was to provide a detailed review on the changes and stability of identity formation across adolescents ranging from ages 12 to 20.

Occurring between thirteen and nineteen years of age, this stage answers the major questions, “Who am I?”, “What is my role?”. The ego virtue to be gained here is fidelity - more specifically, the ability to sustain loyalties and make commitments to yourself and others. Erikson claims, “we have almost an instinct for fidelity - meaning that when you reach a certain age you can and must learn to be faithful to some ideological view.” (Evans, 1967). Without the development of a capacity for fidelity the individual will have a weak ego or will have to look elsewhere for something to be faithful to. Focusing more on the idea of identity, Erikson feels that our sense of identity is composed of both positive and negative elements. There are

All of Erik H. Eriksons’ stages of development are significant, but the Identity vs. Role Confusion in the adolescent years was the one that impacted me the most prominently. The Identity vs. Role Confusion stage typically happens between the ages of twelve to eighteen, though it can potentially extend into other periods in a persons lifetime. This stage is concerned with developing a concrete personal identity and developing fidelity to a role. If the individual fails at this stage, they are often left with a weak sense of self and who they want to be in the future, often being unsure about subjects such as desired career, likes and dislikes, goals, and sexual orientation. This stage greatly pertains to peers and role models. In fact, Identity vs. Role Confusion is one of the most vital stages in a persons life and plays a substantial role in how a person feels regarding their existence once they are in their senior years. A study performed on elderly people which evaluated their overall sense of coherence later in life showed that, “[f]our of the Eriksonian developmental stages were found to be significantly correlated with sense of coherence: the conflicts about trust/mistrust, autonomy/shame, identity/identity diffusion, and intimacy/isolation” (Rennemark and Hagberg). This study proves how important being successful in finding a sense of identity is to the rest of a persons life. Often, the adolescent years led to a vigorous exploration, and is recognized as the