What Is Identity Formation?

An individual’s identity is a continual and dynamic process of narration in which both the individual and social partners are involved in “formulating, editing, applauding, and refusing various elements of the ever-produced narrative” (Humphreys & Brown, 2002). It is internalized and revised from a person’s “selective appropriation of past, present, and future” through introspection and interaction with social partners to create and maintain a coherent personal story (Miscenko & Day, 2015). There are multiple levels of identity that an individual may hold, and these levels interact and contribute to the way a person defines themselves.

The building blocks of personal identities begin at birth. Parents and teachers are a major influence on one’s identity. They teach the individual the basic morals, knowing right from wrong. However, some individuals do not have the benefit of parental or teacher’s guidance, and this results in a stunted personality, which negatively affects these individuals’ sense of identity. In some circumstances, these

According to Salmon, 1985 (Salmon 1985, p171), development and change are not limited to childhood but continue throughout our lives. It is however argued that personal identities are similar to social identities, and include group or collective identities.

There are many factors that shape us into who we are, and who we will become. Some of these factors we can control, while others we cannot. While we are born into many traits of our identities, much of our other behavior is learned. My identity, for example, is “based not only on responses to the question ‘Who am I?’ but also on responses to the question ‘Who am I in relation to others?’” (Allen, 2011, p. 11). My identity and the question of who I am, are both influenced by many aspects of my life, including my hometown, my family, my friends, and my beliefs and moral values.

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

The adolescent stage is one in which the human being develops from being a child into an adult, or from puberty to legal adulthood. The stage consists of the transition in both the physical and the psychological contexts ("Adolescence | Psychology Today", 2016). The transaction of the adolescent is the relationship between the environments and the person (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001). This interaction influences the adolescents development as they are in the stage of their lives whereby the trying to attain autonomy of their lives from their parents/ caregivers (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001). To achieve development to emerge into adulthood there are many identity statuses one must go through in order to achieve a sucessful development (Waterman, 1999). These identity statuses are influenced by the psychosocial enviornment of the person and these are represented in identity processes (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001). Identity processes are immeadiate processing of data that affects the identity and actually holds the identity at stake (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001). However they are the building blocks to developmental processes which is the identity growth and change over the human life span (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001).

When people want to figure out their identity, they’ll have to change their perspective, on how they think people view them. Doing this, you’ll slowly engage deeper into self-consciousness. George Herbert Mead, explained in four stages on, how people come to self-consciousness. Two important things that work together as a person goes through the stages, in George Herbert Mead’s theory are, the “I,” and the “Me.” The Four stages are, imitation, play, games, and generalized (Pg. 35-40 Mead 2009.) There’re also some challenges, and another theory that relates to, George H. Mead’s theory of identity development, that I will discuss as well.

As part of the process of establishing an identity an individual will experience several identity crises (Marcia, 1980). James Marcia (1980) reported that these crises contribute to the development of a solid, defined identity – a term which he alludes to as “identity achievement.” There are a number of personality characteristics that tend to fluctuate depending upon the identity status that an individual occupies. The acquisition, or reduction, of these personality traits can be seen as an indicator of an individual’s ability to overcome and successfully resolve identity crises. The first of these personality characteristics is anxiety (Marcia, 1980). Teenagers occupying the “identity achievement” status display lower levels of anxiety and are

Through a qualitative comparative literature approach studies the representation of identity formation on the work of transnational writers Reyna Grande and Sandra Cisneros. I introduce the framework of liminality to understand identity formation of transnational individuals. Transnational and diasporic identities have been understood as the incorporation of multiple geographical sources of identity, inclusive of locations on both sides of the border and having multiple homes (Szeghi 2014:163). While this is true, this definition does not address the disharmonies, sense of alienation and/or identity conflicts that the incorporation of multiple geographic locations that transnationalism can provoke to individuals belonging to the less privilege

Through the lens of identity formation a person develops a clear idea of who they are. During this process, young people discover who they are in different settings, and they wear their culture, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity as cement in the formation of identity. According to Cote’ and Levine lack of cultural references interferes with identity formation (2014). James Marcia defined identity as “as an existential position, to an inner organization of needs abilities, and self-perceptions as well as to a sociopolitical stance” (1980). Identity are the unique talents, desire, experiences, and beliefs. The more one understands their uniqueness in comparison to others, the better they can understand themselves.

The nature, construction and role of identity in society has always been useful in understanding and solving social issues. Identification has been described as a fundamental mechanism

The human identity provides individuals with a sense of self, and by examining one’s identity, questions such as “Who am I?” and “What is my background?” can be asked. While both questions don’t fully allow one to recognize who they truly are, they provide a useful starting point. Additionally, as one ages and experiences what life has to offer, the puzzle of one’s identity can be pieced together. Though the events of life have the potential to reinforce one with a positive sense of identity, they can do the opposite as well. When children are bullied, they feel worthless, for their identities are treated as such; conversely, when an individual is promoted at work, their identity as a hard worker is commended. In summary, our actions and

Erikson developed the psychosocial stages based on his personal experiences, as Erikson felt like a minority, both within his peer group and stepfamily, particularly during adolescence—the stage Identity versus Role Confusion (Adelson, 1980). For the purpose of this review, the paper is to focus on this stage due to its relevance in adolescent identity development. Erikson, specifically notes that this stage in development is, “The sense of continuity with previous experience and a hope for the future are the crux of the adolescent’s task of identity formation” (Adelson, 1980) Meaning, there is an expectation for the past and future identity to share some congruence; natural divergence creates this developmental tasks.

Another milestone in adolescents is finding their identity. According to Erik Erikson, he says that there are eight total stages humans go through, each one corresponding with a particular time/age in a human’s life, and each having a psychological crisis. During the time of adolescents, it is a search for their identity or end up in a state of role confusion. Furthered by Kail and Cavanaugh (2016), to develop identity, it is facilitated through parental discussion and encouragement. Through this discussion and encouragement, the child will have a better grasp of who they are, thus being able to make tough decisions and able to handle a variety of situations, that they know will be the best route for them. Their identity development also affects their career and interpersonal relationship development.

In each stage, the individual faces what Erikson called “crisis” which the individual must overlap to proceed with development of identity (Sokol, 2009). Erikson believes that individual’s success of identity development depends on his overlapping these crises, and each stage is necessary for the development of the next stage (Fleming, 2004). Boeree (2006) claims