Self - 3

Identity:

is who people believe they are, representing a synthesis and integration of self-understanding

Psychosocial Moratorium:

temporary "pause" period in adolescence. Kids have left the protected, decided-for-them world of childhood, but they haven't yet taken on adult responsibilities and commitments.

Erikson’s Identity vs. identity confusion:

Erikson's fifth stage is when adolescents explore who they are during a psychosocial moratorium. If they don't resolve the resulting identity crisis, they risk identity confusion.

Erikson’s Role of Experimental:

During the moratorium, adolescents try out different roles, behaviors, and beliefs to work out who they are, driven by the realization that they'll soon be responsible for their own lives.

Contemporary Thought on Identity: Identity development is a long, gradual process, not

the sudden "crisis" Erikson described

Contemporary Thought on Identity: identity neither starts nor ends in adolescence, but

adolescence and emerging adulthood matter most because physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development are finally advanced enough to sort through childhood identities and build a path toward adult maturity.

William Damon said many young people

stall out in indecision instead of actively working toward a clear identity

James Marcia classifies adolescents by the extent of

Crisis and Commitment, using four identity statuses.

Crisis:

A period of identity exploration, when the adolescent actively considers different roles, beliefs, and options.

Commitment:

A personal investment in an identity, meaning the adolescent has made a firm decision and stuck with it (e.g., a chosen career or set of values).

The 4 identity statuses: Identity diffusion

No crisis and no commitment; The adolescent hasn't explored options and hasn't committed to anything.

The 4 identity statuses: Identity foreclosure

Commitment without crisis; The adolescent commits to an identity without exploring alternatives, often adopting what parents or others chose for them

The 4 identity statuses: Identity moratorium

Crisis without commitment yet; The adolescent is actively exploring options but hasn't made a firm commitment

The 4 identity statuses: Identity achievement

Crisis followed by commitment; The adolescent explored alternatives and then committed to an identity

Early adolescence: Most youth are in (which of the 4 Statuses of Identity)

diffusion, foreclosure, or moratorium (not yet achievement)

Marcia's 3 supports for young adolescents: 

• Confidence in parental support

• An established sense of industry

• The ability to take a self-reflective stance toward the future

Identity changes most during

Emerging adulthood (about 18-25), not adolescence.

Why College Matters for Identity?

Stronger reasoning plus new experiences and contrasts (home vs. college, self vs. others) push students to integrate the different dimensions of their identity.

Identity Consolidation:

Refining and enhancing the identity choices made in emerging adulthood. It continues into early adulthood and possibly early middle adulthood, so identity isn't fixed for life.

Family influence on identity: Catherine Cooper and colleagues found that a family atmosphere promoting both

• individuality (self-assertion, separateness)

• connectedness (mutuality, permeability)

Ex: during dinner, Sam says, 'I see it differently than you, Dad, and here's why,' and then adds, 'But I get why you feel that way.' In Cooper's model, Sam shows

Peer/Romantic Relationships and Identity:

• Friendships: Friends are often a safe context for exploring identity-related experiences.

• Romantic relationships: Partners construct their own identities while also giving each other a context for identity exploration.

Digital Environment and Identity: Digital contexts, especially social media, have given today's adolescents and emerging adults new ways to

express and explore their identity

Ethnic identity:

An enduring aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group, plus the attitudes and feelings tied to it.

Bicultural identity:

identifying in some ways with their ethnic group and in others with the majority culture

Racial identity:

The collective identity of a group socialized to think of themselves as a racial group.

Cultural / Ethnic and Identity: Context shapes ethnic minority youth's

identity development (e.g., poverty, drugs, gangs, crime, dropout and unemployment), and youth programs can help

Gender and Identity: Erikson's classic presentation of identity development reflected

the traditional division of labor

• Males were oriented toward career and ideological commitments

• Females were mainly oriented toward marriage and childbearing

Identity and Intimacy: Erikson’s Intimacy vs. Isolation

sixth stage, in early adulthood, which he argued should develop after a person is well on the way to a stable identity; forming healthy friendships and an intimate relationship leads to intimacy, and failing to do so results in isolation