Analyzing Erikson's Five Stages Of Identity Development

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Recommended: Identity (philosophy)

The definition of identity is “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is”. Identity is important to people because it is who you are. It is what you act like and what you look like. Developing identity is essential to your life because it makes you who you are. It develops character and makes who you are as a person. Identity can be developed in many different ways and stages. If you are in a group, participants in groups become more like the groups in which they are or were involved in. They develop this identity “overtime” with the group or groups they were involved in. Group membership leads to certain actions, and these actions are what shape identity development. If the groups you are in have good character, then hopefully you …show more content…

Erikson also states that to develop identity, “the young individual must learn to be most himself where he means the most to others- those others, to be sure, who have come to mean the most to him.” What Erikson is saying is, that for one to develop their identity, they must be themself where they mean a lot to others, which is those who mean a lot to them. A person needs to be who they want to be, but also caring about people who care for them. (Brooks & Anumudu, …show more content…

Some of these factors include where people live, as well as assumptions about gender, race, ethnicity, and other things in like them. These factors will shape, at least partly, how, when, and where identity is expressed and/or recognized by others. (Stapleton, 2015)
The final key aspect of identity is that it is “Affected by Education”. Education can have a long lasting impact on identities. How you learn and what you learn can affect you and help you develop an opinion on something because you have more knowledge on that topic. Because of the new knowledge and opinion, your identity and character begin to form. This also relates the the first aspect because learning something new could make you change an opinion, therefore changing your identity. (Stapleton, 2015)
Identity makes us who we are and without it, we would all be the same. Identities make people unique and makes a person who they are. Because of identity, people are like snowflakes, there are no two people the same. (Brooks & Anumudu,

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