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Erikson's theory on adolescence
The portrait of the artist as a young man development
Erik erikson theory of adolescence
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Each experience and interaction has an effect on the development of the person as an adult and shapes them into the personality and even physical appearance they will take on as they mature. Those with the strongest influence, namely family, religious figures, and others whom one comes in frequent contact with will have the greatest effect on a developing being. It is between the stage of childhood and adulthood that the most change takes place. This position, called adolescence, is the state of a person coming of age yet not completely independent, it is this state that the psychologist Erik Erikson’s adolescent theory becomes prominent. “Erikson was an ego psychologist. He emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself.”(McLeod) It is Erikson’s theory that brought about the thought of an identity crisis that occurs in this stage of life. According to Erikson’s thought of identity diffusion there are four major components; intimacy, diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry, and negative identity. These can each be found in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as each of these factors are clearly represented in the novel.
The first component mentioned by Erikson is the notion of intimacy which is shown through the relations taking place between the main character of Artist and his sexual partners in his adolescence. In the novel the main character, Stephen, begins as a young catholic boy who is then put through school and as his family begins to lose money he must be removed to a less expressive school so his father can continue to pay the tuition fees for his education. Stephen becomes increasingly embarrassed by his family situation and the ...
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...my identity, who I want to be, and what my values are.
Works Cited
Cherry, Kendra. "Intimacy Versus Isolation." About. N.p., 2014. Web. 4 May 2014. . second
Jones, Cheryl. "Identity and Adolescents: How Adults Can Help." NCYL. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. . fifth
Luyckx, Koen, et al. "Time Perspective and Identity Formation: Short-Term Longitudinal Dynamics in College Students." N.d. MS. Third
McLeod, Saul. "Erik Erikson." Simply Psychology. N.p., 2008. Web. 4 May 2014. . first
Sen, Suvarna. "ADOLESCENCE: A PERIOD OF STRESS AND STRAIN." Mental Health Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. . Fourth
During this stage, Erikson believes that the individual’s successful identity formation relies on social, cognitive and physical maturation (Pittman, Keiley, Kerpelman, & Vaughn, 2011). The individual tries out different roles for who they see in themselves and who they portray to others, eventually committing to their own personal role and occupational choice. Pittman et al. (2011) describe the identity formation as “consisting of decisions, investments, and commitments tied to current and future roles, goals, and relationships.” Additional considerations for identity formation include the context of the culture which is available to the adolescent during this time. After successful resolution of this stage during adolescence, individuals will typically progress into Erikson’s Intimacy versus Isolation stage during young
I'm able to relate that Van Gogh’s final stage of life with Erikson’s theory. Van Gogh had very few relationships with others and was said to be a difficult man (Wallace, 1969). He once said that the world was something God had put together “in a hurry on one of his bad days” (Wallace, 1969, p. 8). Thus, he engaged himself completely in his art and every stage of his art had personal meaning (Meyer S. , 1951). It is able to say that Van Gogh in no way accomplished intimacy with some other individual besides for his relationship together with his brother Theo. However, when Theo got married and has a son of his very own, Van Gogh felt extra isolated and loneliness (Wilkie, 1990) .Van Gogh in no way developed intimacy with some other man or woman
In a coming-of-age novel, where the protagonist goes on a journey to forge moral or psychological growth, narration is a key aspect. Through narration in any novel, the reader typically gains insight into the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings, which can factor into the plot or character development greatly. Despite the clear differences in time period, country, and plot in Jane Eyre and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, both novels, through narration, reveal truth about the emotions and unique characteristics discovered during the growth of not only their respective protagonists but also of all people who are searching for an identity to claim as their own.
To be able to understand the stages when reading them, I shall discuss briefly about Eric Erickson’s stages. In the identity versus role confusion, the identity can be asked simply by who am I? The role confusion, meaning that one is feeling disordered or apprehensive of how they fit into society. In the intimacy versus isolation, Intimacy simply put is how I relate to other people, being non-sexual but as a mere means of communication. In the isolation part of it though, is will I be alone. And the final stage that we will be discussing is the generativity versus stagnation stage. Generativity being that what will one leave to others, while stagnation coming from not being able to contribute and leave to others. Now that I have briefly described the main stages that will be discussed, I will now jump into the lives of character from different times and tell their story, while seeing how they transition into the stages.
My reflection on where I believe this person to be in Erikson's stages of development is Intimacy vs. Isolation. As stated by Erikson (1963), this stage has emphases on relationships and displaying of affection and love. My interviewee has a great affinitive for relationships as she is able to r...
Adolescence is transition between childhood and adulthood (10-20 years old). Adolescent experiences numerous changes in brain structure, physical growth, cognition, emotional and social development. Numerous academic disciplines such as medicine, psychology and sociology, etc. researched and proposed theories in attempt to understand these developments and their impact on adolescents. Any theory provides representative assessment of a person’s
Meeus, W., Schoot, R., Keijsers, L., & Branje, S. (2012). Identity statuses as developmental trajectories: A five-wave longitudinal study in early-to-middle and middle-to-late adolescents. J Youth Adolescence, 41, 1008-1021. doi: 10.1007/s10964-011-9730-y
In conclusion, the formation of one’s identity has many components. Beginning at the onset of adolescence and continuing to expand, grow and form and reform as we live through the struggles or success of life. Many theorists have endeavored to clarify the development of identity formation. However, Erik Erickson offered one significant theory involving the formation of one’s identity. Expounding on Erickson theory, Marcia developed his Identity Status Model according to the existence or absence of crisis and commitments. These four statuses, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement can combine in various ways to produce a self. One’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made, therefore, having a well-developed sense of self can provide an individual with insight to their strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. An individual that finds themselves
The life-transition of adolescence occurs between the ages of twelve and twenty years and is representative of many changes
Successful resolution of this psychosocial stage of development is imperative in order to acquire an enduring incorporated sense of self and to progress to the next stage of development. Society and one’s culture also contributes enormously to the commitment or prevention of dealing with the challenges faced during adolescence. Regardless of what challenges are faced during this stage of development, overcoming it is a fundamental necessity in order to progress into a strong-willed and stable individual in
Adolescence is a very important time in a young person's life. It is defined as a period of human development between the ages of 14 and 18 (Hall, 2011). Psychologically adolescence engulf the discovery for an individual's personal identity (Hall, 2011). Marked with hormonal changes, emotional changes, etc. it can become a period of instability. Not quite an adult, but not a child, many teenagers feel lost. They are trying to find themselves and their peer group is very significant.
A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man will always be an inspirational book in the world of Post-Modernist literature. This book is one is which paved the road for books just like it, not only breaking free from the expectations of society but also warming our hearts by following the early stages of life of young Stephen Dedalus. This semi-autobiographical story is a symphony of subtle epiphanies, which are expressed through innate underlying structure, which only a true devotee to post-modernist literature could thoroughly enjoy. As we travel through Stephen's mind over the years, we encounter many signposts that foreshadow the conflicts that are to take place later on in the book. As early as eight or nine years of age, while spending his days being watched by his uncle (41-45), we start to see changes to a chapter in Stephen's life, where he will have to take a step into the unknown in order to go through to his life long desire of becoming an artist.
Adolescence is a critical time for development for identity development and formation. A combination of social, physical and cognitive changes occurs during this stage of life. Erik Erikson referred to this time as identity crisis, “crisis” meaning a turning point rather than a debilitating event. Erikson acknowledged that identity issues arise throughout each stage of development, however he specifically advised us that identity formation was the “developmental task” of adolescence (1968). During Eriskon’s identified stage of “Identity versus Role Confusion” adolescents are becoming more independent, looking to the future in terms of college and career choices, along with relationships. In this critical
This unit is of particular relevance to young students who are just entering adolescence. The reason for this is that students who are entering adolescence have a fluid sense of identity that they are trying to figure out. It is a period of self discovery and exploration for students, where they try on different identities with different groups to see which one fits best. Therefore the search for identity during this time is incredible important to them.
In Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion stage, I thought, “Who am I?” countless times like many other adolescents. I occupied much of my time trying to construct a firm identity of myself, which I now realized did more harm than good. Letting myself explore different interests would have helped me find my identity than me trying to fake some firm identity.