Jean S. Phinney was one of the researchers who studied ethnic identity at a developmental level – in contrast with theories based on social identity and acculturation. Her framework is an extension of ego identity development theories by Erik Erikson and James Marcia. Erikson proposed that there are 8 stages of development, starting from infancy to old age. Each stage is characterized by a “core crisis” that must be resolved to remain mentally and developmentally healthy as the person moves on to the succeeding stages (Palombo, Bendicsen & Koch, 2009). Marcia expanded on Erikson’s stages of development and proposed four different identity statuses that begin in adolescence: Identity Diffusion (not committed to an identity and not exploring), …show more content…
In the three-stage model, Phinney (1996) proposed that “adolescents and young adults are assumed to progress over time from an unexamined or received view of their ethnicity… through a crisis or exploration phase, in which they immerse themselves in the history and culture of their group, to an achieved, secure sense of their ethnicity” (p. 145). Adolescence is the time period where most people start to explore more of their ethnic identity. The combination of past experiences and changes in their social groups can increase someone’s curiosity about their own ethnicity which, according to Phinney (1996), will trigger the desire to learn more about the history and current situation of their …show more content…
Even scholars and researchers have varying interpretations of what forms one’s ethnic identity. According to Phinney (1996), “ethnic identity has been conceptualized as a complex construct including a commitment and sense of belonging to one’s ethnic group, positive evaluation of the group, and the involvement in activities and traditions of the group” (p. 145). It is also described as an individual’s psychological affiliation and attachment to a group of people who share the same heritage and place of origin (Branch, Tayal & Triplett, 2000). However, identification with an ethnic group can be portrayed in many different ways and is not limited to the practice of common traditions. The group’s heritage, values and language, in addition to traditional practices, are often used as markers in studying ethnology. The timeline for ethnic identity formation varies from person to person. Some may achieve a full identity earlier in life, some later. Even though the process of exploration is most common among adolescents, it may continue over time and throughout a person’s life (Phinney, 2007). It is also possible for an individual to not identify with a specific ethnic background. Social and cultural environment also has an effect on the rate of development; hence, some researchers believe that there is a higher chance for ethnic identity exploration and development to occur in a more diverse
For this study, researcher classified the cultural identity of the participants as traditional, assimilated, bicultural, or marginalized by how they identified with highly with Indian values, highly with white values, ewally with both, or with none.
Ethnic Identity and Culture.’ New Tribalisms: The Resurgence of Race and Ethnicity. New York University Press. 1998
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
Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). The MEIM (Phinney, 1992) is a broad measure of ethnic identity across three major dimensions (ethnic identity achievement, affirmation and belonging, ethnic behaviors). Fourteen items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) to measure ethnic identity. A higher score on the MEIM represents a greater ethnic identity, while low scores indicate greater assimilation attitudes. For the analysis, the rating for each item will be scored and one total score will used to determine the level of ethnic identification between African Americans and European Americans. In the current study, alpha = .87. Sample items from the MEIM include, “I have a clear sense of my ethnic background and what it means for me,” “I have a lot of pride in my ethnic group” and “I am happy I
According to most, ethnicity usually is displayed in the values, attitudes, lifestyles, customs, rituals, and personality types of individuals who identify with particular ethnic groups. Ethnic identifications and memberships in an ethnic group has farreaching effects on both groups and individuals, controlling assess to opportunities in life, feeling of well being and mastery over the futures of one's child and future. These feelings of belonging and attachment to a certain group of people for whatever reason are a basic feature of the human condition. These ties are called "ethnic ties" and the group of people that one is tied to is an "ethnic group." In the general sense, an ethnic group consists of those who share a unique social and cultural heritage that is passed on from generation to generation.
To most people ethnicity is shown by values, lifestyles, customs, and rituals that are personal to an individual ethnic group or religion. The feeling of belonging to a certain group is a basic need for mankind. In a sense, ethnicity can be separated into two particular categories, a unique social structure and culture heritage passed down from one generation to the next.
Ethnicity is a self-defined social construct; it is a shared sense of belonging to a social group (Scheppers et al. 2005). Ethnic minority groups are individuals within a soci...
Verkuyten, M., and G. A. Kwa. "Ethnic Self-Identification, Ethnic Involvement, and Group Differentiation Among Chinese Youth in the Netherlands." Journal of Social Psychology 136 (1996): 35-48.
The establishment of identity is an important, complex task for all adolescents, and is considered a major developmental task for all adolescents. It is particularly complicated for adolescents belonging to ethnic and minority groups. Ethnic identity of the majority group of individuals is constantly validated and reinforced in a positive manner where as the minority group is constantly ridiculed and punished in a negative manner. What does this say for those adolescents who are the minority and not the majority? It is important to study or research ethnic identity because it provides better knowledge to help one understand striving for a sense of unity and connectivenesss in which the self provides meaning for direction and meaning of ethnic identity (Spencer, 1990). It is also important to study or research the differences between these groups due to beliefs and values.
In this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s Theory mainly about identity versus role confusion. Finding one’s identity is not always an easy task. Everyone at some point in his or her life has had, as Erikson puts it, an identity crisis. Everyone experiences different struggles that can have either a positive or negative impact on their identity. On my path to identity, I have reached identity achievement, which means I have explored and made commitments. I will also be focusing on two articles highlighting a fifth possible outcome regarding identity and looking at identity statuses as developmental trajectories.
There are three stages of cultural identity including unexamined identity, search for identity, and identity achievement. An example of unexamined cultural identity is how children take many things about their culture for granted. They believe whatever their parents, the media, or anyone else tells them. The search for identity is the questioning of one’s culture in order to learn more about it.
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
They also may change over time. It has been argued by early theorist that identity or self may change with relationships and ones setting or background. There are many unanswered questions to ethnic labels as research is still emerging. Questions and research are still looking at the distinction between one’s self identification compared to the identification that others impose on them. “Although identity development is a social process and likely interacts with others views and perceptions, the multiple conceptions of the self that stem from the individual and from others may or may not converge” (Kiang & Luu, 2013, p.
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used
Adolescence refers to the transition period experienced by children that occur between childhood and adulthood (Shefer, 2011). Identity is first confronted in adolescence between the ages 12 – 19 years old, because of physical and hormonal changes in the body. It is also due to the introduction of formal operations in cognitive development and societal expectation that this contributes to an individual’s identity to be explored and established (McAdams, 2009). The forces within and outside (family, community) the individual that promote identity development usually create a sense of tension. The basic task is, in Erikson’s terms, “fidelity or truthfulness and consistency to one’s core self or faith in one’s ideology” (Fleming, 2004: 9), in a nutshell: "Who am I and where am I