What Is Identity Development Essay

Carol Russell-Lambert
Professor Naja Berg Hougaard
Psychology 220
November 29, 2017
Identity Development
Human development is a highly complex lifelong process. Identity is a self-definition or sense of who one is, where one is going, and how one fits into society. It relates to our basic values that dictates the choices we make in life. It is considered that identity formation is a means of finding oneself, by matching one’s talent with available social roles. Crisis is a vital part in one’s development. It occurs in every stage of finding one’s self and without resolution, may lead to tension and role confusion. Dedicated and influential theorists such as Erik Erikson and James Marcia have contributed significantly to the broadening and understanding

He implemented eight psychosocial stages which includes trust versus mistrust. One example of the specified inclusions are infants. In order to come to a resolution for these feelings of insecurity, infants look towards their care givers for care and stability to fulfill their desired needs. With autonomy versus shame stage, children begin to assert their independence, utilizing their skills otherwise they will end up doubting their abilities. Initiative versus guilt is another stage where pre-scholars develop initiative by devising and carrying out bold plans. These people plan activities, developing a sense of initiative with others therefore feeling secure in their ability to lead and make decisions. The identity versus role confusion stage is noted as Erikson’s most popular. He characterized adolescence as a crucial and critical time of identity development. To achieve a sense of identity some adolescents attempt to define and explore who they are regarding their career choice, religion, political views, sexual orientation etc., figuring out a way to fit into society. According to Erikson, “the adolescent mind is essentially a mind or moratorium, a psychosocial stage between the morality learned by the child, and the ethics to be developed by the adult” (Erikson, 1963, p.245. As they go through the different sexual and

She is a twenty-two-year-old Guest services Agent who is presently working at the Sheraton Hotel in Queens, New York. During my interview with her I discovered that she and her family of four migrated from Jamaica in search of a better life here in the United States of America. She portrayed a warm and friendly personality, as such it was easy for me to talk with her about self-identity. She informed me that while she was in Jamaica she excelled in High School and went on to University where she studied Health Science. Her reason for choosing that field was because her mother was very much involved in her development and encouraged her to stick to the sciences where she could specialize in becoming a medical doctor in the future. Listening to her, I realized that her decision at the time was based on what her mother had in mind for her and not necessarily what she wanted to become. I questioned her if she had figured out what she wanted to do with her life then, she clearly had no idea therefore she just followed her parent instruction. She pointed out that her mother who played a significant role in her life, always instilled in her the importance of a good education and that becoming a doctor would be the right choice. When she arrived in the United States everything changed. I followed up with the conversation and she told me that she started rebelling and didn’t want to go back to