Unit IY
Identity achievement
Though Sigmund Freud believed that psychological development is essentially complete by the age of 6, psychologists have found that it continues through adolescence into adulthood and old age. Perhaps the most important psychological tasks of adolescence are the formation of a personal identity and the development of healthy relationships with peers and parents.
According to Ericson’s (1963) psychological theory of development, the most important task of adolescence is to resolve the crisis of identity versus role confusion. The adolescent develops a sense of identity by adopting his or her own set of values and social behaviors, but this generally does not occur before the adolescent experiments with variety of values and social behaviours – often to the displeasure of parents. If you observe groups of adolescents, you will see clothing styles, religious beliefs and social interactions that may contrast with parental norms. Ericson believes this is a normal part of finding answers to questions related to one’s identity, such as “what are my values?” and “What are my goals?”
To appreciate the task confronting the adolescent, consider the challenge of having to adjust simultaneously to a new body, a new mind, and a new social world. The adolescent body is larger and sexually mature. The adolescent mind can question the nature of reality and argue about abstract concepts regarding ethical, political, and religious beliefs. The social world of the adolescent requires achieving a balance between childlike dependence and adultlike independence. This also manifests itself in the conflict between parental and peer influences. Whereas children’s values mirror their parents’, adolescent values oscillate between those of their parents and those of their peers. The adolescent moves from a world guided by parental wishes to a world in which he or she is confronted by a host of choices regarding sex, drugs, friends, schoolwork, and a variety of other situations.
Research on adolescent identity crisis by James Marcia (1966) has identified four identity statuses: foreclosure, moratorium, diffusion, and achievement. In identity foreclosure, the adolescent prematurely adopts the values and behaviours mandated by his or her parents. This failure to experiment with different identities and freely decide on one’s own may lead to an inauthentic personality. In identity moratorium, the adolescent postpones settling on a particular identity. This might be akin to Ericson’s failure to find a satisfactory identity until early adulthood. In identity diffusion, the adolescent fails to make a progress toward a sense of identity, arbitrarily shifting from one to another. Finally, in identity achievement, the adolescent settles on a particular identity after trying several alternatives. Marcia’s view of identity statuses has received mixed support, with some studies favoring it and others contradicting it.
Ericson’s theory of adolescence has received support from studies showing that adolescents typically do move from a state of role confusion to a state of identity achievement. This achievement has positive effects. For example, a strong sense of identity may serve as a buffer against life stresses. Those with a stronger sense of identity perceived life changes less negatively than did those with a weaker sense of identity.
Carol Gilligan believes that Ericson’s theory applies more to males than to females. She points out that Ericson based his theory on studies of males, who might place a greater premium on the development of self-sufficiency than do females, who might place greater premium on intimate relationships in which there is mutual caring. Thus, an adolescent female who fails to develop an independent identity at the same time as her male age peers might unfairly be considered abnormal.
Because the adolescent is dependent on parents while seeking an independent identity, adolescence has traditionally been considered a period of conflict between parents and children, or what G. Stanley Hall called a period of “storm and stress”. Parents maybe shocked by their child’s preferences in dress, music, and vocabulary. Adolescents, in trying out various styles and values, are influenced by the cohort to whom they belong. Thus, adolescent males shocked their parents by wearing pompadours in the 1950s, shoulder-length hair in the 1970s, and sculptured hairdos in the 1990s.
Despite the normal conflicts between parental values and adolescent behaviours, most adolescents have positive relations with their parents. Adolescent conflicts with parents generally have more to do with superficial stylistic questions than with substantive questions about values. Positive relations with parents not only prevent conflicts within families, but also promote more satisfactory relations with peers. Positive relations between adolescents and their parents and peers are also associated with better intellectual development. Nonetheless, in extreme cases, adolescents may adopt negative identities that promote antisocial, or even delinquent, behaviours. This is more common in adolescents whose parents set few rules, fail to discipline them, and fail to supervise their behaviour.
Active Vocabulary:
delinquency; to disparage; to foreclose; foreclosure; mandate (n,v); oscillation; to oscillate; pompadour; postponement; to postpone; prematurely; premium; to settle (on); substantive; superficial; supervision; trustworthiness; versus.
Task 1. Paraphrase the italicized expressions using the vocabulary of the text.
The most important task of adolescence is to overcome the conflict between identity and role confusion.
Adolescent values range between those of their parents and those of their peers.
James Marcia has determined four identity statuses.
In identity foreclosure the adolescent first of all adopts the values and behaviours subscribed upon him by his parents.
In identity achievement the adolescent accepts a definite identity after trying several alternatives.
Ericson’s theory of adolescence fits more to males than to females.
Parents may be shocked by the clothes their children wear, the music they listen to, the words they use.
The conflicts deal with superficial stylistic questions rather than with substantive questions about values.
Task 2. Give a summary of the text.
Task 3. Translate the italicized sentences from the text in written.
Task 4. Put the words in the box under the following headings: