Chapter 11: Development of Self and Identity
Learning Objectives
- Describe the development of a self-concept and identity development
- Explain Freud’s psychodynamic theory as it applies to early childhood
- Explain Erikson’s psychosocial theory as it applies to child development
- Explain Marcia’s four identity statuses
- Explain domains of identity
Psychosocial development occurs as children form relationships, interact with others, and understand and manage their feelings.
One’s sense of self begins to develop in infancy and changes as a function of cognitive and emotional developments during childhood and adolescence.
Adolescence is a period of personal and social identity formation, in which different roles, behaviors, and ideologies are explored. In the United States, adolescence is seen as a time to develop independence from parents while remaining connected to them. Some key points related to social development during adolescence include the following:
- Adolescence is the period of life known for the formation of personal and social identity.
- Adolescents must explore, test limits, become autonomous, and commit to an identity, or sense of self.
- Erik Erikson referred to the task of the adolescent as one of identity versus role confusion. Thus, in Erikson’s view, an adolescent’s main questions are “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?”
- Early in adolescence, cognitive developments result in greater self-awareness, the ability to think about abstract, future possibilities, and the ability to consider multiple possibilities and identities at once.
- When adolescents have advanced cognitive development and maturity, they tend to resolve identity issues more easily than peers who are less cognitively developed.
- As adolescents work to form their identities, they pull away from their parents, and the peer group becomes very important; despite this, relationships with parents still play a significant role in identity formation.
