Test 2
Consider how Marcia’s theory connects to Erikson’s most famous adolescent stage, Identity versus Role Confusion.
Erikson agreed that the concept of identity development was not exactly easy to pin down, and although he saw it as connected to the idea of role development; he saw it as greater than that.
The development begins in early adolescence, when the child stands outside of him- or herself and starts to ask the question: who am ? which up to then s/he took for granted. In exploring this question, the child becomes aware of playing different roles (e.g., that of the student rather than a teacher; that of sibling or child rather than a parent; that of the employee rather than employer). This
questioning, Erikson argued, is most intense during adolescence, but questions of identity do continue throughout one’s life.
Think back on your life in high school.Were you comfortable recognizing that you actually played a number of different roles? How did you feel when your
roles were in conflict (e.g., you were a student in school; but you may also have been a teacher in some other setting). To what extent did these roles contribute to your sense of identity? As you reflect upon the development of your identity, carefully study and think about the four
aspects of identity formation described in the article about James Marcia, namely:
Identity Achievement
Identity Foreclosure
Identity Moratorium
Identity Diffusion
After having considered all of the above, write your essay following this outline:
Define identity and explain how it differs from the specific roles you played.
Describe your own sense of identity at the end of high school.
How has your sense of identity changed since high school?
Consider Marcia’s 4 aspects of identify formation (above).
Then write a brief paragraph for each of Marcia’s phases, describing your personal experience.
For each aspect, pick whichever one of the following facets of your identity that most readily illustrates it.
o career/education
o religion
o political beliefs
o sexual orientation
o gender identity
o character
Finally, can you identify from the list above which aspects of your identity were most
strongly formed by the end of high school and which ones were not fully informed until later (presumably during the stage of emerging adulthood)?