Identity Development (Chapter 7)

A person's identity helps them identify, who they are. A person's identity also tells everything about them, the way they think and why they take on certain actions. There are three major theorists that contribute to the development of identity along with some others. Those three major theorists are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson and James Marcia. They help define identity, self-schema, possible selves and future selves. Along with those are Freud's Theory of Personality and Psychosexual Stages of Development, Erikson's Eight Ages of Men, and Marcia's Identity Statuses. Self-schema/Self-Concept is when a person learns about their self through their past or present experiences with/within society. Another way a person views themselves is through possible selves and future selves. The definition of possible selves/future selves is what a person would like to become, what they expect to become, and what they want to avoid becoming. Markus (1983) stated  that "possible selves are described as cognitive structures within the self-concept that function as carriers of a person's aspirations, motives, and goals" (p.554).

Freud is best known for his Theory of Personality and Psychosexual Stages of Development. His theory of Personality was broken down into three parts: id, ego, and superego. This is the part of the personality that is focused on pleasure and is rooted in the unconscious (Segrist, 2009). The second part, the ego, is a conscious and unconscious aspect that deals solely with reality. The superego deals with morality, right and wrong, orders placed on the individual by the social world. Freud's five stages of Psychosexual Development also contributed to personality. The stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. The oral stage is experienced during infancy, during this time the mouth is considered to be the erogenous zone. If these stages are not successfully resolved the infant will develop a fixation and for the first stage it is an oral fixation. This fixation will cause them to develop issues such as biting their finger nails or chewing on pens. The anal stage depends on the parent's control level over their child. If the parent is too lineint, the child may develop an anal-explusive personality, which causes a destructive child. On the other hand, a child with a strict parent may develop a obsessive personality. During the third stage, the phallic stage, children realize that there are differences between boys and girls. The Latency stage, the fourth stage, is focused on relationship building and excelling in school. Lastly, the Genital stage is where children develop romantic relationships with others and go through puberty. 

Erikson's Eight Ages of Men thrived from parts of Freud's theory. However, Eriksons' theory focused on social and cultural aspects and their effectiveness unlike Freud's which focused on sexual aspects. Erikson's theory consists of eight stages which pertained to each stage of life. In these stages, each stage builds off the previous stage. Each crisis would be positively resolved before moving to the next stage, where the individual gains a virtue. If the crisis isn't positively resolved, a pathology is developed which can be resolved later. 
                                                          Erikson's Eight Ages of Men

1. Basic Trust vs. Mistrust - Infancy
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - Toddler hood
3. Initiative vs. Guilt - Early Childhood
4. Industry vs. Inferiority - Middle Childhood
5. Identity vs Role Confusion - Adolescence
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation - Early Adulthood
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation - Middle Adulthood
8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair - Older Adulthood 

James Marcia expanded Erikson's work on identity development and created four identity statuses that an adolescent may experience throughout their lifetime. They include Identity Diffusion, Foreclosure, Moratorium and Achievement. When a person is experiencing Identity Diffusion it means that they have not experienced a crisis or committed to an identity. During Identity Foreclosure, the individual has not experienced crisis, but they are committed to an identity because of their parent's choice or someone else. When they have or are experiencing a crisis, but have not made an identity commitment that person is in Identity Moratorium. Identity Achievement is exactly what it sounds like, the accomplishment of experiencing a crisis and have committed to an identity. 

My present self-concept describes me as a college freshman at The University of Memphis, sister, volunteer, and Charlotte Russe associate. My college major is Child Development and although I am volunteering at a few daycares over the summer I plan to put a stop to that soon. I say this because I look forward to receiving a degree in Child Development so I will no longer have to volunteer I can receive an income for what I love to do. However, I do plan to continue working at Charlotte Russe until I graduate. Growing up I always wanted to become a pediatrician, but when I was a sophomore, in high school, I changed my mind. After deciding I no longer wanted to become a pediatrician I chose Labor and Delivery Nurse would be similar, but much easier. Once I got to college and reviewed the four year plan for a Nursing major I changed my mind again
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As a teacher, I will encourage my students to keep their grades up and maintain a great personality because it will allow them to stand out. I think it is important for them to keep their grades up because it will create a positive image of and for their possible selves. We will also talk about the things that they fear, quite frequently, so that they can avoid these things happening to them. For example, I grew up in a public housing community and my biggest fear is that one day I may have to raise my kids there. So, my goal is avoid living there not only my children, but myself as well.