Erikson was influenced by Sigmund Freud's theory of personality and attributed identity to the Freudian concept of the ego. He even used the term "ego identity" to describe the process by which teenagers learn to view themselves. Erikson conceptualized identity as a collection of characteristics or traits that someone adopts that guide their behavior across a variety of situations. He thought that having a strong sense of the self helps people adopt a coherent view of the world, allowing them to find their place in society. According to Erikson, someone who knows who they are and has a coherent worldview exhibits healthy psychosocial development. This is the origin of the term "identity crisis" because adolescence marks a period of extensive exploration as teenagers try to figure out where they fit into their social world.
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Fidelity
According to Erikson, successful resolution of the identity versus role confusion conflict leads to the development of what he called fidelity. This is when individuals adopt beliefs or views that allow them to contribute to society in ways that are viewed as valuable. Erikson thought that fidelity develops as teenagers gain experience in meeting societal demands, which validates the beliefs and values they've adopted. And as they experience validation from society, they develop a commitment and loyalty to the choices they've made about who they are as a person. Simply put, teenagers adopt and commit to identity traits that are reinforced by societal demands.
Erikson thought that the successful resolution of this conflict benefitted individuals as they progress into subsequent stages of psychosocial development. For example, someone who has a firm grasp on their identity will be better equipped to solve the conflict in the next stage, which involves forming and maintaining long-lasting relationships with other people. These positive experiences then carry a person forward to the next stage where they start to get a sense that they are living a productive and fulfilling life.
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In some ways, role confusion can be viewed as the opposite of identity achievement. Whereas identity achievement is the result of exploration and commitment to an identity, role confusion occurs when a teenager does not commit to a set of particular identity traits. Someone experiencing role confusion may change their beliefs, external appearance, and social groups frequently as they try to figure out who they are.
Erikson viewed this as a negative outcome of this stage that impairs people's ability to resolve conflicts in subsequent stages. For example, people who experience role confusion have a difficult time making long-lasting relationships. This is the result of not having a strong sense of the self. If someone doesn't know who they are, they aren't going to have a strong sense of what they want in a relationship. These negative outcomes also influence behavior in the seventh stage, which involves the generativity versus stagnation crisis. People who experience role confusion and social isolation often feel that their life is stagnant, which leads to feeling depressed and anxious about life.
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To illustrate these ideas, consider the following examples:
Identity Achievement
Leon just turned 17 and has become increasingly interested in gardening. This interest is fueled by the fact that a few of his friends in his social circle are also into gardening and they get together in groups often to work on various gardening projects. As Leon becomes more knowledgeable and experienced at growing different kinds of vegetables, he starts a small business to sell some of his products. His vegetables sell well and people in his community often compliment him on his work. Over time, he decides to work with younger kids to teach them how to garden. This leads to the development of a successful training program that is praised in Leon's community. Leon has embraced his identity as a gardener and as someone who provides value for his neighbors and community members.
Role Confusion
Sam just turned 16 and hasn't developed any hobbies that he is particularly excited about doing. He's known in school for changing his hairstyle and style of dress fairly often. He's also started to drink on weekends with some of his friends. Over time, Sam begins to skip school and stay out past city curfew hours. His parents begin to worry about his recent disregard for rules as Sam continues to exhibit various types of rebellious behavior. His parents talk to him and ask him what he wants to do after high school. Sam replies by saying he has no idea and that he doesn't know who he is as a person.
In these examples, Leon explores opportunities to engage in gardening. Over time, he commits to his identity as a gardener and experiences validation from his community in his endeavors to pursue a career in growing vegetables and teaching others how to do so. Sam is an example of a teen who hasn't committed to any particular identity. He exhibits the types of rebellious behaviors that are often associated with role confusion, and he explicitly states that he does have a firm grasp of who he is as a person.
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Erik Erikson proposed a theory of psychosocial development where people are faced with psychological conflicts in eight successive stages. Resolving each conflict results in the development of a positive trait. Failing to resolve each conflict leads to negative traits.
Identity versus role confusion conflict occurs during adolescence and is a time when teenagers explore who they are as a person. Identity achievement is when people commit to a particular identity that is validated by their social surroundings. Erikson thought that one of the benefits of identity is fidelity, or an individual's ability to provide value for their community. Role confusion is when teenagers are not able to commit to an identity and is associated with negative social behavior.
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Video Transcript
Adolescent Development
Chaya is 15, and lately she's been driving her parents a little crazy. She used to be a very obedient daughter. She dressed appropriately, got good grades and generally did what her parents expected her to do. All in all, she was a good girl.
But recently, things have changed. She's started dressing differently, and she dyed her hair blue. She isn't listening to her parents as much anymore. Just last week, she told her mom that she wasn't going to become a doctor, like her parents want. In fact, she said that she might not even go to college!
Chaya is in adolescence, or the period of life between childhood and adulthood. This is usually seen as being between ages 12 and 20. Like Chaya, many adolescents begin to change and rebel. They explore new ideas about themselves and their place in the world. Psychologist Erik Erikson said that this exploration is part of a psychosocial crisis, or a developmental period when a person has to resolve a conflict in his or her own life.
Let's look closer at the psychosocial crisis that is common in adolescence, identity versus role confusion, and what happens when an adolescent resolves that conflict.
Identity vs. Role Confusion
Remember Chaya? She's rebelling against her parents, changing before their very eyes. She's resisting their expectations of her and trying out new and different aspects of herself.
Chaya is displaying the adolescent psychosocial crisis that will either lead her to identity, or knowing who she is and what she believes, or to role confusion, or not being sure of who she is or what she believes. Remember that this is called a psychosocial crisis, or sometimes a psychosocial conflict. In fact, a key part of adolescence is exploring the two parts of the word 'psychosocial.'
Think about it like this: Chaya is exploring and experimenting with different aspects of herself. She is dressing differently, dying her hair, making up her own mind about college and other aspects of her life. These are all part of her inner self: her psychology, which is the first part of psychosocial.
On the other hand, her parents and the rest of society expect certain things from her. They expect her to dress and act like a girl. They expect her to behave and have her hair a certain way. They pressure her to do certain things and be certain things. Society is the second part of psychosocial, and it's all about external forces.
In adolescence, many people find that the tension between the internal forces of the self and the external forces of society is particularly high. Just like Chaya, adolescents begin to explore different roles, or ideas about themselves. They may change their behavior or physical looks. They might change their minds about what they want to do with their lives. They are experimenting with who they are and what that means.
If Chaya's parents and friends are supportive of her and allow some amount of experimentation with roles, Chaya will likely end up with a cohesive, full identity that expresses who she is.
But what if her parents and friends are not supportive of her? What if Chaya lives in a society that denies her the ability to experiment with roles and explore who she is as an individual? Well, then Chaya will likely end up in role confusion. She might not feel like she knows who she is deep down, or she might go through life constantly playing the part that her parents or friends want her to play.
Fidelity
So, what's the big deal with identity and role confusion? Why should Chaya develop cohesive identity?
There are many benefits to having a cohesive identity. For one thing, people who end up in role confusion often feel dissatisfied and kind of drift from one thing to another. They might have trouble figuring out what they want from life or relationships.
But most importantly, people in role confusion do not develop fidelity, which Erikson defined as being able to relate to people in a sincere, genuine way. Good relationships have a strong foundation of fidelity.
If an adolescent, like Chaya, is able to resolve the identity versus role confusion conflict and end up with a cohesive identity, she will be able to display fidelity in her relationships with others. If she doesn't end up with a cohesive identity, she is likely not going to have fidelity in her relationships.
For example, let's say that Chaya ends up just following her parents' rules and expectations. She never experiments with who she is or explores what she wants. She grows up into a woman who dresses and acts like her parents expect her to, and she goes to college and medical school to become the doctor that her parents want her to be.
But deep down, Chaya doesn't really know who she is. When she's with other people, she has a tendency to go along with what they say and think because she doesn't know what she thinks or believes, and she doesn't know how to express herself.
When she finds a boyfriend, Chaya goes along with everything that he says; if he wants to go a certain place on vacation, that's fine with her. If he wants her to dress a certain way, that's what she'll do. She reads the books and listens to the music that he likes, too.
Meanwhile, her friends have different opinions of things than her boyfriend does. They think Chaya should dress a different way, and they like different books and music than her boyfriend does. When she's around her friends, she goes along with them; she dresses the way they want her to and talks about the things that they want to talk about.
Chaya is not demonstrating fidelity. That is, she is not being completely genuine with the people around her. Either because she doesn't have an opinion or because she's not able to express her opinions, she's never able to assert herself and tell her boyfriend or her friends what clothes or books or music she really likes. As a result, she will likely not be very happy, and her friends and boyfriend will likely never get to see the 'real' Chaya.
Lesson Summary
Adolescence is the period of life between childhood and adulthood. According to psychologist Erik Erikson, adolescents go through the psychosocial crisis of identity versus role confusion, which involves exploring who they are as individuals. A person who successfully resolves that conflict will end up with a cohesive identity and be able to demonstrate fidelity in his or her interpersonal relationships.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
- Define adolescence and psychosocial crisis
- Explain the role society and individual psychology play in the adolescent psychosocial crisis
- Contrast identity and role confusion and identify the causes that can lead to each outcome
- Discuss how fidelity is dependent on identity and role confusion
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