Erikson

The Importance of Identity in Adult Learners
Melissa Nicole Salas
East Carolina University

Abstract
The major issues to ponder here for adult educators revolve around our sense of how important it is to know our students as more than just students. How concerned should educators be with what life stages students are currently struggling with and the past success/failures they’ve had? The purpose of this research is to highlight the importance of instructors knowing learners well enough so that they can effectively teach them. The findings of the research are that it is important to know what stages of life learners are currently in, and to identify through conversations and interactions how best to assess learners, and that it is important to know these things because then educators will be more prepared for the responses and actions of students in their classrooms.

Introduction
It is important for adult learners and educators to know that certain life stages play a major part in our maturity as an individual, our self-esteem, values morals and responsibilities. As young adults, we must find who we are and where we are going. Intimacy with another person is possible; otherwise we may become isolated from others. In adulthood, we must continue our mental growth, health, creativity, and productivity or risk the chance of stagnation. As older adults nearing the end of our lives, we must choose between maintaining a feeling of worth and integrity or yield to feelings of despair where we sense that life was a waste of time and energy.
Erik Erikson’s Stages of Development, known as the “Psychosocial Theory of Development”, suggests there are eight stages of development that begin with birth and end with death. The development of the individual depends mainly on the social/environmental influences that interact directly with the physical and psychological growth of the person. The first five stages occur between infancy and end during adolescence. The final three stages with which adult educators must pay particular attention occur during early adulthood and extend through old age (Erikson’s Theory of Personality, 2006).
Erikson was a German-born American psychoanalyst who was heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud. Erikson asserted that each of the psychological developmental stages is characterized by a specific psychological conflict that seeks a resolution (Learning Theories, 2012). With two possible outcomes in each stage, either a positive completion of a stage (which results in a healthy personality and interaction with others), or a failure to successfully complete a stage (which can result in unhealthy personality traits and a warped sense of self), occurs. These important developments in personality and self-identity correlate directly with success in undergraduate and graduate studies. Erikson’s theory described the relationship between societal development, biological development, and psychological development, and the connections these have with a person’s relationship to society (B. Newman and P. Newman, 2011).

Purpose
Because Erikson’s theory attempts to explain changes that occur in our social lives and in self-understanding, it is important for adult educators to learn and study the different stages of development. Theories provide framework for understanding human behavior through development and learning. Educators can better understand themselves and others by learning and studying different theories. Erikson’s theory is especially helpful in diagnosing why certain adults respond the way they do in the classroom. Each stage of Erikson’s development has two possible outcomes, therefore, if when the adult was in an early stage and did not reach the positive outcome, the negative outcome can and will often stand in the way of learning (in the beginning). Each stage will be discussed further in the Discussion section.
Success in the classroom is the most important part of a student’s life; therefore, it is important that teachers give students plenty of chances and opportunities to succeed. This also means that teachers need to provide opportunities to succeed in challenging environments, because success with ease is never appreciated. Teachers can take and use Erikson’s theories to appropriate respond to students’ needs in the classroom and use the information to produce positive outcomes.
The purpose of this research is to set the stage for myself and other adult educators in the arena of getting to know students for who they are as people rather than just who they are in the classroom. Learning about students’ pasts and their various stages of developmental failures and successes can help shape and mold our own vision of how each session will progress. Another purpose of research Erikson’s theory is to enlighten and teach myself the importance of psychology in the classroom. As an educator, I focus mostly on pedagogy and androgogy rather than psychology while studying. The value of understanding psychological changes and progression in students never occurred to me prior to this research experience, and therefore I believe I will be a better educator to all ages of students.

Selected Literature Review My first interest in Erikson’s theory spawned from Silver’s Role Transitions, Objects, and Identity research. He focused primarily on one major role transition: going to college. This is particularly important to my research, as I’m dealing directly with college-aged students. In his research, Silver speaks volumes about Erikson’s ego identity, where new social identities “tend to emerge only when social roles change profoundly” (Silver, 2009, p. 3). He goes on to call attention to other theorists, such as Berger and McAdams who share Erikson’s ideas about ego identity and call their approach the life story perspective. More interestingly, Springett’s studies, which revolve around students’ satisfaction with college instruction/experience, speak volumes to Erikson’s stages. Springett’s research led him to Waterman and Waterman, and they found that students who “were in some crisis of Occupational Ego-Identity while at college would report relatively low course satisfaction because they would associate the college with the personal crisis” (Springett, 1986, p. 324). Unfortunately for Waterman and Waterman (1970), methodological weaknesses were present, such as small sample sizes and the absence of sex as an independent variable (Springett, 1986). Discussion
According to Erikson, there are eight stages of development – each with Ego Developmental Outcomes that can potential help or hinder learning later in life. It is important to note that age listings for each stage are approximate, and that in teen to adult and on, the stages can be progressed through more quickly or more slowly, depending on the success of the previous or latter stages. In infancy (birth to eighteen months), infants struggle with trust vs. mistrust. In early childhood, children struggle with autonomy vs. shame. Between the ages of three and five, children struggle with initiative vs. guilt. Once children reach school age, the variables change because they’re met with a more diverse set of people – they go from just the immediate family and select others to a whole slew of children and teachers. They then start to deal with industry vs. inferiority. As the years progress, children who are now teens begin to struggle with bigger issues in addition to the success (or not) of the past struggles. During adolescence, twelve to eighteen years old, teens begin struggling between identity vs. role confusion.
Because identity is, for the most part, established during the stages surrounding adolescence, the success of each previous challenge contributes at least in part to the make-up of the student’s healthy identity. Infants succeeding at the early stages are forming trusting relationships in their minds. Other childhood psychosocial challenges establish autonomy, initiative, and industry. Achieving these previous psychosocial functions facilitates establishing identity in adolescence (Brogan, 2003).
It is after the teen years that we are most concerned as adult educators. In early adulthood, ages eighteen to thirty-five, we struggle with intimacy and solidarity vs. isolation. In middle adulthood, students who have successfully passed through early adulthood are now facing struggles with work – they struggle between generativity vs. self-absorption or stagnation. Often we see students at this stage coming back to school to change careers or to enhance their established careers (Cherry, 2010).
In late adulthood, students are nearing the end of their lives. They struggle mostly with the question, “Is what I’ve done meaningful?” The answer can hinder or help students move forward. It is essential that we recognize that students in this stage need reassurance that yes, they matter and what they’ve done matters, or they’ll quit classes and move on (or not) to other things. As educators, we obviously want students to stay with us, if not for furthering careers then for the love of learning (Erikson, 1993).

A More Detailed Look at Erikson’s Stages of Development and the Implications of Each Stage on an Adult’s Life
If an infant passes through the first stage of life successfully, he learns that life is basically good and learns to have confidence in himself in future settings. However, if an infant fails at this stage, learning is hindered greatly. Later in life, students who fail at this stage end up with feelings of worthlessness and a general mistrust of his surroundings.
In early childhood (eighteen months to three years), children struggle with autonomy vs. shame. During this stage, children learn how to master skills such as tying shoelaces and self-feeding. Children learn fine motor development and are learning to talk and walk. It is during this time that children have the chance to build (or not) self-esteem. It is during this stage that children learn autonomy and shame. If a child is shamed during potty training, he or she may end up doubting his or her capabilities and suffer low self-esteem throughout life.
Between years three to five, children struggle with initiative vs. guilt. It is during this time that children begin copying and imitating the adults immediately around them. Often children are caught assigning adult roles to their favorite toys. If children are left without initiative, they end up experiencing guilt.
In the school age years, ages six to twelve, children/students begin to learn and accomplish new skills and knowledge. This is called industry – and the negative outcome is called inferiority. It is now that children begin to truly compare themselves with other children and can either become confident or self-conscious.
In adolescence, teens who are between twelve and eighteen are no longer children but are also not yet adults. They begin to question their own identities and roles – which can lead to many issues. Life becomes more complex and teens wrestle with moral issues, social interactions, and finding their identities. The major task of this age is for teens to figure out who they are as a separate entity from their families. It is at this age that the most significant relationship formed are those with other teens.
Young adulthood is the age where we as adult educators are most concerned. We meet, often for the first time, young adults in the classroom. So many of the other struggles have been resolved (either positively or negatively), and now we watch as many of our students struggle with intimacy and solidarity (finding mutually satisfying relationships, starting a family, making lifelong friends) vs. isolation (distance from others). When we see students who are struggling through this stage of life, we as educators and as nurturers need to remember and understand that while students may or may not share the intimate details of their lives, they are struggling nonetheless. In the classroom, it is important to remember that at this age, many students are either establishing or leaving relationships like revolving doors, but that those relationships are often heartbreaking and life changing. This affects students in the classroom in many ways, mostly in that they can lose focus on the task at hand because of a life-changing event at home. Students at this age are going through many changes, and all of them are huge. Starting a family is one change that students go through during this age, and this can hinder learning in many ways, regardless of the student’s abilities and will power.
In middle adulthood, thirty-five to fifty-five/sixty-five, students are now most likely established and have succeeded (or not) in their personal lives. This is the point where we see students who are coming back to school for the first time, or changing careers and therefore coming back to college or university level learning. Middle adulthood is when students identify that they are in charge of their own lives – a life-changing event for many adults. Though many students and adults seem to think they’ve got their lives under control, in early adulthood, they are still dependent on others in many ways (Erikson, 1993). By the time a student has established him or herself in a career, they are completely autonomous. Middle adulthood is when students are occupied with creative and meaningful work, and when they are concerned more with issues about family.
Students’ children are getting older and progressing through their own stages, furthering the development of the student him/herself. At this stage, we also see the mid-life crisis, and witness the struggle with finding new meanings and purposes in life (Cherry, 2010). Some students may just return to school for the fanciful idea of learning new things, while others have a more work-oriented mindset.
In late adulthood, ages fifty-five or sixty-five to the end of life, we see struggles with integrity vs. despair. The biggest strength and outcome from this stage is wisdom – Erikson expressed in much of his work that the best part of life is recovering from middle adulthood. Most adults at this stage (who have successfully progressed through the previous seven stages) look back at their lives satisfied and content. Students who have failed at some stage will look back in despair and perceived failures; they fear death and struggle to find purpose (Cherry, 2010). Many students who are at this stage in life need reassurance that what they are doing now matters in the long run – and if they don’t feel it matters, they’ll quit.

Assessment
Erikson’s Stages of Development are particularly important to adult educators, as identifying different stages and their implications, either negative or positive, shapes how we motivate and encourage our students. Each year that we teach, we have different students with different needs and goals, and it is critical to pay close attention to the success or failure of students at previous stages. It is easy to identify many successes or failures based on what we witness in the classroom – and therefore we can adjust and modify our teaching style along with our people skills in order to make the most of everyone’s experience each class.

Conclusions
In conclusion, the most important thing to note is that we, as adult educators, must pay particular attention to how we handle different ages and stages of student development. If educators notice and can identify a student who has particular needs (has failed in certain stages, according to Erikson), they can adjust their teaching and mentoring styles to help those students succeed. For example, if a teacher notices a student who struggles with self-confidence, he knows that student needs extra support and reassurance to overcome this particular stage of life in order to succeed and move forward.
Evaluations of Erikson’s stages of development have had positive reviews towards the validity of his formulations. He has stimulated a great deal of discussion and many attempts at application by professionals in a variety of fields, including social work, education, nursing and history. His theory has had a major impact in the field of mental health (Boyd & Koskela, 1970). Erikson placed a great deal of emphasis on the adolescent period and his work has impacted psychology of adolescence. On the other hand, Erikson has been criticized for watering down the Freudian theory and for creating an overly optimistic view of the concept of “ego” and of human beings.
In Kauffman and Feldman’s (2004) research, they found that studying direct and “what might be called indirect interaction” among students and faculty was most beneficial. They found that by asking students themselves to inform them about social interactions in college, they were able to conclude that a “symbolic interactionist framework [allowed them to] consider not only face-to-face interaction between students and teachers, students and students, and other such encounters, but also the feelings, thoughts, and perhaps the [silent admiration of] the teacher (or not), as they compare themselves to their student peers, as they study alone in their dorm rooms, as they reflect on what it means to be a college student, and the like” (Kaufmman and Feldman, 2004, p 466).

Recommendation
It is easy to see that one would strongly recommend adult educators be familiar with Erikson’s Stages of Development. Though much of the successes and failures occur prior to our face-to-face meeting with students, they shape who students are from the time they walk through our doors and throughout each semester/quarter/year. We can shape and adjust our teaching styles and people skills in the classroom to help our students succeed best if we take notice of the different success/failure rates of each group of students who walk through our doors. It is only when teachers take the time to create nurturing, caring environments where each student feels valued that our students become motivated and learn at high rates (Stipek, 2002).

References
Boyd, R. D. & Koskela, R. N. (1970). A test of Erikson’s theory of ego-stage development by means of a self-report instrument. The journal of experimental education. 38(3), 1-14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20157104

Brogan , R. (2003).Identity-development. Classroom education. In education.com. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/identity-development/

Cherry, K. (2010). Erikson 's psychosocial stages summary chart. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm

Erikson, E. H. (1993). Childhood and society. W. W. Norton & Company.

Erikson’s Theory of Personality. (2006). In Elsevier’s dictionary of psychological theories. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/estpsyctheory/erikson_s_theory_of_per sonality

Kauffman, P., Feldman, K. (2004). Forming identities in college: A sociological approach. Research in higher education, 45(5). p. 466.

Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2012). Erikson’s stages of development. Retrieved from http://www.learningtheories.com/eriksons-stages-of-development.html


Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2011). Development through life, a psychosocial approach. (11 ed., Vol. 11). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub Co.

Silver, I. (1996). Role transitions, objects, and identity. Symbolic Interaction, 19(1), 1-20.

Springett, N. R. (1986). Course satisfaction and occupational ego-identity among undergraduates. Higher education, 15(3/4), 323-331.

Stipek, D. (2002). Motivation to learn: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Waterman, A., & Waterman, C. (1970). The relationship between ego identity status and satisfaction with college. The journal of educational research, 64(4), 165-168.

References: Boyd, R. D. & Koskela, R. N. (1970). A test of Erikson’s theory of ego-stage development by means of a self-report instrument Brogan , R. (2003).Identity-development. Classroom education. In education.com. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/identity-development/ Cherry, K. (2010). Erikson 's psychosocial stages summary chart. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm Erikson, E. H. (1993). Childhood and society. W. W. Norton & Company. Erikson’s Theory of Personality. (2006). In Elsevier’s dictionary of psychological theories Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2012). Erikson’s stages of development. Retrieved from http://www.learningtheories.com/eriksons-stages-of-development.html Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2011). Development through life, a psychosocial approach. (11 ed., Vol. 11). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub Co. Silver, I. (1996). Role transitions, objects, and identity. Symbolic Interaction, 19(1), 1-20. Springett, N. R. (1986). Course satisfaction and occupational ego-identity among undergraduates Stipek, D. (2002). Motivation to learn: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Waterman, A., & Waterman, C. (1970). The relationship between ego identity status and satisfaction with college