Finding my identity
Finding My Identity
PSY201-01 Human Growth and Behavior
Professor Daniel R. Kleber
November 30, 2011
Finding my Identity
James Marcia’s theories of identity status along with Erik Erikson’s identity vs. identity confusion both coincide with periods in my adolescence and middle adulthood life.
“Marcia’s theory of identity achievement argues that two distinct parts of an adolescent identity: crisis (i.e. a time when one’s values and choices are being reevaluated) and commitment. He defined a crisis as a time of upheaval where old values or choices are being reexamined, and the outcome of a crisis that leads to commitment made to a certain role or value.” (Marcia, 1966, pp. 551-558).
Marcia’s proposed four status of identity development: identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity moratorium, and identity achievement. At age thirteen my father insisted on teaching my sister and I his tailoring trade. My sister didn’t adapt as well as I did, she being a year and a half younger, attended junior secondary and then senior secondary school. I will say my sister went through adolescence gracefully in term of academics. While learning tailoring I also attended drafting school, my father even bought me a briefcase with a combination lock to put my tools in. I remember being teased by the students in the school for coming to school with a briefcase, but my father insisted I use it.
By age sixteen I was able to calculate the labor, material and accessories in order to make a profit on a custom made outfit. After just a few years I was running a production line with twenty workers, and producing a good quality product efficiently. I also graduated from drafting school so I can draw a plan to build a house. That stage in my life was identity foreclosure, being committed to what my father wanted for me and allowing him to pre-determine a career path for me without going through a crisis.
PSY201-01 Human Growth and Behavior
Professor Daniel R. Kleber
November 30, 2011
Finding my Identity
James Marcia’s theories of identity status along with Erik Erikson’s identity vs. identity confusion both coincide with periods in my adolescence and middle adulthood life.
“Marcia’s theory of identity achievement argues that two distinct parts of an adolescent identity: crisis (i.e. a time when one’s values and choices are being reevaluated) and commitment. He defined a crisis as a time of upheaval where old values or choices are being reexamined, and the outcome of a crisis that leads to commitment made to a certain role or value.” (Marcia, 1966, pp. 551-558).
Marcia’s proposed four status of identity development: identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity moratorium, and identity achievement. At age thirteen my father insisted on teaching my sister and I his tailoring trade. My sister didn’t adapt as well as I did, she being a year and a half younger, attended junior secondary and then senior secondary school. I will say my sister went through adolescence gracefully in term of academics. While learning tailoring I also attended drafting school, my father even bought me a briefcase with a combination lock to put my tools in. I remember being teased by the students in the school for coming to school with a briefcase, but my father insisted I use it.
By age sixteen I was able to calculate the labor, material and accessories in order to make a profit on a custom made outfit. After just a few years I was running a production line with twenty workers, and producing a good quality product efficiently. I also graduated from drafting school so I can draw a plan to build a house. That stage in my life was identity foreclosure, being committed to what my father wanted for me and allowing him to pre-determine a career path for me without going through a crisis.