James Marcia

James Marcia is a Canadian developmental psychologist who expanded on Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. His research and writings have largely focused on adolescent development. His work was to identify and classify processes that adolescents go through when they experience identity crises. The four processes that Marcia defined are:
A pre-teenager is asked about her political affiliation - whether she is a Republican, Democrat, or some third party. After thinking about it for a moment, she says that she does not identify with any political party and really doesn’t know much about politics. When a boy in his teens begins thinking about what he would like to pursue as a career, he realizes that it’s a question he has not given much
If a teen decided to have child at 16 she is no longer considered a youth, her my life was foreclosed upon the day her child was born. Gone were the days of normal adolescence, typical high school life, and the freedom of youth She is now a mother. And though she will still be a daughter, sister, friend, and student, it was motherhood that consumed every waking minute of her day. There was no time for youthful exploration. identity moratorium Active exploration without achieving identity. Definition. A phase or status in which a person is actively exploring alternatives towards solidifying a sense of identity. Example of identity moratorium: “I have been spending lots of time analyzing my occupational interest inventories that I took at school. There are so many opportunities and I have so many questions. One day I want to be an attorney the next day a
These individuals have experienced and resolved crisis carefully and have evaluated all the their options. They have come to these conclusions and made decisions on their own. Once an identity has been achieved, there is a self-acceptance, a stable self-definition, and a commitment to a vocation, religion, and political ideology (Rice, 1999). However, there is still anxiety involved with these individuals – after they have set goals for themselves, they still worry about achieving them. Many individuals do not reach this stage before the graduation of high school primarily because they still live with their parents and are under their rules. Even upon entering college, many still do not develop an achieved identity. Eighty percent of students change their majors during their four years of college (Rice, 1999). These adolescents are often not adolescents when they have deliberately chosen a specific identity for