Erik Erikson Essay

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Erik Erikson was a 20th century developmental psychologist. The fifth stage of his psychological development is Identity versus Confusion. Identity versus Confusion occurs during the adolescence stage which is the age period between 12 and 18. This stage occurs during adolescence because it’s the time of a child or teenager’s life when they are exploring their independence and trying to develop themselves. A child is the most vulnerable during the adolescence stage because they are continually searching for the acceptance of others, they are very easily influenced by others and the environment they are living in. In this day and age, there is a high level of expectation placed on children to preform, which leads to identity confusion. CHALLENGES YOU AND YOUR GROUP FACED DURING ADOLESCENCE (challenges that my group and I faced as adolescents were very much the same. One of my group members questioned their sexual identity. Challenges that I faced during my adolescence stage, was trying to find my place in society and more importantly in school. I went to three different schools during my high school career so I forever felt like the “new kid”. The challenges I faced were fitting in with the right kind of people and finding people that had the same values and morals that I have. Many teenagers struggle to find their identity. Identity deals with how someone feels and how they see themselves. Struggles that teenagers face can be related to sexual identity or related to ethics and values. EXAMPLES OF TEENS STRUGGLING TO FIND IDENTITIES Adolescents often feel insecure about their identities and their role in society. Role deals with how a person acts in their life. They start to experiment with different roles and behaviours in order to establish a better sense of themselves and their identities. Erik Erikson developed the term, Identity Crisis. An identity
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