Erik Erikson And Self-Identity
While Erikson’s theory remains influential, it has been revised over time. Most developmental theorists no longer consider this developmental process as a series of “crises” per se. In addition, this developmental process is considered to be much more fluid and flexible than Erikson first thought. Contemporary theorists now believe that the process of determining one’s identity is a natural process in which youth “try on” or experiment with different identities, and experience the different outcomes of their experiments, in order to determine who they are, and how they want to be perceived by others. For instance, a girl may be curious about Gothic subculture decides she might like to “go Goth.” So she gets her lip pierced, dyes her hair black, and starts wearing a lot of black and purple Victorian styled clothing with a seductive flair. She starts hanging around with other Goths, and listening to Goth music. One outcome of this identity experiment might be rejection by her former set of friends, and constant friction with her parents over her “outlandish” clothing. Another outcome might be a sense belonging and camaraderie that she shares with members of this sub-culture, or perhaps she enjoys all the extra attention she now receives. These outcomes may offset the negative outcomes of her experiment. She is experimenting with a different identity and experiencing the results of her experiment. She will ultimately use this information to decide upon her identity.
Similarly, youth will experiment with different social skills and social strategies. For instance, a girl might try to be aloof and distant around boys to see if she might attract some more attention this way. Youth will also observe their peers, and adults they admire, to develop and improve their social skills. For instance, they may watch a popular teen at a party in order to learn better social skills. They might notice that this well-liked peer is very funny and tells a good joke; or they may notice how their vivacious aunt is always asking for other people’s opinions, rather than monopolizing a conversation by talking about herself. This learning process enables them to create a strong, social web of family, friends, and even lifetime companions. During this process youth will experience both successes and failures along the way as they experiment with different approaches during their interactions with others. Ultimately, this social support network enables youth to create emotional intimacy with a few select people, and to find satisfaction within these relationships.
More about how youth build social bonds will be found later in this article.
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