According to Erik Erikson, a German psychoanalyst that was heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud, individuals go through eight stages of their psychological development, right from their infancy to the end of life. At every stage, an individual deals with a conflict or crisis that serves as the turning point in development to the next stage (Kroger, 2015). Of the eights stages of psychosocial development, the one that interests me the most is the fifth stage; identity vs. role confusion that occurs in adolescents. I offer reflection on this stage in relation to my career development and why the stage interests me the most.
The fifth stage of development as postulated by Erikson interests because of a variety of issues, especially its features. Erikson states that at this stage one forms their personal identity by exploring different behaviors, roles and identities. In fact, Erikson says that the stage is the most critical because once an individual has established their identity; they can find future direction in life (Kroger, 2015). While I have never experienced working with this age group, my anticipation is that I will focus on them. I believe that everyone passes through this stage, and wishes to do all that freedom can give him or her, especially when they attain the legal age of being adults. The universal age of consent is eighteen but in some countries it is sixteen years. Therefore, one can imagine how it feels before they attain that age and become adults. Again, I am interested about the norms, personal values, goals, and beliefs that one develops at this stage. I would just love helping these transitioning young adults to realize how they can coin and shape their future.
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According to Erikson, the stage offers the adolescents tremendous opportunities to explore their environment (Jones et al., 2014). For instance, at this stage, an individual attempts to “fit in,” get a sense of belonging, and be accepted among their peers based on what they value the most. At this stage, the reducing parental influence is evident as the adolescent seeks to discover their world, their likes and, goals in life. They identify their future career paths and are keen on staying alive with their peers in terms of fashion, lifestyles, what they value most, and their sense of independence. Those who successfully develop their identity feel secure, independent and ready to tackle the future. Conversely, those who remain confused feel lost, insecure, and unsure of their world (Jones et al., 2014). Therefore, as a student, I feel that I should know more about the stage for my future career. I am so much thrilled with the stage as it is considered the most critical, and at a personal level ask if I successfully navigated the stage. These experiences and knowledge will allow me to be in a better position in my future career as a high school teacher and understand the adolescents.
At this stage, I may state that most of the relevant features are physical and cognitive. At this time, adolescents experience developmental changes in their bodies that culminate in maturation of various organs and systems. For instance, they become sexually mature and are concerned with having relationships with the opposite sex. As a reaction to the pressures of the stage, some may delay responsibilities (moratorium) because they feel that they have not fully grown physically. Cognitive development is profound at this stage (Sanders, 2013). According to Jean Piaget, the adolescence stage is the time when one’s thoughts begin taking an abstract form as egocentric attitudes and thinking reduces. Effectively, the adolescent can think and reason with a wider perspective. Based on Piaget’s constructivist perspective, the cognitive development of an adolescent is sudden and drastic because they are just moving out of their egocentrism. Piaget’s theory states that adolescents improve in five different areas that include attention, information processing speed, memory, metacognition, and organization (Piaget, 2000). Again, at this stage, adolescents are more likely to question one’s assertions as opposed to accepting some facts as absolute truths. In other words, they become more inquisitive and critical. For instance, meta-cognition allows them to think about their feelings and how they are perceived by others. Because of the rapid emotional and physical changes at this stage, most of the adolescents create imaginary audiences concerning how people think about them.
I believe that the strengths of this stage include the curiosity that the adolescents possess, their energies and zeal to explore their identities, and the world around them (Barrouillet, 2015). However, a major weakness of this stage is that adolescents’ cognitive development is too drastic and sudden as they make decisions that lead to future regrets. Another weakness is the formation of imaginary audiences. According to Arrington Sanders, imaginary audiences are very detrimental to the adolescents, especially if they are getting clinical care or services as they may want to hide from their peers by denying their problem (Sanders, 2013).
I believe that most of the cognitive and physical features are developmental and culturally bound. It follows that most of the adolescents will do away with some of the behaviors and attitudes as they move into the next stage. They become more mature and feel that some of the things they did were not necessary. Additionally, some of the features are culturally bound since in some cultures, how adolescents behave is dictated by the cultural aspects like traditions, religion, and language among other things.
Conclusion
The psychosocial development stage of the adolescent is the most interesting as it allows one to think about their future amidst peer pressure and attempts to establish an identity for oneself. I believe it is the most enjoyable situation for many of us, myself included.
References
Barrouillet, P. (2015). Theories of cognitive development: From Piaget to today. Developmental Review, 2015, vol.38, pp.1-12.
Jones, R. M., Vaterlaus, J. M., Jackson, M. A., & Morrill, T. B. (2014). Friendship characteristics, psychosocial development, and adolescent identity formation. Personal Relationships , vol.21, no.1, pp.51-67.
Kroger, J. (2015). Identity development through adulthood: The move toward “wholeness.” The Oxford handbook of identity development , 65-80.
Piaget, J. (2000). Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Childhood cognitive development: The essential readings , 33-47.
Sanders, A. R. (2013) “Adolescent Psychosocial, Social, and Cognitive Development.” Pediatrics in Review , vol.34, no. 8, pp.
