For several years lay observations have caused a postulate of theory which is; within the time it takes for a high school senior to advance to a distinction of sophomore at University level, a phenomenon of sudden change by these young adults to a contradictory belief system has occurred. Having close association to young adults; both relational and by acquaintance, certain aspects of personality, specifically; the need for social belonging, raised the thought that it was this rather than true contemplation of ideas and beliefs, that had influence over the rapid contrast in ideological belief. In search of validation, a review of the literature on this topic was needed. Previous research has shown that behavior is influenced by situation, personality and culture (Jonsson, 2006). If looking at the components of that research the atmosphere, (culture) situation, has been provided by the liberal progressive theme that has overrun many universities. This combined with the young adult’s time of life that can bring great social, personal, and cognitive changes, provides ripe circumstances for finding an identity that will also feed the needs of self-esteem in belonging. The theorist, Erik Erikson (1963) spoke of this time in life as a type of psychosocial suspension in the search for social values that can define their identity. He also asserted that at this age young adults are eager to be accepted by their peers when searching for values (Goethals, 1999). Concerning the personality factor; many researchers have conducted studies utilizing the Five Factor Model, (FFM) of traits and Schwartz’s (1992) theory of basic personal values in searching for defining traits which identify with either the liberal or conservative ideology. There ... ... middle of paper ... ...ndings are consistent with psychological viewpoints on identity-based social influence (Cohen, 2003; Mackie et al., 1990; Turner, 1991), and the interpersonal motivations to form shared reality (Hardin & Higgins, 1996; Hardin & Conley, 2001 ;) (Malka & Lelkes, 2010). There is plentiful research to tie together the independent components of social influence, situation, personality, culture, and of the conformity found in Malka & Lelkes, (2010) More than Ideology: Conservative–Liberal Identity and Receptivity to Political Cues. Although all of this credible research exists, further studies are needed in finding that difference between a true ideological shift in viewpoint that is internal and consistent, and the one that develops out of the need of social belonging and then builds upon itself in conformity to the socially accepted definitions of an ideological view.
During this stage, Erikson believes that the individual’s successful identity formation relies on social, cognitive and physical maturation (Pittman, Keiley, Kerpelman, & Vaughn, 2011). The individual tries out different roles for who they see in themselves and who they portray to others, eventually committing to their own personal role and occupational choice. Pittman et al. (2011) describe the identity formation as “consisting of decisions, investments, and commitments tied to current and future roles, goals, and relationships.” Additional considerations for identity formation include the context of the culture which is available to the adolescent during this time. After successful resolution of this stage during adolescence, individuals will typically progress into Erikson’s Intimacy versus Isolation stage during young
...f adolescence allow development the identity that will serve as a basis for their adult lives. During Erikson's stage of identity versus role confusion, adolescents' description of self expands to include personality traits and attitudes. The emergence of abstract reasoning abilities allows adolescents to think about the future and experiment with different identities. The development of abstract thought in adolescence also impels the exploration of religious and spiritual beliefs. The development of religious identity begins to come into question with further exploration. Even though the adolescent may eventually adopt beliefs that were similar to their childhood beliefs, the process of exploration is important in achieving a religious identity.
A person can stand up for their beliefs against another person, but as more people criticize those beliefs, it becomes much harder to stand up for what one believes in and much easier to give in and agree with the majority. When a person begins to feel condemned and cornered against a group of people, they tend to conform their actions in order to align them with their new identity. Gladwell states about the Stanford Prison Experiment, “the guards, some who had previously identified themselves as pacifists, fell quickly into the role of hard-bitten disciplinarians. The first night they woke up the prisoners at two in the morning and made them do push-ups, line up against the wall, and perform other arbitrary tasks.” (158). The subjects’ identities fell into align with respect to their immediate environment. With no control over their true identities, their actions as a group must coincide with each other’s. The situational pressure is automatically exerted onto each member of the group; if one member does not act in accordance with the group’s actions, one will most likely face criticism from the other members. The conscious awareness of these consequences will keep most members of the situation in align with their newly molded identities. External pressures play a very similar role, without the presence and involvement of groups of people. Like peer pressures, external influences lure us to change our actions according to the expectations of those certain outer influences. Davidson states, “…given that our system of education presumes college preparation is the ideal, even in environments where most kids are not going on to college” (59). Even if a student does not have the ambition to attend college, they are still forced to meet the expectations of those who plan to attend college. If they do not meet those expectations, they will be
Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory is comprised of eight developmental stages ranging throughout the lifespan from infancy to adulthood (Boyd, 2015). However, Erikson puts significant emphasis on the adolescent stage, feeling it is a crucial period for developing an individual’s identity (McLeod, 2013). Erikson maintains that the task of adolescence is to resolve this identity crisis (Rageliene, 2016). Erikson’s theory is hierarchical, meaning that later stages are based on the outcomes of earlier stages, therefor it is rather complex (Markstrom, 1998). During each of these stages, an
Retrieved from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/01/08/most-political-independents-actually-arent/ Tajifel, H. a. d. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a The social identity theory of inter-group behavior. Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/258189.
This period is marked by physical, social, moral and emotional development (Davies, Hartdegen, Haxell, Le Geyt & Mercier, 2012). It is a time when the adolescent’s sense of self or identity is becoming much more clear and they are beginning to understand their role in society, starting to question the morals of others and contemplating their own moral and ethical beliefs (Davies et al., 2012). During this time Erik Erikson believed that adolescents are faced with the psychosocial stage of identity versus role confusion (Berk, 2008). Adolescents explore their values and role in society, overcoming this conflict to better understand their own identity, however if they do not fully overcome this conflict, Erikson believed that the adolescent would be confused about their values and future adult roles (Berk, 2008). This conflict was clearly demonstrated in my own development during the late teenage years when I experienced both the results of failing to overcome and then overcoming Erikson’s fifth psychosocial stage. At age eighteen I finished secondary school and began my tertiary studies, I had been accepted into the degree I had wanted to study since middle childhood, however I quickly learnt that I was enjoying neither my studies nor my experience of life in halls of residence. I discontinued my studies after only
People go through many obstacles when they face their social identity. Some can overcome their differences, but others may not have they change to even face them due to the treatment that they get from society. Social identity is the one of many controversial and complex problems that many individuals deal with. Because, sometimes it used to be misunderstood making reference to racism and/or others complex matters. “On Being a Cripple” and “How It Feels to Be Colored” are two essays in which both characters suffer from some kind of discrimination. Indeed, in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston and “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, each author shows different attitude, endures challenges, and change toward social identity.
In society, it is natural for humans to associate with groups that share the same beliefs and or political views. We as humans find comfort in conforming to the social norm of a group or society. But, following this trend of conformity consequently causes people to blindly follow others, even if those supporting the cause do not entirely understand the true nature of the group they have associated with.
The theory of personality of Erik Erikson is among one of the most important theories used to explain how people develop their personality. Although a psychoanalyst, Erikson it not merely considered the psychosexual aspect as the mere factors that contributed to the development of individuals’ personality, but also took into account the psychosocial aspect. Erikson divided personality development in eight stages: basic trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role diffusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair, (Cervone & Pervin, 2013; Johnson & Ahmad, 2014; Maitland, 2011).
Social institutions, like educational and religious groups, enhance rule obedience and contribute to the formation of identity and sense of belonging to certain groups. People possess a set of beliefs that condition their everyday behavior, like one can think that education is the most important four our future, while other people might believe that staying at home and raising their children is their reality. However, our beliefs are influenced by the groups that we interact. For instance, if we join a feminist movement, we might start reflecting a positive attitude towards gender equality. This illustrates how our social interaction can influence or beliefs related to race, and gender. Similarly, religious institutions and
The work that I do is a product of my own history; it often revolves around the question of belongingness and home. Throughout my life I have lived in 16 homes, 10 cities/villages, 4 countries and 3 continents. The constant change, the constant need to adapt to new surroundings, new cultures made me question the notion of home and how that affects our identities.
Fashion is one of those things that people can claim they don't care about. They can defend again and again that it doesn't matter what one wears, it's the person who wears it. But in all likelihood they will continue to be judged, as we all are, for the clothes on our body, the shoes on our feet and the hairstyle we are sporting.
in psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi, my psychology courses kindled more curiosity in youth psychological development, and I became cognizant of many unanswered questions that I had as an adolescent. Periodically, I pondered questions such as, “What characteristics of my friends helped assuage the concerns of my social environment? “Why did a large number of my peers not appreciate the morals that were important in school or as a well-rounded person? Was it because of their home environment, peer pressure, personality, or a biological disposition such as raging hormones or an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex?” I was also engrossed in courses where the theories of psychologists and researchers such as Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget provided insight about probable explanations for general life experiences and how such experiences are developmental in nature and can be accredited to a variety of factors such as culture, age, environment, and gender. By studying psychology, I felt that those burning questions I had as a teenager were sometimes answered by innovative research findings that were described in my textbooks and in academic journals. As an avid learner swayed by the soundness of prominent psychological theories, I then became interested in clinical child research and joined Dr. Christopher T. Barry’s Youth Personality and Behavior (YPB) laboratory as a volunteer research assistant during my sophomore year of
Young adults think differently than adolescents and they have different views and opinions on things. During adulthood, an individual begins to discontinue their risky behaviors such as having sex without protection, driving recklessly, and playing dangerous sports. On the other hand, some people still continue this behavior while in adulthood but it is not common. Many people believe that the key sign of actually becoming an adult is financially supporting oneself. This step occurs sooner to the students who either do not attend college or do not finish high school. Students which go to college, this occurs to them later on in life. Establishing intimacy is the sixth step in Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, “intimacy versus isolation.” Once a person has established their own identity, they are prepared to establish a “shared identity” (intimacy) with another person. Men and women resolve intimacy issues very differently, for instance, some women establish intimacy by getting married and having children, before they actually establish their identity. Middle-aged women attending college are an example of these
The period of development from adolescence to adulthood offers an abundance of opportunities and confronts (Kroger, 2007). Many theorists argue that an individual’s personality has an increased