Psychosocial

Identity
Development
Kathy Moua and Manny Ovando
 Introduction & Learning Objective

We will explore Psychosocial Identity Development. We will focus

on the theories and our participants’ experiences to address how to

become more mindful higher education practitioners.

Introduction & Learning Objective
Psychosocial Theories:

General principles to how important issues are faced by people, how to define themselves with relationships and others, and

what to do in their lives.

Content of Development:

Taking place along the lifespan of an individual, within age-linked sequential stages.

● Each stage introduce developmental tasks which are compelling questions to be resolved

● When internal biological and psychosocial changes interact with social norms new stages are introduced

● Resolutions for these developmental tasks are influenced by how successful the individual is developing the

appropriate coping skills

 First Activity

What developmental “crisis” have you experienced that was a

catalyst and helped you develop your identity?

 Psychosocial Identity Development
These are the theories mentioned in the text:

● Erikson’s Psychosocial Identity Development Theory (Eight Stages)

● James Marcia (Ego Identity Status)

● Developed as an empirical approach on Erikson’s 5th Stage: Identity vs Identity Diffusion

● Ruthellen Josselson (Theory of Women’s Development)

● Based off of Marcia’s and applied to research women’s development

● Arthur Chickering and Linda Reisser (Developmental Vectors and Educationally Influential

Environments)

● Built off of Erikson’s discussion of identity and intimacy, addressing how influential

environments affect one’s identity development

 Psychosocial Identity Development

James Marcia (Ego Identity Ruthellen Josselson

Status) (Theory of Women’s

Erikson’s Development)

Psychosocial Identity
Arthur Chickering and Linda
Development Theory
Reisser (Developmental
(Eight Stages) *All theories have been
Vectors and Educationally used to research student
development and have
Influential Environments) also been expanded upon
 Psychosocial Identity Development

https://youtu.be/aYCBdZLCDBQ
 Erik Erikson’s Identity Development Theory
2. 3.
8 Stages
4. Each stage is distinguished
by a crisis that serves as a
catalyst for development
1.
Stages 1-4 is adolescence

Stage 5 is the basis of

8. 5. development*

Stage 6-8 is adulthood

7. 6.
*The theories we will be
focusing on today discuss
primarily on stage 5 (and a
little bit of stage 6).
James Marcia - Ego Identity Status (1966)
Identity statuses, offer additional ways to understand how individuals within the identity
versus diffusion stage resolve identity crisis.

“Made up of two critical variables”

Exploration: Questioning values and goals defined by parents or authority figures and
weighing across various identity alternatives.

● Seek resources and advice from knowledgeable others to explore options.

● Can begin with excitement and curiosity but reaches to a resolution with fear and
anxiety.

Commitment: Attaching ownership to action, values and goals.

● These individuals are confident and optimistic.

 James Marcia - Ego Identity Status (1966)

How young adults revolve around crisis?

● Foreclosure(No Crisis/Commitment): Individuals who accept parental values and experience few crises because their authorities

direct their path.

● Moratorium (Crisis/No Commitment): Individuals who question parental values in order to form their identity. The crisis or

exploration comes without commitment.

● Identity Achievement (Crisis/Commitment): Individuals who experience more crises than in other statuses because their

identity foundation is secure enough to investigate multiple alternatives, engage in risk-taking, and clearly articulate choices.

● Diffusion (No Crisis/No Commitment): Individuals who refuse or are unable to firmly commit and have not experienced a

significant crisis.
 Marcia and Josselson’s Statuses

Search/Exploration No Search/Exploration

Commitment Identity-Achievement (Marcia) Foreclosure (Marcia)

Identity Achievement: Pavers of Foreclosures: Purveyors of

the Way (Pathmakers)(Josselson) the Heritage
(Guardians)(Josselson)
No Commitment Moratorium (Marcia) Diffusion (Marcia)

Moratoriums: Daughters of the Identity Diffusions: Lost

Crisis (Searchers)(Josselson) and Sometimes Found
(Drifters)(Josselson)
 Ruthellen Josselson - Theory of Women’s Development (1978)
“To understand the internal and developmental roots of identity formation for women”

● Gathered data from over 60 randomly women, college seniors from the age of 20-22 from for different college -

published findings, “Finding Herself”. (1978)

After 10 years she conducted a follow up study with 30 women who originally participated in the study to examine the

accuracy of her findings.

● In the span of 22 years she interviewed in 30s and 40s.

● Findings resulted in the development from ages 21-43.

● “Revising Herself”(1996), How women “revise their lives as they grow from late adolescence to mature

adulthood” and “women who were coming of age in the midst of such wrenching changes” .
 Ruthellen Josselson - Theory of Women’s Development (1978)

Foreclosures: Purveyors of the Heritage (Guardians):

Women graduate from college with identity commitment but have experienced no identity crisis.

Moratoriums: Daughters of the Crisis (Searchers):

Women who graduate and remain at the moratoriums state are caught in identity conflict and need additional
time beyond college to resolve conflict .

Identity Achievement: Pavers of the Way (Pathmakers):

Women at the end of college were not satisfied with the career choices and initiated change by obtaining work
opportunities to promote a harmonious identity.

Identity Diffusions: Lost and Sometime Found (Drifters): At the end of college many experienced psychosocial
trauma and were unable to make identity commitments due to instability and unreliability of their capacity to
organize and integrate experiences.
 Arthur Chickering and Linda Reisser

(Developmental Vectors and Educationally Influential Environments)

What are “vectors”?

“...major highways for journeying towards individuation”

Students move through these vectors at different rates and

may deal with issues related to more than one vector at the
same time.
Arthur Chickering and Linda Reisser

(Developmental Vectors and Educationally Influential Environments)

Developing competence:
Intellectual competence, physical and manual skills, and interpersonal
competence.

Managing emotions:
Students develop the ability to recognize and accept emotions, as well as to
appropriately express and control them.

Moving through autonomy toward interdependence:

“Freedom from continual and pressing needs for reassurance, affection, or
approval from others.”
 Arthur Chickering and Linda Reisser

(Developmental Vectors and Educationally Influential Environments)

Developing mature interpersonal relationships:

Development of intercultural and interpersonal tolerance and appreciation of
differences, as well as the capacity for healthy and lasting intimate relationships w/
partners and close friends.

Establishing identity:
Acknowledge differences in identity development based on gender, ethnic
background, and sexual orientaiton.

Developing purpose:
Develop clear vocational goals, making meaningful commitments to specific
personal interests and activities, and establishing strong interpersonal commitments.

Developing integrity:
Humanizing values, personalizing values, and developing congruence.
Chickering’s Seven Vectors: What it looks like for your student:

Developing Confidence Student learns how to do laundry and does it each week without being
asked

Managing Emotions Student recognizes and accepts emotions. They appropriately express and
controls their emotions during roommate conflicts.

Moving through Autonomy Toward Student takes ownership managing their time, registers for classes, and
Interdependence seeks tutoring assistance on campus

Developing Mature Interpersonal Student establishes a new peer group, develops intercultural and
Relationship interpersonal tolerance, appreciates differences and creates healthy, intimate
relationships

Establishing Identity Student acknowledges differences in identity development based on gender,

ethnic background, sexual orientation, and lifestyle choices

Developing Purpose Student develops career goals, makes commitments to personal interests
and activities. Establishes a strong commitment to personal activities.

Developing Integrity Student develops strong sense of self and lifestyle congruent to their values
Second Activity: Discussions (Kathy)
1. How would social media and digital identities affect psychosocial development?

2. How could psychosocial theories be more inclusive of the diversity for today’s college

students—in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, immigrant status, sexual

orientation, and gender identity?

● How can these theories be used to study diversity, equity, and inclusion?
 Critiques
Erikson’s Identity Development Theory
- Overly general and complex
- Biased against women
- Difficult to study empirically b/c it’s abstract and vague
- Doesn’t offer detailed information on specific catalysts for development
- Indicates each stage builds upon the next, but doesn’t explain how the resolution w/in one
stage influence resolution in other stages
- Theory is perceived as essentialists: allowing no room for variation across the lifespan,
suggesting that development is linear
Marcia’s Theory
- The statuses have a static quality and identity is never static
- Statuses are developmentally ordered on a continuum from a diffused identity to an achieved
identity
- Questioned the accuracy of statuses in reflecting the Erikson concept of identity formation (the
status do not operate like Erikson’s)
- Marcia may have inappropriately used terminology from Erikson’s theory within identity
statuses
Critiques
Josselson’s Theory
- Validating Josselson’s findings are important to see whether or not they are still
applicable to modern day
- Intersections of race and other identity domains w/ gender need to be addressed
Chickering’s Theory
- Though incorporated women, Afam, hispanic/LatinX, it is still limited for AsnAm
and Native Am
- Theory lacks specificity and precision
- Definitions of vectors are quite general
- Failed to address how students grapple w/ issues or the process by which they
accomplish developmental tasks
- More research is needed on the interrelationships among age, gender sexual
orientation, race, culture, and aspects of psychosocial development
- Needs a broad, inclusive theory rather than ones that are narrow and
group-specific
- Multicultural issues and concerns have not been effectively incorporated
Conclusion (Kathy)
- Applications of these theories are limited due to ongoing changes in
society
- Technological advances
- Gender is fluid
- Diversity/ culture/ ethnicity plays a large role in identity (not
focused on white students)
- Important for Student Affairs educators and practitioners to
appropriately contextualize psychosocial theories and view them as
a product of their time with limited applicability in a ever-changing
society