Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Erikson: Post−Freudian
Theory
© The McGraw−Hill^263
Companies, 2009Puberty
Puberty,defined as genital maturation, plays a relatively minor role in Erikson’s con-
cept of adolescence. For most young people, genital maturation presents no major
sexual crisis. Nevertheless, puberty is important psychologically because it triggers
expectations of adult roles yet ahead—roles that are essentially social and can be
filled only through a struggle to attain ego identity.
Identity Versus Identity Confusion
The search for ego identityreaches a climax during adolescence as young people
strive to find out who they are and who they are not. With the advent of puberty, ado-
lescents look for new roles to help them discover their sexual, ideological, and oc-
cupational identities. In this search, young people draw from a variety of earlier self-
images that have been accepted or rejected. Thus, the seeds of identity begin to
sprout during infancy and continue to grow through childhood, the play age, and the
school age. Then during adolescence, identity strengthens into a crisis as young peo-
ple learn to cope with the psychosocial conflict of identity versus identity confusion.
A crisis should not suggest a threat or catastrophe but rather “a turning point,
a crucial period of increased vulnerability and heightened potential” (Erikson, 1968,
p. 96). An identity crisis may last for many years and can result in either greater or
lesser ego strength.
According to Erikson (1982), identity emerges from two sources: (1) adoles-
cents’ affirmation or repudiation of childhood identifications, and (2) their historical
and social contexts, which encourage conformity to certain standards. Young people
frequently reject the standards of their elders, preferring instead the values of a peer
Chapter 9 Erikson: Post-Freudian Theory 257The late adolescent’s search for identity includes a discovery of sexual identity.