source of the infant’s identification with his or her caregivers with the adaptation
of social norms. It is the core element of a theory connecting the individual with
society by way of stressing the importance of satisfactory identifications for
personality integration. A psychologically healthy person is one whose ego
identity is clearly delineated and recognizable as such to self and others.
From individual to group
The term ‘identity crisis’ became so widely used, first in the US and then
throughout the Western world, that it cannot be attributed to Erikson’s perceptive
and successful work alone. It must be seen also as giving expression to the
zeitgeist of the mid-20th century. The world had gone through a horrendous war
encompassing the greatest genocide in history. Millions were orphaned,
uprooted, and displaced. Decolonization was in full swing, forcing the white
man to reflect on his role in history and, perhaps, on his identity. At the same
time, new forms of production and consumption furthered individualism and
self-reliance, to the extent that many were increasingly at a loss to find their
place in a society described in an influential study by David Riesman as ‘The
Lonely Crowd’.
Against this background, the concepts of identity and identity crisis came to be
transferred from individuals to groups, small and large. Just as the individual
strives for psychological security by identifying with the behaviour and values of
significant persons in the environment, people who share some common
features, such as ethnicity, religion, and nation, will strive to evoke a shared
sense of identity.
The metaphor of a collectivity as a body—they rose as one man—facilitated
looking at mass dynamics through the lens of psychological identity theory.
Sociologists argue that a sane cohesive society is impossible without a collective
sense of belonging to a bigger whole as a source of security, pride, and self-
esteem. That is what satisfactory group identification consists of. External
threats to loosely knit groups tend to reinforce group consciousness, as their
members may exert more effort to enhance and protect their identity. And just as
irresolvable conflicts between values, ideals, and life goals may throw the
individual into an identity crisis, so it may happen with groups that confront
contradicting priorities and ideals.