To better understand someone there are many psychological theories that can help. Psychological theories can help someone understand what phase that they fall under and help them guide themselves to live life in a way they would like. It is important that we understand psychological theories because it helps us understand what stage we are in our lives and what stages we had gone through and will eventually go through. In the article “Secret Latina at Large” by Veronica Chambers, she talks about how she found her identity and what she had gone through to get it. These two theories Roy F. Baumeister and Erik Erikson shows how Veronica was unsure about her identity when she was a child and making her own decisions as a young adult.
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One thing that is important to Baumeister theory is that he talks about how someone gains their personal identity. One part of Baumeister theory is called reflexive consciousness it applies to Veronica when she was a child. Reflexive consciousness is when an individual becomes aware of one's self along with others. For example, Baumeister states, “... when a man is ruminating about his triumphs or failures when a woman wonders whether she could ever perform the sort of heroic sacrifice or cruel betrayal…” (pp.321) We sometimes make choices to please our mom or dad because we want them to feel proud and we care about their relationship. As Veronica lives in Brooklyn she learns that there aren't very many black speaking Panamanians. The next stage in Baumeister theory is interpersonal being. Interpersonal being is living up to someone's expectations that they had set for someone. For example, Veronica wants to learn how to speak Spanish but her father tells her, “You’re American. Speak English.” (pp.23) Veronica cares about what her father had thought so she had decided to speak English to please her father. The last stage is executive function this is where you make your own choices and decisions. This is when people start taking in charge of their lives and make important choices. In the article, she had made a lot of important choices but one important …show more content…
Erik Erikson’s theory shows how Veronica developed a sense of selfhood through her life. In phase three Initiative vs. guilt is where the child makes choices based on what they think their parents think is right. In this case, Veronica’s father didn't want her speaking Spanish but only English. Veronica's gut always told her to learn Spanish. As children, we value our patient's opinion and their guidance. This is why Veronica had stopped learning Spanish and only spoke English until her parents had gotten a divorce and Veronica had chosen to live with her mother. Another phase Veronica had gone through phase six Intimacy vs. Isolation is when she had entered adulthood.As an adult, Veronica had made decisions in her life. For example, she made the choice of learning Spanish again to have that deeper connection with her mom. Allowing her to grow and make her own choices, also when she decided to go back to Carnival Panama causing her to develop her own identity. The last phase she had gone through was phase five Identity vs. Identity Confusion. Veronica had trouble finding out who she is or wanted to be as a young black latina. She had a hard time trying to find out what heritage she had come from and which one she wanted to follow. Eventually. as she had gotten older and was able to explore different things she was able to find out who she was. She wanted to end be being just like her
One thing that is important to Baumeister theory is that he talks about how someone gains their personal identity. One part of Baumeister theory is called reflexive consciousness it applies to Veronica when she was a child. Reflexive consciousness is when an individual becomes aware of one's self along with others. For example, Baumeister states, “... when a man is ruminating about his triumphs or failures when a woman wonders whether she could ever perform the sort of heroic sacrifice or cruel betrayal…” (pp.321) We sometimes make choices to please our mom or dad because we want them to feel proud and we care about their relationship. As Veronica lives in Brooklyn she learns that there aren't very many black speaking Panamanians. The next stage in Baumeister theory is interpersonal being. Interpersonal being is living up to someone's expectations that they had set for someone. For example, Veronica wants to learn how to speak Spanish but her father tells her, “You’re American. Speak English.” (pp.23) Veronica cares about what her father had thought so she had decided to speak English to please her father. The last stage is executive function this is where you make your own choices and decisions. This is when people start taking in charge of their lives and make important choices. In the article, she had made a lot of important choices but one important …show more content…
Erik Erikson’s theory shows how Veronica developed a sense of selfhood through her life. In phase three Initiative vs. guilt is where the child makes choices based on what they think their parents think is right. In this case, Veronica’s father didn't want her speaking Spanish but only English. Veronica's gut always told her to learn Spanish. As children, we value our patient's opinion and their guidance. This is why Veronica had stopped learning Spanish and only spoke English until her parents had gotten a divorce and Veronica had chosen to live with her mother. Another phase Veronica had gone through phase six Intimacy vs. Isolation is when she had entered adulthood.As an adult, Veronica had made decisions in her life. For example, she made the choice of learning Spanish again to have that deeper connection with her mom. Allowing her to grow and make her own choices, also when she decided to go back to Carnival Panama causing her to develop her own identity. The last phase she had gone through was phase five Identity vs. Identity Confusion. Veronica had trouble finding out who she is or wanted to be as a young black latina. She had a hard time trying to find out what heritage she had come from and which one she wanted to follow. Eventually. as she had gotten older and was able to explore different things she was able to find out who she was. She wanted to end be being just like her