Psychosocial Theories

Within Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, social forces play a significant role in human development. The fifth stage of this theory focuses on the development of a person within their adolescence. Notably, one’s adolescent phase is a highly confusing time, where individuals tend to rely on external factors such as culture and society to mold their behaviors. The main identifiers of the fifth stage are ego identity and role confusion. Ego identity means establishing one’s own character and the values and beliefs that will shape them. It involves putting together what “you’ve learned about life and yourself and [molding] it into a unified self-image [that] your community finds meaningful” (Farmer, 2016). The community in this …show more content…
Throughout my adolescence, I have faced diverse experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today. A primary struggle in the beginning of my adolescence surrounded my family and the role confusion I experienced. I entered high school with my academic career focused on mathematics as it was what my parents said was best for me. Due to the fact that my father runs his own business along with his father and my older sister, my family pressured me to follow their footsteps of a business related mindset. Throughout high school, I hated all math related courses and knew that was not a field I wanted to study later on in my academic career. Moreover, when I had to apply to college I approached my parents with the idea of going into a more art based program but they were completely against it and wanted me to pursue a business oriented program. I succumbed to the pressures by my parents and followed their wishes but it was easy for me to recognize that this field was not for me and I needed to make a change when it came to university. I realized that I was forcing myself to like something I had no passion for when I constantly asked myself “Is this really who I want to be?”. The most difficult part was facing my family and letting them know that I was applying to an Arts program in university. It was the best step for me as this sense of settling on an occupational identity that did not fit with my personal identity was troubling. I am lucky enough to have an older sister who took the time to help me make the decision I wanted to make. She was a role model through this period as she allowed me go chase with my own goals and strengthen my ego identity. Now that I followed my own path, I am happier and more comfortable with my own identity and who I want to be. I feel as though I now follow the balanced definition of ego identity whereby I know who I am and feel