Summary: Identity
Identity poses the question, “Who am I?” and leads us to find out who we truly are as people. Freud believed that there were five stages of identity that correlate with age. The first being the oral phase. This phase is identified with infants and it is when they are fixated on the mouth, this is when they are being fed or when they are using a pacifier. The second stage is the anal stage and it identifies with toddlers. This is when they are being potty trained. This is when they learn to control their bladder and bowels. The third stage is the phallic stage and this stage effects early childhood. This is when children know the difference between boys and girls because of the genitals. The fourth stage Freud suggested is the latency stage. This stage is when children are more focused on their social skills and are working on developing defense mechanisms. The final stage is the genital stage which correlates with adolescents. This stage is when the embrace in sexual maturity starts. While Freud proposed these stages, he also had a theory of personality. In this theory he introduces ID, ego, and super ego. The ultimate goal of ID is to get what you want when you want it. Ego is related to reality and exists in both the unconscious and the conscious mind. Superego holds the concepts of good and bad. Superego is what tells the conscious that something is right or wrong.
Erikson was another theorist that had ideas relating to Identity. He proposed the 8 stages of man, staring with babies and infancy with Trust vs. Mistrust and ending with the adulthood with Ego integrity vs. Despair. Each stage holds a new virtue. The virtues in order of first to last are: drive and hope, self-control and willpower, purpose and direction, devotion and fidelity, love and affiliation, care and production, and lastly, wisdom. Erikson used Freud’s theory to create his own and these are the stages he proposed. Identity changes and grows throughout life according to both Freud and Erikson. (Stitt, 2017)
Identity and My Development
When I was a kid I was very shy. I did not like attention put on me and I never wanted to dance or do anything outgoing. I was struggling with who I really was. I dressed really dark and like a boy for the most part. Although I knew I was a girl and never wanted to be a boy, I was jealous that boys got to dress so comfortably. I had a lot of dilemmas that made it different than a child growing up in a nuclear, loving family. These kids have an easier chance of finding their identity. It was hard to know who I really was when there was no one to talk to and nothing to compare myself to. I feel like I was in Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion for longer than normal. It took me until I was 21 to really become myself and not be worried about anyone else. I did not know my place in the world until then. I know that now I am in Intimacy vs. Isolation. I have a boyfriend who I have been dating for four and a half years and I am starting to realize that we were made to have partners. When you put yourself in Erikson’s eight stages, life seems to make a bit more sense.
Identity and My Work
Although I am on track to have an Early Intervention degree, I am hoping to get my masters in something else, maybe rehabilitation counseling. With this job, I would like to work with people who have psychological problems. This will relate a lot to identity. I may work with someone who has multiple personalities or just cannot figure out their purpose in the world and is struggling to make it out of one of Erikson’s eight stages. When I encounter one of these people I will refer back to what I have learned here and try to help them as best as I can. I believe these problems will be much harder to help because everyone’s thoughts are so unique and different. The most I can do is try to mold their way of thinking so they will be able to be okay without me.
Picture Reference: (Who am I picture: me)
Erikson’s eight stages picture:
AK's Final Project EDPR 