Category: Identity Theories
Identity Status Theory (Marcia)
Summary: Refining and extending Erik Erikson’s work, James Marcia came up with four Identity Statuses of psychological identity development. The main idea is that one’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made regarding certain personal and social traits.
Originators: James Marcia, Canadian developmental psychologist and Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University.
Key terms: identity status, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, achievement.
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Erikson’s Stages of Development
Summary: An eight stage theory of identity and psychosocial development
Erik Erikson (1902 -1994), a German-born American psychoanalyst.
Key Terms: Erikson’s stages, psychosocial, development
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