PSYC 218 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Peer Pressure
Document Summary
Adolescence and its psychosocial development: how adolescents establish their identity. This search begins with what is called the primary crisis, a crisis in which young people struggle to find the appropriate combination of self-affirmation and group solidarity. Especially in the early years, teens often have multiple identities. Much experiment, developing multiple "i"s," testing various roles and personalities. Diffusion: it is the opposite of the achievement of identity. Young people who show diffusion find it difficult to meet the usual demands of adolescence, such as completing homework, finding a job, making new friends, and thinking about the future. Diffusion is not so much a type of identity as the lack of it, the absence of self-definition or commitment. An example of dissemination may be an adolescent who seems to be indifferent to parental criticism or deadlines for a job. Premature identity: it occurs when young people shorten their search without questioning their traditional values or adopting a preformed identity.
