Identity: Youth and Crisis

Ego identity is the sense of self that humans develop through the processes of social interaction. It isn’t the same as personal identity, which derives from the perception of one’s own existence in time and space and the knowledge that others recognize this existence. Ego identity is what individuals in an identity crisis lose.

The epigenetic principle, which Erikson describes in Chapter 3, states that an organism begins with a plan for growth; its parts arise according to the plan and eventually form a functioning whole. This is true both of the fetus and the baby as it navigates its society.

Coined by Erikson, generativity is a term for the concern for establishing and guiding the next generation. It derives from the word generative, meaning “relating to or capable of production or reproduction.”

Young people experience identity confusion when they cannot fit their developing identity to a role in society. They may experience a surrender to earlier stages of development. Other symptoms include a distorted sense of time and difficulty focusing on a task.

Introjection is the incorporation of another’s image into oneself, for example within the mother-infant relationship.

Negative identity can occur when a young person in an identity crisis disdains traditional roles. These can include gender roles, nationality, or class membership. Young people experiencing negative identity might want to associate with marginalized groups or with a “savior-like” figure, including demagogues who take advantage of their alienation by leading them to false and destructive ideologies.

Erikson defines neohumanism as “new humanism,” as it is seen in youth who reject regimentation and embrace civil disobedience and nonviolence. He believes that modern youth have more outlets for their humanism in the 1960s than did those in the post-World War II period. These include the civil rights movement and the Peace Corps.

Erikson refers to the Peace Corps several times as an example of a positive outlet for humanism among youth. Founded in 1961, the US government agency sends skilled workers to other countries to help them in fields ranging from education and agriculture to health and community development.

The birth control pill was approved as a form of contraception by the federal government in 1960, giving many women freedom of choice and control over their bodies with regard to childbearing. It works by stopping sperm from reaching an egg, preventing fertilization from occurring. Erikson points to the pill, along with nuclear weaponry, as having the potential to “unmake” civilization.

Psychosocial relativity is Erikson’s term for the interplay between psychological and social factors within identity formation, and social and historical ones. It explains why people who play roles or posture for the sake of appearance are not actually searching for identity; their development must be considered in tandem with their environment and historical milieu.

Reciprocal negative reaction occurs when a typically loud, overbearing, and social-climbing mother tries to force her child to reflect her values. The child may develop a negative identity, turning away from the factors valued by the mother, such as wealth and social class.

The dance that combines “machinelike pulsation with a semblance of rhythmic abandon and ritualistic sincerity” (244), in which the dancer only occasionally joins the partner, is undoubtedly the Twist. The dance was an American craze even before Hank Ballard and the Midnighters released their song “The Twist” in 1958 and spread further after Chubby Checker sang it in 1960 on the Dick Clark Show. It involved swiveling one’s hips while twisting the feet and moving the arms from side to side. It allowed dancers to perform individually, a break from tradition that was embraced by American teenagers. Erikson’s description of the dance is typical of his methodical approach to observable behaviors.

The Vietnam War was a conflict between the Soviet Union and China-backed government of North Vietnam, a communist country, and South Vietnam, backed by its ally the United States. While military advisors had been present in South Vietnam since the 1950s, 1965 saw the introduction of US troops into the conflict. South Vietnam fell to the North in 1975 after the withdrawal of US troops in 1973. The war deeply divided Americans, many of whom opposed its financial and human costs. Erikson points to it both as a cause of trauma and an example of the debilitating effects of colonialism.