James E. Marcia

James E. Marcia (* 1937 ) is a Canadian psychologist. He has taught at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia , Canada and at the State University of New York in Buffalo , New York .

Marcia is best known for his extensive research and writings on the development of the ego identity ; He paid particular attention to the psychosocial development of adolescents and the development of identity in this life span. He has the Erikson's stages of psychosocial development of Erikson significantly developed and further refined.

Marcias model of identity status

For Marcia, “role” ( for him occupation not only stands for professional role, but also for parenting and other social roles ) and “ideology” (personal religious, ethical, political, etc. convictions) are the most important factors that create identity. To empirically research the identity status , he developed a semi-structured interview (“Identity Status Interview”). The questions related to topics that are typically relevant in adolescence. The main focus was on choosing a career , the emergence of political and religious convictions and the area of sexuality . All respondents were college students.

According to Marcia, the level of identity development resulted from two dimensions - “Commitment” ( self-commitment to the recognition of values ) and “Exploration”, the search for possibilities. Depending on the degree of self-commitment to certain values ​​or exploratory behavior, the combination of the two dimensions gives rise to four options for describing the process of identity development. Marcia calls it “identity status”: (1) the diffuse identity, (2) the inherited identity, (3) the critical identity (“moratorium”) and (4) the developed identity. These four states of identity describe points along a continuum that changes from an initially diffuse, undefined individual identity to a highly specific and precisely defined individual sense of self .

The diffuse identity ("Identity Diffusion")

This identity status describes adolescents who are not up to the need for identity development and who have not dedicated themselves to or researched a specific identity. This identity status thus stands for a low level of exploration and low commitment. These young people have not dealt with their identity at all and have not set any goals in life, have no distinct interests and cannot or do not want to make a decision. Your main motivation is hedonistic ; avoiding discomfort and acquiring pleasure. Diffuse identity is the least complex and mature of the four identity states. Marcia later found that the proportion of young people with a diffuse identity had risen sharply, so he further differentiated this identity status. He suspected that under the changed social conditions it would make sense for many not to commit than to persistently pursue what one has set out to do, and called this "culturally adaptive diffusion".

The assumed identity ("foreclosure")

This identity status means a low level of exploration but a high level of engagement . With this identity status, adolescents do not actively try to determine what is important to them. They don't question the values ​​and beliefs they have been taught. Instead, these young people derive their identity from the fact that they accept the beliefs and values ​​of their family, community and culture. Although these young people feel obliged to the values ​​and life goals they have adopted, they neither ask why they are doing this, nor do they consider alternatives.

The critical identity ("moratorium")

The third identity status is called a moratorium . This identity status stands for a high degree of exploration with low commitment at the same time. At this point, the teens are in an identity crisis that has led them to explore and experiment with various values, beliefs and goals. However, they have not made final decisions about what beliefs and values ​​are most important to them and what principles to guide in their life. So you are not yet tied to a specific identity, but still keep many options open.

The developed identity ("Identity Achievement")

The final identity status is the achievement of identity. This identity status is characterized by both a high level of exploration and a high level of commitment. Adolescents in this status have acquired their identity through a process of active exploration and strong commitment to certain values, beliefs, and goals in life that has resulted from that active exploration and inquiry. On this identity status, the young people will have decided which values ​​and goals are most important to them and which purpose or mission will determine their life. They can prioritize what is important to them and have looked at many options of who they want to be.

Applicability and Criticism

Marcia's model primarily relates to late adolescence, but research today is certain that identity crises can recur in later adulthood. One study examined correlations between the identity status of Marcia's model and social behavior, and focused on young adults, ages 19 to 35. People's identity status is not specifically limited to any age group. People can question values ​​tied to their identity, such as belief, ideology, and professional preferences.

Marcia's theory is based on the assumption that a mature and well-adjusted person has a clearly defined and individually determined identity. This assumption reflects an implicit set of values ​​common to many developed Western societies about the desirability of an individually defined identity. However, these values ​​may not be generally applicable. In today's western cultures, great importance is attached to individual needs, rights and freedoms. Therefore, it is only natural that such societies define high self-esteem as maturity. But some other cultures value the needs of the larger community towards each individual. In such cultures, maturity is defined by the ability to put individual aspirations and desires at the service of the general good of the group. Ironically, these cultures would take the importance that Westerners attach to individual identity as indicative of immaturity.

It is therefore expected in Western cultures that young people today shape their lives to a very large extent themselves. The question arises, on the one hand, whether everyone has the same options when it comes to self-definition and, on the other hand, whether the responsibility for creating an identity is often too demanding. Lately, many authors have found that the status of the identity that has been developed must be described as difficult to achieve despite the many possibilities for self-definition. High percentages of older adolescents and young adults have not achieved this status and are in the status of critical identity, assumed identity or even diffuse identity.

Linked to this is the question of whether the diffuse identity must actually be viewed as a state of an “undeveloped” identity or whether it is not “normal” today. It would also be possible that the uncritical assumption of an identity is definitely a form of successful identity work. It therefore remains unclear which normative development logic is behind the division. Today it is also doubted whether all young people have to go through every identity status.

Michael D. Berzonsky expanded Marcia's approach; he sees the identity status as identity styles, emphasizes the process character. While identity status describes a state, identity style refers to the processes through which that state is achieved. He differentiates between an information-oriented, a norm-oriented and a diffuse avoidance style of identity.

Fonts (selection)

• Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status in: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1966, Vol. 3, No. 5, pp. 551-558.
• Identity diffusion differentiated . In: MA Luszcz, T. Nettelbeck (eds.), Psychological development across the life-span . North-Holland 1989, pp. 289-295.
• Ego Identity: A Handbook for Psychosocial Research . Springer Publishing, New York City, NY, 1993.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Diane Luckow: Marcia returns to first love . In: Simon Fraser University . May 16, 2002, accessed December 2, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Reporter Vol. 1 . In: State University at Buffalo . February 5, 1970, accessed December 2, 2019 . 
3. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status , in: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1966, Vol. 3, No. 5, pp. 551-558, here:  553.
4. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status , 1966, p. 553.
5. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status , 1966, p. 555.
6. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status , 1966, p. 558.
7. ↑ James E. Marcia, Identity diffusion differentiated, 1989.
8. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status , 1966, p. 557.
9. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status , 1966, p. 557.
10. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status , 1966, p. 557.
11. ↑ S. A. Hardy, J. W. Kisling: Identity statuses and prosocial behaviors in young adulthood: A brief report. In: Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research , 6 (2006), pp. 363-369.
12. ^ Eva G. Clarke, Elaine M. Justice: Identity Development. Aspects of Identity . In: Child Development Reference - Vol 4 . Accessed December 2, 2019 . 
13. ↑ James Marcia and Self-Identity . In: mentalhelp.net . Retrieved November 12, 2019 . 
14. ↑ FD Alsaker, J. Kroger, identity development . In: M. Hasselhorn, W. Schneider (eds.), Handbuch der Entwicklungspsychologie , Hogrefe, Göttingen 2007, pp. 371-380.
15. ^ J. Kroger, Why is identity achievement so elusive? In: Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 7 (2007), pp. 331-348.
16. ↑ Wolfgang Kraus, Beate Mitzscherlich, Normative foundations of empirical identity research in the tradition of James E. Marcia and the necessity of reformulating them . In: Heiner Keupp, Renate Höfer (eds.), Identity Work Today. Classic and current perspectives in identity research . 2nd edition, Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1998, p. 155.
17. ^ AS Waterman, Identity development from adolescence to adulthood: An extension of theory and review of research. In: Developmental Psychology, 18 (1982), pp. 341-358.
18. ↑ Michael D. Berzonsky, Linda S. Kuk: Identity status, identity processing style, and the transition to university . In: Journal of Adolescent Research, Volume 15 (2000), Issue 1, pp. 81–98.