Exploring Adolescent Development: A Compa

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................... 2
Part 1: Erikson’s Significant Stage........................................................................................ 2
Part 2: Personal Memory Analysis........................................................................................ 3
Memory Description...................................................................................................... 3
Erikson’s Theory: Identity vs. Role Confusion......................................................................3
Freud’s Theory: Latency Stage......................................................................................... 4
Comparison of Erikson and Freud’s Theories.......................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 5
References..................................................................................................................... 6

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Introduction
Human development is a multifaceted process and has been researched extensively using
different psychological paradigms, as a part of a person’s life span. The two important theories
related to developmental psychology are Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory & Sigmund
Freud’s psychosexual theory. In contrast, Freud’s approach is centered on the role of
unconscious motivation such as sexual ones that slow development throughout the childhood
stages and leave an impact on the persons personality. This assay aims to conduct a comparison
between these two theories by first identifying one of Erik Erikson’s eight psychosocial stages
that will be more useful in the analysis of lifespan development. This will be followed by the
analysis of a personal memory from childhood or adolescence using both Erikson’s and Freud’s
theories. The intention of undertaking this comparison is to underscore the importance of
integrating both psychosocial and psychosexual approach in the discovery of human
developmental and behavioral patterns.

Part 1: Erikson’s Significant Stage

The Identity vs. Role Confusion stage is one of Erikson’s eight psychosocial stages of
development, which cover the entire lifespan:
1. Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy)
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Early Childhood)
3. Initiative vs. Guilt (Preschool Age)
4. Industry vs. Inferiority (School Age)
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence)
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood)
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood)
8. Integrity vs. Despair (Older Adulthood)
Among all the psychosocial stages of development especially for the purpose of this analysis, the
Identity vs Role Confusion stage is most significant which is accustom to the teenage life stage.
This stage is normally practiced between the age of 12 and 18 and at this stage one practices for
personal identity and his or her place in the society (Orenstein & Lewis, 2024).At this stage of
development, they experience a personal exploratory phase, which looks at who they are, what
they want and what they stand for. Passing through this stage to develop an identity leads to the
formation of a coherent self-image while failure leads to role confusion whereby the person lacks
direction on his/her future roles. The significance of this stage regard to the gain in terms of
psychological health for the future and the ability to build healthy relationships
Erikson has argued that the crisis in Identity Versus Role Confusion is the most important point
in a person’s life to build a further framework for different stages in the later period of life to
develop different stages of life assets including intimacy and career orientation. The studies have

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found that the adolescents who have a resolve of identity, get better grades, higher self-esteem,
and better social relationships (Kida et al., 2024). Further, Erikson’s theory of psychosocial
development offers the period of adolescence as permitted by the society’s ‘psychosocial
moratorium,’ where young adults can explore different roles without being constrained by
responsibilities and responsibilities of grown-up life.
In conclusion, Identity vs. Role Confusion stage remains one of the essential steps in Erikson’s
theory of human development because it forms an individual’s identity, strength, and goals. This
stage offers understanding of the constitutional givens of personality in regard to the ability of an
individual to form conformant bonds in interpersonal relationships as well as the ability to
achieve a coherent life blueprint (Timm et al., 2022).
.

Part 2: Personal Memory Analysis

Memory Description
The best memorable experience from my teenage years is joining a Debate Club in my high
school. First of all, it was uncomfortable for me, mainly because of speech phobia, plus I had
little confidence in myself. But a friend helped to persuade me, and a teacher was friendly when
I joined the club. With time, I built more confidence, learnt to think critically and analyze
situations independently which added a feeling of affiliation to the group. During the weekly
practices, discussions and critical feedbacks, I eliminated doubtful feelings and learnt more about
myself. This experience became unalloyed as it enabled me not only to overcome my phobia
with public speaking but also construct my identity. Engaging in this memory raises questions
about understanding of such an experience in construction of self-identity, self-esteem and
interpersonal relationships.

Erikson’s Theory: Identity vs. Role Confusion

This memory fits perfectly into Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion stage of development,
which Erikson claimed was predominant in adolescence. According to Erikson, identity crisis
involves searching for identity, for example, in religious beliefs, ideal, roles and employment,
among adolescents. If this crisis is resolved positively, the person gains a healthy, assured
identity; if not, the person experiences role confusion, which means the person is in doubt as to
his or her expected place and function in society (Maree, 2022).
This stage is well illustrated by my experience in the debate club. In agreeing to become a
member of the club although I felt nervous, I was stepping out of their comfort zone and trying
out new things. Getting more experience within debates, I was able to practice different positions
a speaker, a leader, and a collaborator, each position demands a change of skills and ways to
interact. The positive attitude from my peers and teachers supplemented it with social validation

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because as people praised me and complimented me about my work, I was being reinforcing it in
my identity.
Psychosocial moratorium, as pointed out by Erikson, is that relatively stress-free stage in
adolescence where young people can afford to tinker with roles, searching for a suitable identity
without the responsibility of an income, family, or career to support in case the experiment goes
wrong (X. Sun & Sun, 2021).Through participating in the debate club, I was able to confront
challenges which I knew would not have serious repercussions as in the business world. It is for
this reason that self-exploration featured prominently within this context helped me to develop a
more robust self-concept as well as to make personal decisions based on my values. From this I
transformed the way I perceived myself to a person who can handle sophisticated concepts and
can speak well which has impacted my educational and career choices. Research has provided
evidence for Erikson’s view that social approval and favorable environment plays a key role in
the achievement of identity states of adolescents (Paul, 2023). The debate club provided
fellowship and a structure within which my efforts were recognized and it became partially
successful in teaching me my self-worth. Success in this stage therefore helped me to build a
certain capacity to deal with challenges which has remained useful in the later stages of life.
According to Erikson, this stage was the beginning of my process towards developing into a
more independent, confident self, an aspect that Erikson attaches a lot of significance, in his
model as the stage of identity vs. Role confusion.

Freud’s Theory: Latency Stage

According to Freud, Debate Club would fall under what he called Latency Stage which is from
ages 6 – 12. Freud stated that, at this stage, there was a relative decline in sexual activity, and a
concentrated preoccupation with learning, social affairs as well as acquisition of skills. Unlike
other stages in Freud’s theory, where the child takes the sexual instinct and channels it in the
wrong way in the latency stage, the instinct is sublimated in acceptable social endeavours
including school work and games (Y. Sun & Wang, 2024).
Ever and always, Freud will interpret my participation in the debate club as a way of sublimation
of instincts into thinking and interpersonal interactions other than the domestic sphere.
According to Freud this phase is a socialization phase where the child adopts skills and urges that
would enable him or her take on the roles of an adult. Another part of the process of sublimation
that refers to the redirection of libidinal energy from primary object attachments such as family
relationships to alternative sources that are more suitable in social terms was involvement in
debate, as well as friendships and mentorships mentioned above.
However, Freud’s theory emphasizes instincts and the repressed desire that may not sufficiently
describe the cognitive and affective in my case. Freud would probably interpret my
accomplishments and gradually building self-esteem as the pathologically split-off desires
expressed differently as the remodeling of the subject’s psyche where the emphasis is made not
on achievements but on id-ego-superego struggles and semiotic displacements. The theory has an
omission in that he does not identify the role of identity crisis or that social approval is critical in
determining the self-identity concept according to Erikson.

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Although Freud’s approach can elucidate the implications of my character and response to
setting and relationships partly, it could not explain the identity issues, or the process of
identification, which are inevitably imperative for adolescent age. This is shown by the insight
sexology brings on socialization process and skill building aspects, but lacks a proper
appreciation of the adolescent need for search of identity (Traylor et al., 2024).

Comparison of Erikson and Freud’s Theories

Erikson’s and Freud’s stages’ concepts are useful but they diverge in terms of emphasis and
extension. Other psychosocial crisis, Identity vs. Role confusion, which belongs to Erik Erikson
’s theory of development seems to be a more appropriate framework to analyze the emotional
and cognitive component of my memory. His theory describes social reaction, self-searching,
and the efforts in finding one’s identity which I discussed in relation to the debate club. Erikson
also points out the identity formation is a part of the development that prepares for further stages
in life and help to define the individual’s roles and responsibilities in adult’s life, to find a mate,
and to develop a career (Memetoğlu, 2024).
First, perhaps the greatest strength of Erikson’s theory is that the main concepts of identity and
autonomy are pivotal for adolescence. Erikson’s theory of identity development does this by
recognizing personal agency, which gives individuals a larger part in constructing themselves
than stage theories typically do. On the other hand, Freud seems somewhat restricted here
because his theory does not explain the relationship between individual search and social support
in adolescence (Paul, 2023).
Thus, general and more suitable, in my opinion, are the concepts offered by Erikson’s theory for
explaining the change that the experience in the debate club has produced in me. Although Freud
theory has its utility in identifying social and behavioral aspects of this memory, Erikson appears
to provide a psychological nature of this period regarding my personality development.

Conclusion
The analysis Erikson’s and Freud’s theories of development model was useful in explaining
adolescence experiences was Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion stage emphasizing social
support and self-exploration of identity. However, Freud’s Latency Stage was far less
comprehensive as it failed to explain the personal- identity formation as the core of participation
and pointed only on the channelizing of the psychic instincts into permissible activities. This
comparative analysis shows that there is truth in the claims of reincarnating both the sociological
and psychological in explaining human development though Erikson’s Differentiation has a
much better to explain human development, and therefore is more useful in interpreting
individual experiences.

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