When something is published pre-1970 or even pre-1980, you know you're in for something good.
It was a study by an apparently pretty awesome researcher named Stephen Marcia. He operationalized Erikson's four statuses (identity attainment, foreclosure, moratorium, and diffusion) of identity development. It was neat to read about actual measures, though I am skeptical of the definitions... but that's just me, skeptical. Anyway, Marcia looked at how college males different on self esteem and other measures as a function of their statuses.
Now, of course, this is 1966, so are people still using Erikson's theory?
Yes!
This is quite exciting because I spent a lot of time reading Erikson as an undergrad (Identity and the Life Cycle, Youth: Identity and Crisis, and Childhood and Society, to name a few) and I really enjoyed it. Some of his ideas were a little hard to swallow (he was a Freudian, after all) but things like his epigenetic principle make my heart sing. And, at least for our society (it's pretty well accepted that his theory isn't applicable worldwide), his ideas make sense... to me. So the papers written and the books read were not a waste of time! Yay! (I at least could explain to a member of my cohort what a 'crisis' was.)
Anywho, sorry for the late post but, you know, I'm up to my ears in stuff to do!
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