Erikson Applied to Insecure's Issa Dee by

8 Stages of Psychosocial Development

lailacowsette — 2024-10-30 12:50:36 UTC

Each stage has a crisis and virtue that develops from that conflict.

Summary of Stages

lailacowsette — 2024-10-30 13:05:22 UTC

Infancy (0-18 months)

Crisis: Trust v. Mistrust

Virtue: Hope

Early Childhood (2-3 years)

Crisis: Autonomy v. Shame and Doubt

Virtue: Will

Preschool (3-5 years)

Crisis: Initiative v. Guilt

Virtue: Purpose

Elementary School (6-11 years)

Crisis: Industry v. Inferiority

Virtue: Competency

Adolescence (12-18 years)

Crisis: Identity v. Role Confusion

Virtue: Fidelity

Young Adulthood (19-40 years)

Crisis: Intimacy v. Isolation

Virtue: Love

Middle Adulthood (40-65 years)

Crisis: Generativity v. Stagnation

Virtue: Care

Older Adulthood (65+ years)

Crisis: Ego Integrity v. Despair

Virtue: Wisdom

(My Psychology 315)

About Erik Erikson

lailacowsette — 2024-10-30 13:17:23 UTC

He is a German psychologist, whose theory in child development became popularized in the 1950s-1960s.

Erikson also coined the term identity crisis, stemming from his stages of identity development.

Comments on Erikson's Theory

lailacowsette — 2024-10-30 13:28:29 UTC

Erikson's theory is all-encompassing of ages, however, some of the stages of age are too broad or convey a message that may be unintentional. For example, the stage of young adulthood is the longest, signifying the largest portion of one's life. With 'Love' being the virtue of this period, it could imply that love is the main virtue in someone's life and has the most impact.

Issa Dee

lailacowsette — 2024-10-30 14:14:13 UTC

Issa Dee is a 28-year-old Los Angeles native portrayed as an awkward protagonist with antagonist behavior. She displays the contradictions in a person that make them alluring or relatable but also unlikable, or even embarrassing. In this season, she is seen trying establish her identity with others as well as within herself.

Synopsis of Insecure

lailacowsette — 2024-10-30 14:27:08 UTC

Summary

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 00:20:28 UTC

Insecure's focus on self-discovery in different facets of life can relate to the psychosocial stages, especially to the crises of identity v. role confusion and intimacy v. isolation with the character of Issa Dee. The virtues of fidelity and love are clear in this season as seen with Issa's career, romantic relationship with Lawrence, and overall purpose.

Issa Finding Intimacy

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 00:26:57 UTC

In this clip, Issa goes to a club with her best friend, Molly. She chooses to do an open mic and freestyles. She feels passionate about lyricism and music, but this performance puts it to the test through the conflict of intimacy v. isolation. Receiving acceptance after feeling vulnerable when sharing a part of her identity builds up the ability to feel close to others and, ultimately, the virtue of love.

Issa Feeling Role Confusion

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 00:51:19 UTC

Issa's non-profit job at We Got Y'all, had her at a crossroads. She had feelings of confusion and disappointment causing her to want to drift to another career path, potentially.

Setting

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 01:13:09 UTC

Los Angeles, California in Modern Day

Major Characters

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 01:13:37 UTC

Issa Dee, Molly Carter, Lawrence Walker, Kelly Prenny, Tiffany DuBois, Daniel King

Literary Theme

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 01:15:27 UTC

Navigating self, relationships, career, and society through the lens of the Black woman.

Major Conflict/Crisis

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 01:16:53 UTC

Issa Dee is a Black woman native to LA who works for a non-profit organization. She is seeking purpose in her life through self-discovery, relationships, and community. She also finds herself feeling stuck in her life. This leads her to make decisions that 'worsen' her life at times, but also sometimes puts her in the right places at the right time to advance her to finding her purpose.

Is this theory a good “fit”?

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 02:08:19 UTC

Two stages can be applied to Issa Dee as a character. However, there should be clarification on how the virtue of love can exceed romantic love, and can also mean love or acceptance from one's community. As well as the age range for the stage of identity v. role confusion, in this example of this character this stage seemed to be recurring.

Given your character’s identity are these theories valid to use?

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 02:09:26 UTC

Issa Dee is a 28-year-old Black woman. According to Erikson's theory, she would be in the young adult stage, however, in the show, she showed some characteristics of the adolescence stage in trying to find herself. In this situation, identity does not have as much of an effect on the validity of the theory. However, the time period when a person is alive has more in this circumstance. In this day, the ages people reach a certain benchmark in their life is pushed back compared to the 1950s, when this theory was first formed.

Was the theory capable of capturing or explaining your character's experiences?

lailacowsette — 2024-10-31 02:14:35 UTC

The fact that Erikson's psychosocial stages deal with conflicts that result in holding certain values closely relates to the whole basis of Issa Dee's life plot in Insecure. She encountered many conflicts that in the end allowed her to learn a lesson or virtue, in the terms of Erikson.