Why is Identity so Important? Simply put, it is among the most critical and under- appreciated factors in any young person’s social and emotional development. Discovering who they are and where they most belong is a critical step toward becoming a well-functioning adult, and it's between the ages of 13 and 25 that identity formation takes place. One social psychologist, Lee Ross of Stanford, calls identity is the “mother of all construals.”
The Theory of Identity Engagement. According to Julio Garcia and Geoffrey Cohen, two prominent social psychologists, it is important to those of us who work on the front lines of education and youth development that we understand that students often go through a number of developmental stages stages before they’re ready to fully engage in learning. For students of color especially, two prominent stages are “vigilance” and “threat appraisal.” Before he could allow himself to jump into a new situation, he needed to be reasonably assured that would be safe.
The Identity Engagement Process. While this multifaceted process applies to any young person at any age, it is especially germane, even destructive, for Latino, African American and LGBTQ students. For these students in particular, the “cues” they pick up around them are often rooted in their cultural heritage. The ways they understand themselves (who they are, what they value and where they belong) can be captured in one word, “identity.” Identity is not static. It is dynamic and evolving, especially in the years between 12 and 20 (in other words, adolescence). For teenagers, identity formation is the major developmental task.
For many students, a threat appraisal is a rather rare and isolated occurrence. As such, it can keep a student out of harm’s way, and For a youth to engage in threat appraisal can be both healthy and adaptive. Yet, for youth, many underserved minorities, especially those whose families are first generation, one can only imagine how complex and potentially exhausting and debilitating this series of judgments and decisions can be.
Often it takes an intervention of some kind—from a talk with a school counselor to formal counseling and therapy—for a student to be able to work through this overly defensive mindset to feel free enough to take an active and open approach to learning.
The Theory of Identity Engagement. According to Julio Garcia and Geoffrey Cohen, two prominent social psychologists, it is important to those of us who work on the front lines of education and youth development that we understand that students often go through a number of developmental stages stages before they’re ready to fully engage in learning. For students of color especially, two prominent stages are “vigilance” and “threat appraisal.” Before he could allow himself to jump into a new situation, he needed to be reasonably assured that would be safe.
- Stage One: “Vigilance.” Vigilance is a self-protecting inner mechanism that any young person employs when encountering a new situation. For Aurelio, who had experienced a pattern of prejudice and low-expectations, more often than not he found himself on guard. On one level, this was healthy and adaptive, even though it could on occasion cloud his judgment. For, before he could allow himself to jump into a new situation, he needed to be reasonably assured that would be safe. If so and with his fears “disconfirmed,” he could go about his business with confidence. If his fears were “confirmed,” then he would proceed into the second stage into “threat appraisal.”
- Stage Two: “Threat Appraisal.” If vigilance is “confirmed” and prejudice is validated, a second stage kicks in: “threat appraisal.” At this stage the young person has three major decisions to make: 1.) retreating into a shell and avoiding all such encounters; 2.) speaking out and confronting the perpetrator; and 3.) getting the assistance or intervention of a trusted adult.
The Identity Engagement Process. While this multifaceted process applies to any young person at any age, it is especially germane, even destructive, for Latino, African American and LGBTQ students. For these students in particular, the “cues” they pick up around them are often rooted in their cultural heritage. The ways they understand themselves (who they are, what they value and where they belong) can be captured in one word, “identity.” Identity is not static. It is dynamic and evolving, especially in the years between 12 and 20 (in other words, adolescence). For teenagers, identity formation is the major developmental task.
For many students, a threat appraisal is a rather rare and isolated occurrence. As such, it can keep a student out of harm’s way, and For a youth to engage in threat appraisal can be both healthy and adaptive. Yet, for youth, many underserved minorities, especially those whose families are first generation, one can only imagine how complex and potentially exhausting and debilitating this series of judgments and decisions can be.
Often it takes an intervention of some kind—from a talk with a school counselor to formal counseling and therapy—for a student to be able to work through this overly defensive mindset to feel free enough to take an active and open approach to learning.