Abstract
This chapter outlines Erik Erikson's theory of identity, empirical operationalizations of this theory, and key assumptions that have characterized the study of identity in adolescence and emerging adulthood. It discusses the origins of psychosocial identity theories in North American cultural contexts and cross‐cultural issues involved in using neo‐Eriksonian identity models in other contexts. In particular, the chapter examines the individualist assumptions that underlie the neo‐Eriksonian approach. The chapter concludes with a review of the other six chapters in this volume and of the countries on which these other chapters focus. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
