Final answer:
James Marcia expanded on Erikson's theory by distinguishing four specific ways in which young people cope with psychosocial development during adolescence.
Step-by-step explanation:
Following Erikson's lead, Marcia distinguished four specific ways young people cope with this life stage. Psychologist James Marcia built upon Erikson's understanding of psychosocial development and created the identity status theory, exploring the manners in which individuals develop their identities during adolescence. This complex stage of development is significant in Erikson's eighth-stage theory, where the conflict each person must resolve is between identity and role confusion.
Erikson, a notable neo-Freudian, modified Freud’s theory of personality development to include the social aspects of our growth throughout life rather than focus predominantly on the psychosexual stages and basic human urges. He emphasized the social relationships that are important at each stage of personality development, presenting the concept of lifespan development where personality is seen as developing continuously over time. Marcia's work extended this approach to focus on adolescent development.