Answer:
A) Kendra is struggling with how to respond to a situation at work; her reaction to the dilemma will tell her coworkers what kind of person she is. - Moratorium
B) Zack has been a vegetarian ever since he was a child; when he moves out on his own, he continues his vegetarian diet. - Foreclosure
C) Cici has not had any big changes or challenging decisions come up during her teen years; she just coasts along in life. - Diffusion
D) After thinking about all of his options, Darren felt good about his commitment to live with his parents during his first year of college. - Achievement
Explanation:
The moratorium, achievement, foreclosure and diffusion concepts refer to the four identity statuses of a person first created by Erik H. Erikson in his work on identity and psychosocial development and fully developed by psychologist James Marcia.
This classification is based on people's level of crisis (a period of exploration and discovery of alternatives and changes) and commitment (investment in their identity, goals, accepted values, and ideologies and a period to make firm choices).
Moratorium is when a person is undergoing a crisis (like Kendra who is struggling with how to respond to a situation at work) and at the same time, has no firm commitments or is not ready to make one.
Foreclosure is when a person has made a commitment but not based on exploration or searching. Zack is in this state because he has committed to a particular identity: to be a vegetarian, without prior crisis or exploration.
Diffusion refers to the status in which a person has not experienced a crisis or made any commitments to a particular identity. Cici is in this state because she is lacking both crisis or exploration and commitment to a particular identity, she "just coasts along in life."
Lastly, Identity achievement is a balance between crisis and commitment. Darren is at this state because he explored his options (crisis) and made a decision to live with his parents during his first year of college (commitment).
