In this essay the concepts of sensitive periods and critical periods will be discussed and critically evaluated with regards to identity development among South Africans. In doing so the historical context of South Africa should also be taken into account. The period of adolescence is when the individual undergoes a series of physical and psychological changes, known as adolescence, and begins the progression to adulthood. In other words, the individual reaches psychological maturity and social maturity (Mwale, 2010). As a consequence of South Africa's historical context of apartheid, adolescence in South Africa and the identity development of citizens must be carefully analyzed as a result of such incidents. In my opinion, adolescence is a sensitive period and not a critical period for identity development in South Africa. South Africans. Critical periods involve the notion of an impactful event in one's life occurring at a specific point during development (Papalia et al, 1998). But to answer the question of whether adolescence is a critical or sensitive period for identity development in South Africa it is also necessary to examine the variety of different definitions of critical and sensitive periods. For example, critical periods can also be “…a certain type of experience at one point in development has a profoundly different impact on future behavior than having the same experience at any other point in development (Bruer, 2001) ." Both of these definitions refer to specific events in someone's life that impact their development. As a result of this ambiguity it can certainly be argued that adolescence is a sensitive and not a critical period for the identity of South Africans. Having said that, I would like...... half of the paper...... Ausal interpretations. Psychological Bulletin, 105(2), 179-197.Bruer, J. T. (2001). A primer for critical and sensitive periods. In D. B. Bailey, J. T. Bruer, F. J. Symons, & J. W. Lichtman (eds.), Critical Thinking about Critical Periods. (pp. 3-26). Baltimore: Brookes.Norris, S.A., Roeser, R.W., Richter, L.M., Lewin, N., Fleetwood, S.A., Taole, E. & van de Wolf, K. (2008). South African identity among adolescents. The emergence of a collective identity in the Birth to Twenty Chort study. Journal of Early Adolescent, 28 (1), 51-69. The Research Cooperative http://researchcooperative.org/profiles/blogs/adolescent-and-adolescent Thom, D. P. & Coetzee, C. S. (2004). Identity development of South African adolescents in a democratic society. Society in Transition, 35 (1), 183-193. Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. W. & Feldman, R. D. (1998). Human development. 7th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.