In this concise article the authors use data of psychological testing and anthropological observation to postulate a theory regarding elements in the identification process. A community of Apache Indians was found to have among its school-age children, as well as among its elders, two distinct groups using similar modalities of thinking. The parents of the children, however, did not show evidence of that thinking modality. The explanation was found in the observation that parenting in this tribe is characterized by severe inconsistency and neglect due to abnormally prolonged adolescent behavior on the part of the parents, which lasts until about age forty. The maternal grandmothers usually step in and provide a more mature, loving, and consistent presence. The elderly population consists of two distinct groups because of historical and ethnic background, and