Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development
Many psychologists and psychoanalysts have impacted the way human growth and development is viewed today. These psychologists and psychoanalysts developed theories that are being used every day in the health care profession. The view healthcare professionals have of growth and development greatly affects the outcome of the patient. Understanding the theories of Freud, Kohlberg, Piaget, and Erikson is tremendously important for nurses. Erik Erikson developed one of the theories that nurses readily use today.
Erik Erickson was born in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany in 1902. He moved to the United States in 1927. In 1936 Erickson joined the Institute of Human Relationships, which is part of Yale University. ("Erikson Institute," 2014) Erikson was an ego psychologist. (McLeod, 2008) Erikson’s theory involves an individual establishing sense of trust and identity within his or her society and helping to mold future generations. He believed that the role of society and culture help to shape personality. Erikson alleged that there is plenty of room for growth and development throughout one’s lifetime. (McLeod, 2008)
Erikson developed the theory of psychosocial development. Erik Erikson did use Freud’s order of life span development. The predetermined order of life stages is called the epigenic principle. (McLeod, 2008) Erikson’s theory is in eight stages. (Potter, Perry, Stockert, & Hall, 2012-2014) Erikson believed that individuals need to complete and master a task in one stage before they can move on into another stage. (Potter, Perry, Stockert, & Hall, 2012-2014) Mastering tasks in stages are significant because there will be future times when mastered tasks are put to test and ch...
... middle of paper ...
...ment. The eight stages of his theory each play an important role for both the caregiver and the patient. The industry and inferiority stage is especially important to understand. Maintaining a child’s sense of self-worth and allowing for personal triumph can help the child transition into hospitalization. This stage needs to be mastered before the individual can go into the next stage of identity and role confusion.
References
Eric Erikson. (2014). Retrieved from www.erikson.edu/about/history/erik-erikson/
McLeod, S. (2008). Simply Psychology: Erik Erikson. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/erik-erikson.html
Potter, Perry, Stockert, & Hall (Eds.). (2012-2014). Developmental Theories. Fundamentals of Nursing: 8th edition (8 ed. (p. 133). http://dx.doi.org/
Sharkey, W. (1997). Erik Erikson. Retrieved from www.muskingum.edu/~psch/psycwen/histoy/erikson.com
In accordance to Erikson’s developmental framework, nurses are required to understand each developmental stage. Erikson added that nurses can play a crucial role in enhancing a person's development by understanding his developmental stage. Moreover, supporting and encouraging the individual’s behaviour can strengthen his beliefs and solve his developmental issues. (Concept growth)
Erik Erikson was heavily influenced by Freud but while Freud was an ID psychologist, Erikson was an ego psychologist. Erikson stressed that the development of the ego depended heavily on personal and social aspects. “According to Erikson, the ego develops as it successfully resolves crises that are distinctly social in nature. These involve establishing a sense of trust in others, developing a sense of identity in society, and helping the next generation prepare for the future” (McLeod, S. 1970). His theory focused on personality development through eight distinct stages. He believed that personality progressed in a stacking or pre-determined manner, this is referred to as the epigenetic principle. One must
The first stage of Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development takes place between birth and one year of age. It is the most important stage in life. He named this stage, Trust vs. Mistrust. At this important time in a child’s development, the child is completely dependent on an adult for everything; food, love, warmness, protection, and nurturing. If the caregiver fails to be successful in providing acceptable care and love, the young child will feel that they cannot trust or depend on the adults in their life. When a young child develops trust, the child will feel safe and protected in the world. If a child fails to develop trust,
Erik Erikson’s eight Stages of man; politically known as the eight stages of psychosocial development. He promotes social interactions as a motivation to personality development. Erickson studied stages from the beginning of the life cycle to the later stages of life. Erickson was trained under the famous Sigmund Freud. His belief was that it wasn’t only sex that motivated personality development. Social interaction and a growing sense of competence is the key to it all. Because his beliefs differed from the beliefs of Freud, Erikson quickly began to work on his own. Erickson has focused on many different eras of psychological development.
The first stage is infancy and it covers the first year of life. The issue in this stage is trust versus mistrust. This is a stage where an infant is completely dependent on their caregiver. Trust is built by the actions of the caregiver taking care of the child by feeding, bathing, changing diapers, showing affection, etc. If a child is not well taken care of then that child will not learn to trust others. New parents struggle with this stage a lot because of the loss of freedom and the diversion of some attention from spouse to newborn child. It is known as the oral-sensory stage because infants use their mouth to explore their new world. Parents must meet the
Erikson believes a person’s personality changes throughout their lifespan and primarily focuses on ego. Furthermore, ego is a person’s sense of self-importance or self- acceptance. This is a major factor when discussing personality because how we perceive ourselves, reflects onto others. Erikson’s eight stages of psychological development consist of infancy, early childhood, preschool, middle school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age and old age. He indicates that during each stage of life a person experiences a psychological crisis, which could aid in a negative or positive result. During the infancy stage, the psychological crisis is trust vs. mistrust, meaning total dependence on the mother or father. If either or both parents show love and attention, then the child will develop trust, or otherwise mistrust if neglected. Early childhood, around the ages two to three years old a child becomes more mobile and shows signs of independence. The caregivers will either assist the child in all their needs or wait patiently as they figure them out on their own. Erikson distinguishes the importance of allowing children to face their own challenges with the tolerance of failure. This will provide the willingness to push through hard times and overcome adversity. Stage 3, initiative vs. guilt describes the interaction between other children and their ability to make decisions. A child will initiate activity with others continuously when he or she feels secure. Nevertheless, when children are told ‘no’ they react with feelings of guilt. The fourth stage of Erikson’s theory begins to explain inferiority. In this stage, a student will be introduced to teachers who become a major part of a child’s psychological development. With encouragement, children will feel confident in themselves, whereas negative reinforcement may cause self-doubt. Identity vs.
Erik Erikson, Karl Jung and Daniel Levinson are three prominent developmental theorists on human development on the journey of life. Erik Erikson theory surrounding middle adulthood is it a time of balancing everything in the person’s life. It is the time for a person to take stock of their accomplishments, the direction their life is going and the purpose of their life. Erik Erikson theorizes middle adulthood significant task is to transmit values and culture to their children and working to create a stable environment. Family and the work environment are first things listed as priorities in this stage of development. Erikson theory feels generativity is of great importance in this ...
The Purpose of this Paper The purpose of this paper is to apply two developmental concepts, as proposed by Erikson, to the real life experiences of Joe Smith. This paper will emphasize the influence of social structures expressed as risk or protective factors and any traumatic experiences that have shaped their developmental outcomes. Concept #1 will include an exploration of Joe’s psychosocial development during puberty, tied in with Erikson's fifth stage of development: identity versus identity confusion. Concept #2 will include an exploration of Joe’s psychosocial development in middle adulthood, tied in with Erikson's seventh stage of development: generativity versus stagnation.
This assignment’s main focus will be centred on Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, which consists of eight stages however only the fifth stage ‘identity versus role confusion’ will be discussed. Aspects such as identity crises, exploration of autonomy whilst developing a sense of self, factors that may contribute to identity formation as well as the successful/unsuccessful resolution of this particular stage will be discussed thoroughly. Erikson’s theory was also expanded by James Marcia, who identified certain identity statuses. The discussion will then progress to the psychosocial development of a case study based on Anna Monroe in connection to the difficulties she faced, such as gender, sexuality, peer pressure,
In this essay I intend to discuss two psychological theories of development; The psychodynamic approach and the behavioural approach. In order to do this, I will outline each theory and explain how it accounts for psychological development, health and behaviour of the individual. In addition to this, I will explain how an understanding of these theories relates to care and would help a care professional to support an individual in a care setting.
Erik Erikson’s theories of development are among some of the best-known theories regarding aging and developing. Erikson divided the stages of life into eight categories: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. Each stage offers its unique age frame and focus.
Without the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, Erikson accomplished some amazing feats. He was the first psychoanalyst of children in Boston, worked at Massachusetts General Hospital, and was a professor at both Harvard and Yale (2011). During this time he observed and created his most famous theory, his stages of psychosocial development.
His belief was that each human developed their own personality through a series of stages and these stages developed due to the social experiences that one experienced through life. According to Erikson, there are eight stages and each stage centers around a conflict that has to be resolved. Under Erikson’s theory, if conflict or crisis is not resolved, then the outcome will be more crisis and struggles with that issue later on in life (Domino & Affonso, 2011).
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development were complex, but simple. It is something everyone will go through and experiences will always be different. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his stages can lead to quite a disaster. Surprisingly, previous stages are highly influential to the proceeding stage. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his psychosocial stages can have a very devastating effect on a person. This is because the effects built up rather than taking the place of one another. The effects are quite horrifying, but with the right environment, experiences and beliefs, everything can go well.
Theorists have expanded our knowledge of psychology, influenced one another to broaden, and built upon each other’s theories to develop their own. One theorist who has built upon previous theorists was Erik Erikson. Erikson developed an eight-stage theory of identity and psychosocial development, which has countless strengths and weaknesses.