Psychosocial Stages Of Development

Eric Erikson believed that there are eight different social stages an individual must go through as they mature. Each of these stages involves a positive characteristic and a negative one. Your future all depends on these characteristics. So to what degree can Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development truly affect us? All I know is that the moment my life changed was the day I saved a man’s life. This moment in my life falls under the 5th stage of Eriksons theories of psychological development. It is at this stage where I was able to develop a “sense of self and personal identity”. I was following Eriksons eight different social stages my whole life and I didn’t even know it; and by the end of it, I was able to find “a reintegrated sense of self, of what one wants to do or be”. (Bee, 1992)
I was 16 years old when this event occurred in my life. “During this period the identity concern reaches climax” (Miller, 1983). Reality struck me in a matter of minutes. Following quite a traumatizing yet memorable incident, I think it is safe to say that was and still is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. Two years ago, I witnessed a brutal car crash that will ceaselessly remain imprinted in my memory. My friends and I were in my car, parked on the street parallel to the one where the accident occurred. All we could see were a bunch of ‘Bedouins’, who seemed rather oblivious of the present situation, gathered up, surrounding the man that had crashed. This is where John Darley’s bystander effect theory comes into action- were we to just assume ignorance like all the other bystanders or were we to respond to the situation and ultimately be part of a possible investigation? By this moment in time I was able to gain “self c...

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...the ages of 12 and continues to age 18. During the fifth stage, teenagers are determined to find their individualism and place in our world that will carry them into young adulthood. At a point in this stage I was struggling to discover what it is that I am destined to do with my life. I even remember asking myself, “Who Am I?” I wanted to ostracize myself from my siblings and parents, so I made a conscious search in order to find out whom I really was. I developed a conscious decision that allows me to be who I want to be without worrying about other peoples thoughts and opinions, and I found that I enjoy things like playing soccer, driving, philanthropy; so I excelled. By the end of my senior year in High School I had discovered my cultural, and personal identity as a member of society and was prepared to match the obstacles and challenges that life has to offer.