Analyzing Erikson's Eight Stages

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Recommended: Compare and contrast Erik Erikson Psychosocial and Sigmund Freud Psychosexual theory

According to Erik Erikson, a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst who translated and extended Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stages into his own developmental theory, human develops and shapes eight psychosocial stages throughout their entire life span. The eight stages include Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Integrity vs. Despair. Human goes through the first four stages during childhood while the last three stages cover adulthood. As a high school senior, I have only gone through the first five stages and I experienced the most difficulty in stage five – Identity vs. Role Confusion. …show more content…

According to Calvin Hall's cognitive theory of dream, dreams are thoughts displayed in the mind’s private theater as visual concepts. (1) A few weeks ago, I dreamed I fall while I was walking down the stairs and then I woke up. Stairs in dream represent progress in some area in your real life. The event of falling down the stairs symbolizes that some situations are out of control in my life.(4) When I link this dream to my everyday life’s event, I felt lost and scared about my future which I was not willing to face it, because I do not have a clear direction what kind of career will I have and what are my values. Therefore, I believe I experienced the most difficulty in stage …show more content…

When adolescent fail to resolve crisis or have trouble with stage five, they may develop identity diffusion. This means adolescent will enter their adulthood with confusion, do not have a clear idea who they really are and what they want out of life. Moreover, adolescent will also experience a vague and threatened sense of self. If they have too little identity, they may join cults or hate groups. If they have too much identity, they may show fanaticism. Pressure from parents also may lead to a negative outcome and make the situation even worse. When an adolescent develops an identity under pressure, it can lead to a rebellion in the form of establishing a negative identity. For example, when an adolescent is exploring his own identity and role. He would often change his image and lifestyle; However, if his parents put too much pressure on him, he starts to rebel against them and reject their

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