Analyzing Erikson's Eight Stages Of Adolescent Development

Summary

From our class lectures, discussions, and readings I have learned of many psychologists who have contributed insightful theories on adolescent development. One theorist who stands out in particular to me, produces a very complete perception and encompasses all the stages of psychosocial development; Erik Erikson. Erik Erikson examined the subject of identity, and asked questions such as: Why is identity such a big issue in adolescence? Erikson's theory focused on the psychosocial crises adolescents move through in each period of their growth. Similar to Sigmund Freud, Erikson agreed that internal, biological developments advanced an individual from one developmental stage to the next. However, unlike Freud, Erikson stressed the psychosocial, rather than the psychosexual, conflicts faced by the individual at each stage. I gravitated to Erikson’s theory because it describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan, making it seemingly more comprehensive than Freud’s, and others.

Erikson believed that development is predetermined and personality unfolds in eight stages. Progress through each stage is determined by success of the previous stage. A crisis would emerge during each stage of development, and the cause of each crisis

Identity diffusion. Stage 5 happens between the ages of 12 to 18 years old. During this stage a person is challenged with finding out who they are and where they are going in life. As stated before Erikson’s theory spans an entire life and the identity crisis appears in many stages, however Erikson believed this particular concept is more influential during a person’s adolescent years. Many adolescents have difficulty resolving their identity crisis. The three most common problems described by Erikson in identity development are identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, and negative