Compare And Contrast Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

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Freud’s psychosexual stages and Erikson’s psychosocial stages are similar to each other in that they each follow the same guidelines and different periods of life. These eight stages of life in each group coincide with each other, even though they are two different ideas.
In the first year of life, an infant starts having trust and relationships with his or her parents. Freud looks at the first year of life as the Oral stage, which is the point in a child’s life where they are breastfed to satisfy the need for food and pleasure. An infant needs this basic nurturing, or there is a higher chance of the infant developing personality problems that include mistrust of others, and inability to form intimate relationships. Erikson’s first stage …show more content…

Male phallic stage, known as Oedipus complex, involves the mother as the love object for the boy. Female phallic stage, known as Electra complex, involves the girl striving for the father’s love and approval. How the parents respond to this sexuality development has an impact on the child’s sexual attitudes and feelings later in life. Erikson calls this stage the Preschool age: Initiative versus guilt. This stage allows a child to make personally meaningful decisions. If they are able to make these decisions, then they develop a positive view of self and are able to follow through with their decisions. If they are not allowed to make their own decisions, then they develop a guilt over taking initiative. This will possibly cause the child to allow others to make a choice for them, rather than making a choice for …show more content…

Old themes from the phallic stage are brought back. Freud says that this stage starts with puberty and lasts until senility sets in. Adolescents can deal with sexual energy in this stage by investing it in various socially acceptable activities, such as making friends, engaging in art or in sports, and preparing for a career. Erikson calls this stage Adolescence: Identity versus role confusion. Erikson says that this is a time of transition between childhood and adulthood. He says that this is a time for testing new things, and breaking dependent ties, and establishing a new identity. Some major conflicts in this stage are finding self-identity, finding your life goals, and finding life’s meaning. If an adolescent does not figure out these goals, they will have role

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