Development Theory And Erikson's Stages Of Psychosocial Development

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Erik Erikson was a psychologist specializing in post Freudian studies. Many ideas and foundations of his theories came from the Freud way of thinking. Erickson could be considered a neo Freudian, someone who is influenced by and still practices elements of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis. Erik Erikson’s development theory expanded on Freud’s original five stages of development, consisting of a new eight psychosocial stages of development known as The Life Cycle. The ego and sexual development are a large focus for Erik Erikson’s stages. In each of his stages there are two main terms for the child to learn and they are always opposites of each other. In addition to psychologists today still using Erikson’s stages of development for assessments on patients, research is still being conducted to prove the validity of Erikson’s design. His work is important to various areas of psychology including development and personality. Eric Erikson and the Stages of Psychosocial Development Erik Erikson is possibly one of the best known of Sigmund Freud’s loyal followers. His psychosocial model can be explored, evaluated, and picked apart, in terms of its concepts and assumptions. Erikson has influenced the way psychologists view the importance of identity during adolescents, enhancing, and slightly altering the ideas originally laid out by Freud. Using Freud’s broader ideas and theories, Erickson was able to develop a more continuing developmental timeline of a person’s life. (Schultz and Schultz, 2012, p.164) Agreeing on ideas such as human instinct and basic development was how Erickson was able to feed off Freud’s thoughts in light on constructing his own. Erickson's eight stages of psychosocial development uniquely exhibit asp... ... middle of paper ... .... The lack of caregiver’s attention to the positive aspects of stages can lead to a disaster later on in life. Each stage builds on top of each other, and with a uneven or rocky foundation, it becomes harder and harder for each layer on top to have the full effect it should. With the right environment and motivated parents, a child’s experiences at such a young age can really help them understand the world as they mature. Year after year, our world uses technology and research to help come up with new theories and experiments to try and learn more about our own species. However, Erik Erickson proved that as much as we think we know, and think we can learn in the future, development as a human being is unique to everyone. His theory is clear, it is precise, and it gives the ability for every person in the world to relate positively, or negatively, to every stage.

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