Erickson Reflection

My Reflection of Erickson
Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychosocial development. Unlike other theorists of his time Erikson’s theory focused on human development across the lifespan from birth to late adulthood. Erickson believed that development change occurs through out our lives in eight distinctive stages that emerge in a fixed pattern and are similar for all people. Erickson argued that each stage presents a crisis or conflict which resulted in either a positive or negative outcome (Feldman). In this essay I will identify incidents in my own life that demonstrate each stage of development according to Erickson that I have lived through. I will also interview an anonymous source who will share their experiences for the stages of Erickson’s development that I have not arrived at yet. I will address my anonymous source as Ms. T.
Erikson’s first stage of development is the Trust versus Mistrust stage that occurs from birth till the first eighteen months of life. According to Erickson this is the period in which infants develop a sense of trust or mistrust, depending largely on how well their caregivers meet their needs (Feldman). During this stage of my life I was being taken care of by both Mom and Dad, but primarily by

During this stage adolescents develop a better understanding of self and belonging or they face identity crisis and role confusion. During this stage in my life I felt that I was rebelling and doing things that were not age appropriate. I did not respect authority and thought it was ok to do what I wanted to do. Even though I was a young teenager I did not think of myself that way. I thought of myself more like an adult. Through my negative experiences in this stage I suffered identity crisis and role