Erik Erickson Research Paper

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Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development has eight stages at various time periods in a human's life. These stages consist of a crisis which the person must overcome to develop a proper functioning psychological standing. His theory of psychosocial development is organized by age groups just like Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory, where both acknowledge the extreme difference between children and adults. While Piaget only has four categories though, Erikson has eight that are classified as crises. When a crisis is finished, and the person has properly completed that period of their life, they also develop basic virtues that builds their character. If a person fails to complete a stage it can affect their ability to complete …show more content…

The majority of people believed that a family dynamic would impact the life of the child around a year old the most, and therefore have the most impact on the child's personality. Children a year to three years old are learning to follow rules and have self control. This stage is called Autonomy vs. Shame in Erikson's theory, and something everyone identified on the survey as being the biggest challenge to a toddler. I agree that this would be a obstacle for a child and either develop their ability to control themselves or not. Having been a difficult child, I know that this stage is extremely important for progress in the future. This stage allows the toddler to form self esteem as they learn new skills, giving them the opportunity to form pride. Success leads to feelings of independence, while failing may lead to the feeling of shame, doubt, and frustration. It also allows for the opposite. If the child refuses to follow rules, they will learn to throw tantrums and use emotion to get what they want. Normally this behavior is corrected during childhood. A study at Psychological Science studied the behavior of reckless toddlers and the correlation they have to gambling addicts, proving that many addicts start having powers with self control at the age of three. This could be the result of not properly overcoming the Autonomy vs. Shame stage of

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