Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Theory Of Development

I have always viewed my life in simple stages. For example, I knew I wanted to graduate high school, go to college, have a career, be in a relationship, and eventually start a family. However, I never thought of my life in the stages that Erik Erikson describes in his psychosocial theory of development. In his theory, Erikson describes eight stages of development starting in the first year of life and ending in late adulthood. These different stages attempt to explain the psychosocial obstacles we encounter at each developmental milestone, who we are most influenced by, and what internal questions we might need to answer. How people chose to confront these different obstacles can effect how healthy or unhealthy development might be.
During

In this stage, children want to demonstrate that they are able to do tasks independently while exploring their own abilities. When I was in preschool, I attended a Montessori school where they encouraged us to play and participate in various engaging activities such as braiding, helping with the garden, baking, and others. Additionally, my parents both worked so my sisters and I took care of ourselves after school before they got home. I remember learning how to bake bread in school and couldn’t wait to come home and show my mom my new skill. Both my parents were encouraging of me exploring my interests, even if it meant baking experimental food and making them try it. I think in this stage I developed a sense of initiative and carried that initiative with me throughout other stages as

Children in this stage divert more of their time and energy towards knowledge and education. Teachers, parents, and peers alike are all big influencers at this stage. In my first year of elementary school, I faced the task of making new friends as well as adapting to a new curriculum, having transferred from a Montessori school. Excelling in many subjects, I was placed in a few higher-level classes. These classes were my favorite part of the day and I had an amazing teacher who taught in engaging and creative ways. Many of us in those classes became close friends and felt special for being a part of it all. At the start of fifth grade, however, there was a teacher change and all that shifted. This new teacher didn’t meet my enthusiasm for class, and with a lack of support and understanding my grades began to drop, especially in math. Upon seeing my report card, I cried and decided I wasn’t smart enough to be in higher-level classes anymore. When I told my parents about my failure, their reactions differed significantly. One parent told me they weren’t disappointed as long as I tried my hardest and not to be too hard on myself. Conversely, the other parent wasn’t pleased and wasted no time comparing my abilities to those of my older sisters. Moving on to my first year of middle school, I had the opportunity to take a test that would bump me up to advanced math again, but