Erikson’s Stage 4; Industry versus Inferiority
Erik Erickson was an ego psychologist who emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego. He developed a theory of psychosocial stages where he believed a crisis occurs at each of the eight stages of development. Erik Erikson was influenced by Sigmund Freud, who emphasized the conflict between the id and the superego, but unlike Freud, Erikson believed that the ego develops as a result of successfully resolving crises in eight distinct stages that expand a lifetime. Successful completion of each stage results in a healthy ego, however, failure to complete each stage results in an unhealthy view of one’s self. “Erik Erikson maintained that personality
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Erikson believed that there was always room for continued growth and development throughout one’s life, and he emphasized the adolescent period as a crucial stage for developing a person’s identity. Industry versus inferiority is the fourth stage of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and occurs between the vital adolescent ages of six and twelve. During this stage, school and social interaction play an important role as well as the child starts to perform more complex tasks. Mastering new skills is relevant during this stage and this is when teachers, parents, peers and role models influence children by praising them and giving them recognition for being proficient. When children do not get the encouragement or commendation from their teachers, parents, or peers, they start to develop a feeling of incompetence and start to doubt their abilities. According to Erikson this stage is vital in developing self-confidence and competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority. This is the stage where emphasis is often placed on academic and athletic performance, and …show more content…
I learned at an early age to always do what is right. In public I was always taught to be polite and never do anything foolish. Although my parents helped shape my identity, it was also my teachers whom I spent the most time with who were encouraging and stressed the importance of school. In elementary school some of the games we played taught us how to get along with each other, and to problem solve together as a group which resulted making positive friendships. At Longleaf Elementary we had many different clubs for everyone to join so students could get involved in something they were interested in. I chose safety patrol in sixth grade and that taught me how to be responsible and to be a leader. In safety patrol, I was accepted by my peers and made new friendships. For me, it was important to be in a group or club in elementary school so that I could gain peer acceptance. Erickson stated; “The parents and other family members are joined by teachers and peers and other members of the community at large. They all contribute: Parents must encourage, teachers must care, peers must accept. Children must learn the feeling of success, whether it is in school or on the playground, academic or
Role Confusions. The virtue of this stage is fidelity. Erikson was an ego psychologist who emphasized the role of society and culture and the conflicts that may take place within the ego itself. The ego develops as it successfully resolves crises that are social in nature. They may involve developing a sense of identity in society, and establishing a sense of trust in others. Erik Erikson believed that personality develops in a predetermined order and build on each previous stage; this is called the epigenic principle. Erik Erikson put a big emphasizes on the adolescent period because he believed it is a crucial stage for developing a person’s identity. This stage is the stage that Precious is currently at. (McLeod,
Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial theory, and “he describes our social experiences during our whole life span using eight different stages” (Cherry 2015). The first four stages are “trust vs. mistrust; which describes how the child needs to be able to trust their adult figures, autonomy vs. shame and doubt; which is about person control, initiative vs. guilt; which is about children learning to lead others, industry vs. inferiority; which is about gaining a sense of pride in things” (Cherry 2015). The final four stages are “identity vs. confusion; which begins the sense of self, intimacy vs. isolation; which explores personal relationships, generativity vs. stagnation; which focuses on career and family, and the final stage being integrity vs. despair; which describes reflecting back on life” (Cherry
Psychosocial development explains the stages through which one healthily human should pass from infancy to late adulthood. There are eight stages in psychosocial development; Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Ego Integrity vs. Despair. In each one of these stages, a person confronts and hopefully masters challenges. Erik Erikson is known for creating these stages of psychosocial development.
82). As human beings, we are constantly encountering and resolving conflict events, which Erikson called developmental crisis. The approach we take to resolve these crises depends on the influences that are around us and the actions that we take. After examining each stage and my experiences with each one, I feel as if I have a better understanding of how I became the person I am today. My parents, family members, teachers, and coaches, along with all of the other people in my life, have helped me to create an identity for myself as I have moved through the stages of psychosocial development. Analyzing Erikson’s theory in this manner has granted me a better understanding of psychosocial development, which will be invaluable for my future career as an
In matter of relationships, I have only few friends; I tend to be very selective in the circle in which I move, and I do not welcome all types of people into my world. According to Erik Erikson theory of personality, I have been significantly influenced by the stage four: industry vs. inferiority. According to this theory, these behaviors might have an explanation that goes back from my childhood. Erikson points out that at stage four, children need to be reinforced positively for activities at school, in sports, or artistic fields in order to cultivate a high self-concept and a meaning of industriousness. If the child 's efforts are perceived as inadequate, feelings of social and mental inferiority can move stealthily into adulthood, (Maitland,
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development were complex, but simple. It is something everyone will go through and experiences will always be different. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his stages can lead to quite a disaster. Surprisingly, previous stages are highly influential to the proceeding stage. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his psychosocial stages can have a very devastating effect on a person. This is because the effects built up rather than taking the place of one another. The effects are quite horrifying, but with the right environment, experiences and beliefs, everything can go well.
His belief was that each human developed their own personality through a series of stages and these stages developed due to the social experiences that one experienced through life. According to Erikson, there are eight stages and each stage centers around a conflict that has to be resolved. Under Erikson’s theory, if conflict or crisis is not resolved, then the outcome will be more crisis and struggles with that issue later on in life (Domino & Affonso, 2011).
In Erickson’s Stages of Development a child in middle childhood, (or children from age six to age eleven), move through the industry versus inferiority stage. This stage is marked by the child working to gain new skills and in general just being productive (Click P. M., Parker J., 2002, p. 89). A child who is successful in their attempts will gain confidence in themselves and move on into adolescence firmly on the industrious side. A child who is not successful in acquiring the skills they try will move on to the adolescent stage with the mindset that they are inferior to their peers.
Everyone is unique and not every person needs to successfully master each level to gain a previous ego skill in a future stage of life. Erik Erikson’s theory is derived from primarily an environmental influence. There is data or analysis conducted that offers insight to biological factors that could alter the stages during psychosocial development. While the environment has a strong influence over human being’s development, I believe our genetic makeup can sometimes be enough to overcome previously failed stages. An example would be a person who was raised in a poor environment, only to rise above the pain and suffering to become successful in all stages of life. I also like to think of myself as a good candidate for somebody that failed earlier stages of psychosocial development, only to gain previously lost ego skills in future stages of
Erik Erikson was an American psychologist famous for his theory of psychosocial development. Erikson postulated that psychological and social factors played an enormous role in human development. The psychosocial theory brakes down human development into eight interdependent stages, with each stage having specific culminating goals and a pair of crises (Woolfolk, 2013, p. 99). The failure to achieve the goals of one stage could hinder the successful completion of subsequent stages.
The psychodynamic theory encompasses both Freud and Erikson. Freud believed the three components of personality were the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is responsible for all needs and urges, while the superego for ideals and moral. The ego moderates between the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. However, Erikson believed that personality progressed through a series of stages, with certain conflicts arising at each stage. Success in any stage depended upon successfully overcoming these conflicts. The advantage to psychodynamic is that it encompasses the individual, meaning that the theory looks at personality from childhood all the way into adulthood. The disadvantages of this theory are that it cannot be tested validly. Therefore,
Erik Erikson has made a contribution to the field of psychology with his developmental theory. In Erickson’s psychosocial theory, development consists of a sequence of stage, each defined by a unique crisis or challenge. Erikson proposed that individuals go through eight distinct, predictable stages as they develop their sense of self and their relationships with others. At each stage as a child experiences different biological, social and cognitive needs, sort of development crisis provides an opportunity for that child to discover whether her family society and culture can meet those needs. Psychosocial development the socially and culturally influenced process of development. An opportunity for increased potential and healthy development and decreased vulnerability.
Erikson believed that personality development included the impact of society, culture, and the relationships that are made. The psychosocial theory developed by Erikson included eight stages: stage one (basic trust vs. mistrust), stage two (autonomy vs. shame and doubt), stage three (initiative vs. guilt), stage four (industry vs. inferiority), stage five (identity vs. role confusion), stage six (intimacy vs. isolation), stage seven (generativity vs. stagnation), and lastly, stage eight (ego integrity vs despair). Erikson’s first stage, basic trust vs. mistrust, is when the child will develop trust based on how their needs are being met. Erikson’s second stage, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, the child will soon begin to understand the struggle for control of oneself. Erikson’s third stage, initiative vs. guilt, child will develop a sense of control over oneself and learn to take responsibility of one’s actions. The fourth stage, industry vs. inferiority, is when the child will begin to encounter social interactions daily and these social interactions will cause the child to compare himself/herself to others to measure success and failure in oneself. Erikson’s fifth stage, identity vs. role confusion, the child will begin to decide what it is that one wants to gain from life and what to be as an adult. The sixth stage in Erikson’s personality development, intimacy vs. isolation, young adults will spend time trying to figure out with whom to share a personal relationship with. The seventh stage, generativity vs. stagnation, is a way to figure out how to become a nurturing individual in order to create the next generation. Lastly, Erikson’s stage eight, ego integrity vs. despair, learning to accept that one’s life is coming to an end (Ciccarelli and White,
Erik Erikson was influenced by Freud and his concept of the ego. Erikson observed the impact of external factors on personality from not just childhood, but throughout the entire lifetime. He developed eight stages, which are split into different age brackets. As an individual passes through these stages, they must successfully complete the crisis to move forward onto the next one.
Erik Erikson’s eight Stages of man; politically known as the eight stages of psychosocial development. He promotes social interactions as a motivation to personality development. Erickson studied stages from the beginning of the life cycle to the later stages of life. Erickson was trained under the famous Sigmund Freud. His belief was that it wasn’t only sex that motivated personality development. Social interaction and a growing sense of competence is the key to it all. Because his beliefs differed from the beliefs of Freud, Erikson quickly began to work on his own. Erickson has focused on many different eras of psychological development.