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“Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Stages of Development”
“Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Stages of Development”
Strength and weakness of Erik Eriksson psychosocial theory
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Erik Erikson was a German Psychoanalyst that developed a psychosocial theory composing of eight stages of development. These eight stages span from birth to death and attempt to describe how external factors influence personality development. I seek to learn more about Erikson’s psychosocial theory by reflecting on an individual person’s account of their memories from childhood into their present life stage and out to their goals and vision for their future self. I interviewed Lynda, a 56 year old-widow, she is a nurse in an emergency department, and is a native of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. “I was born into a loving family. My mother and father were in their early twenties when I was born. My parents, they weren’t wealthy but they gave …show more content…
A positive outcome in this stage will relate to the development of greater self-control. During our interview Lynda explained to me “I don’t remember a lot of my childhood in Hawaii, but my mother she kept photographs and passed them on to me. There are these old photos of us picking out fresh fruits and vegetables from the farms, we had plentiful baskets. Then we would go back home and help our mother make our dinner.” Children in this stage seek independence thus, gaining a sense of control is important for this age group. According to Erikson’s theory, successful toilet training and freedom in tasks such as picking out clothes, toys, and food will lead to a positive outcome in this stage of …show more content…
Lynda remembered her adolescent years as a time of many changes, “high school was a roller coaster, and I think it is for every teenager. I had so many different clothing and hair styles; even friends moved on frequently, you realize you’re not into the same things.” Peer relationships plays a very important role in this stage of development as the adolescent tries to answer the question “Who am I?” The adolescent is making a search for identity, they are experimenting and they begin to realize things about themselves that help them form an idea of who they are and what they want in life. According to Erikson, healthy resolution of the earlier conflicts now serves as a foundation in the teenager’s search for an identity. A strong sense of self-control and feeling of independence is the result of a positive resolution of this stage. Unsuccessful resolution of this life stage will lead to what Erikson called role confusion; these individuals will lack a feeling of self, they may drift from job to job and jump from one relationship to another, not knowing what they really want in
Claireece Precious Jones is currently experiencing the adolescent stage of her development and is transitioning into adulthood. Her experience as a teenage mother, growing up in poverty, and history of abuse all have implications for the development of her identity, cognitive functioning, and biological factors. We will focus on Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage for Adolescents to gage the evolution of Precious’s growth, while addressing the person in environmental theory that also attributes to the biopsychosocial context in which a young person develops.
The individual that I chose to observe is a toddler. She appears to be between the ages of ten to fifteen months. She has brunette hair, wore a pink outfit on, and is of mixed race. My observation was completed at chucky cheese. She was accompanied by her mother, father, and older brother. Her brother was not that much older than her. He had to be about three or four years old. When I arrived, I had a hard time picking someone. When I first saw her she was in a teacup ride. Her father was standing close by watching her. I thought to myself, “how cute”. I knew instantly she was the one. I grew up with a father who was detached. It was nice seeing a father interacting with his daughter. At first, I didn’t know her mother and brother were there.
The first stage I will be talking about is the fourth stage of Erikson’s theory of developments industry vs. inferiority which is from age six years to adolescence, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments. They initiate projects, see them through to completion, and feel good about what they have achieved. During this time, teachers play an increased role in the child’s development. If children are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative, they begin to feel active and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals. If this initiative is not encouraged, if it is restricted by parents or teacher, then the child begins to feel inferior, doubting his own abilities and, therefore, may not reach his potential.
Erikson’s work emphasized each person’s relationship to the social environment –psychosocial human development and proposed eight stages of human development with crisis in each stage to be resolved. Individuals must go through all the stages in a lifetime, whether they resolve the conflict in each stage successfully or not. You must resolve each stage before moving to the next stages in life.
Eric Erikson was one of the most famous theorists of the twentieth century; he created many theories. One of the most talked about theories is his theory of psychosocial development. This is a theory that describes stages in which an individual should pass as they are going through life. His theory includes nine stages all together. The original theory only included eight stages but Erikson‘s wife found a ninth stage and published it after his death. The nine stages include: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. identity confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, integrity vs. despair, and hope and faith vs. despair (Crandell and Crandell, p.35-36)).
In 1905 Sigmund Freud theorized that childhood development happens in stages, which are called “Psychosexual Development Stages.” In 1950 Erik Erikson developed “Psychosocial Stages,” which are greatly influenced by Freud’s theories. Freud’s theory centers on psychosexual energy or the libido. Erickson’s theory centers on issues and tasks being met at specific ages. Even though we are sexual beings, our developmental stages do not focus entirely on sexual pleasures. Both theories do show that personality develops in stages. Although, Erickson’s theory is the better theory.
Erik Erikson, one of the most famous psychoanalysts in history, is praised for his well known theories of personality development. Much like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed in childhood being an essential period of personality growth that can be divided into stages. While Freud’s theories were psychosexual discoveries, Erikson 's theory details the impact of social behavior throughout one’s whole life. An important element in Erikson 's psychosocial stage theory is the adapted ego.
Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development consist of eight stages. Stages six, seven, and eight are characterized as young adulthood, adulthood, and old age, in that order. According to John Cavanaugh and Fredda Blachard-Fields (2011), authors of Adult Development and Aging, “During young adulthood, the major developmental task, achieving intimacy versus isolation, involves establishing a fully intimate relationship with another. With the advent of middle age, the focus shifts from intimacy to concern for the next generation, expressed as generativity versus stagnation. Finally, in old age, individuals must resolve the struggle between ego integrity and despair. This last stage begins with a growing awareness of the nearness of the
Adolescence refers to the transition period experienced by children that occur between childhood and adulthood (Shefer, 2011). Identity is first confronted in adolescence between the ages 12 – 19 years old, because of physical and hormonal changes in the body. It is also due to the introduction of formal operations in cognitive development and societal expectation that this contributes to an individual’s identity to be explored and established (McAdams, 2009). The forces within and outside (family, community) the individual that promote identity development usually create a sense of tension. The basic task is, in Erikson’s terms, “fidelity or truthfulness and consistency to one’s core self or faith in one’s ideology” (Fleming, 2004: 9), in a nutshell: "Who am I and where am I
These two individuals have suffered many unfortunate circumstances which can have a large effect in the way they express their character to the people around them. The long term effects of not growing under a healthy influence can have some negative long-term impacts on their mental, physical and emotional growth. Furthermore, by understanding the theories set forth by many individuals about child development, we are able to make stronger predictions as to how these brothers will be affected.
Erik Erikson’s 8 stages on psychosocial development greatly encompass the experiences through which a person goes through in his lifetime.
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).
Erikson 's (1963) eight stage model of psychosocial development poses that development continues across the lifespan and does not cease after adolescence as other theorists, like Sigmund Freud, suggests. Progression through each of this model 's eight stages requires resolution of a corresponding crisis. Upon successful resolution, the individual gains certain strengths and can progress on to the next stage. It is in this model that the crisis of late adulthood, as discussed above, is identified: where the individual faces acceptance of his/her life and gain integrity, or its opposite, despair, over the inability to relive that life (Erikson, 1963). The prospect of a life coming to a close may be daunting and difficult to accept, as life-review entails the resurfacing of memories and unsettled conflicts of the past (Lurie & Monahan, 2015). Overcoming this
Since, this is the stage that sets the ground for them to explore, learn and have a stable future. After this stage, it is Erikson’s stage initiative versus guilt. This stage is the third stage and it’s from early childhood (preschool years), from the ages of three to five years. In this stage the child “is convinced that they are persons of their own” (Santrock 2011). For children in this stage want responsibility given to them, it can be very small
One of these topics includes understanding the different stages of life and the psychological development of people of all ages. In Psychology class we learned about numerous Psychologists who had theories related to this important concept. One of the psychologist’s was named Erik Erikson. Erikson believed that there are eight stages of development across the lifespan and during each stage, there is a specific psychosocial crisis that most people face. Since I am planning on working with high school students, it will be essential that I fully understand the stage of development that they are in. Since high school students are in their adolescence, the central issue they would be dealing with would be identity versus role confusion. As Erikson explained, during this time “Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are” (Myers 209). Adolescence is a critical time in development because people are trying to figure out their identity and where they fit in society. Studies have shown that adolescents who have positive relations with others in their peer group tend to have a better sense of their well-being and have a more positive outlook on life. On the other hand, some adolescents have a hard time fitting in and becoming part of a peer group. This causes much stress on the individual and can cause the adolescent to isolate themselves from