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Critically analyze Erik Erikson's stages of child development
Erikson's theory on child development
Strengths and weaknesses of Erikson's stages of development
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Psychosocial Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust The first stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth and one year of age. The infant is not sure about the world. When they see that someone always cares for them; and the care is predictable and reliable, they are secure and gain a sense of trust. Not developing trust will result in fear and believing that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable. If a child has trust, they will also have hope. Hope that when a problem comes up, other people can be there to help them. If they don’t have hope, they will have fear. Psychosocial Stage 2 – Autonomy (independence) vs. Shame (Doubt) This stage takes place during early childhood and focuses on kids developing personal control and mobility. They will start to be more independent. Like walking away from their parents, or picking up a toy on their own. If they successfully complete this stage, they feel secure and confident. Those who don’t will feel inadequate and have self-doubt. A child who has a balance between these two will have will. Psychosocial Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt During preschool years, from around 3-5, children begin to assert themselves more often. They interact with other children. They begin to see their interpersonal skills through social activity and playing. When children find the right balance with willingness to work with others and initiave, they feel capable to lead others, and have the virtue of purpose. Those who don’t develop these skills have a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of initiative. Psychosocial Stage 4 - Industry (competence) vs. Inferiority From ages 5 to 11, they will begin reading and writing, using tools, and making things. When they interact with other k... ... middle of paper ... ...e they are contributing to the world. Those who don’t have this will feel unproductive and uninvolved in the world. In this stage you develop care. You will feel proud of the things you have done, and have unity with your partner. Psychosocial Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair During old age you reflect back on life. If you look back and are not proud of the things you have done, you feel dissatisfied with life and have many regrets, and despair. But if you are proud of they have done, they will have integrity. If you successfully complete this stage, you will have few regrets about the past, and you will be satisfied. They will develop wisdom, which will help them look back on their life with closure. Even when thinking about their death. Works Cited: http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html http://www.pccua.edu/keough/erikson's_stages_of_development.htm
The first stage of Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development takes place between birth and one year of age. It is the most important stage in life. He named this stage, Trust vs. Mistrust. At this important time in a child’s development, the child is completely dependent on an adult for everything; food, love, warmness, protection, and nurturing. If the caregiver fails to be successful in providing acceptable care and love, the young child will feel that they cannot trust or depend on the adults in their life. When a young child develops trust, the child will feel safe and protected in the world. If a child fails to develop trust,
Sensorimotor stage (birth – 2 years old) – Children begin to make sense of the world around them based on their interaction with their physical environment. Reality begins to be defined.
At the beginning of this paper I mentioned that there are eight stages in the psychosocial development theory starting with trust vs. mistrust. This stage begins at birth to one year of age. This is when I should have formed a trust with my primary caregiver or caregivers. My dad was absent most of this stage, so my mother was my primary caregiver. Since she never taught me good behavior, right from wrong, and was uncaring when I was born, I did not feel safe or secure around her. I was told through family members that she was unable to hold me without me screaming all the time, and that the doctor said I suffered from anxiety at infancy because I could feel the tension of my mother’s stress, anger, and anxiety towards me. The beginning of me learning to mistrust, and feeling
Erikson believes a person’s personality changes throughout their lifespan and primarily focuses on ego. Furthermore, ego is a person’s sense of self-importance or self- acceptance. This is a major factor when discussing personality because how we perceive ourselves, reflects onto others. Erikson’s eight stages of psychological development consist of infancy, early childhood, preschool, middle school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age and old age. He indicates that during each stage of life a person experiences a psychological crisis, which could aid in a negative or positive result. During the infancy stage, the psychological crisis is trust vs. mistrust, meaning total dependence on the mother or father. If either or both parents show love and attention, then the child will develop trust, or otherwise mistrust if neglected. Early childhood, around the ages two to three years old a child becomes more mobile and shows signs of independence. The caregivers will either assist the child in all their needs or wait patiently as they figure them out on their own. Erikson distinguishes the importance of allowing children to face their own challenges with the tolerance of failure. This will provide the willingness to push through hard times and overcome adversity. Stage 3, initiative vs. guilt describes the interaction between other children and their ability to make decisions. A child will initiate activity with others continuously when he or she feels secure. Nevertheless, when children are told ‘no’ they react with feelings of guilt. The fourth stage of Erikson’s theory begins to explain inferiority. In this stage, a student will be introduced to teachers who become a major part of a child’s psychological development. With encouragement, children will feel confident in themselves, whereas negative reinforcement may cause self-doubt. Identity vs.
Erik Erikson defined this period of psychosocial development. It occurs during ages three to six. He called this stage initiative versus guilt. During this stage, the child is faced with taking independent action and dealing with the results. They are exploring different things and taking risks. The child, during this stage, is trying to find their identity apart from their parents, or their self-concept (Feldman, 2011). They will attempt to imitate their parents. If the parents dislike what they are doing, a sense of guilt may occur in the child (Fleming, 2004). If there is positive reinforcement of the child’s behavior or questions, initiative will be the result (Elkind, 1970). They will have to experience both initiative and guilt to come to an appropriate resolution. Whichever strength arises during this stage will help shape their identity. If the strength is the opposite of the basic strength, this can lead to issues. If they succeed, the child will find a sense of purpose. However, if they fail, they will get a sense of inhibition. This greatly influences a child’s psychosocial development. The child must pass this stage to move on to the next stage. (Fleming,
Integrity vs. despair is Erikson's eighth and final stage in development, which occurs in Old Age. Older adults look back on their lives and evaluate the outcomes. Those who view their life as productive and satisfying feel a sense of integrity. Those who do not see their life as productive will feel disappointed causing despair.
Thus, all infants at this particular stage get involved or attempt to involve themselves with learning all about the new environment around them. This preliminary stage has a solid bond with environmental stimuli. The various situations/things that infants experience during this time has a powerful influence on his/her growth, both mental and physical, which carries out throughout his/her entire life.
Now there are development standards defined and expectations of a child as a whole. The development standards define the milestones a child should pass by a certain age. These milestones are basically “what children should know and be able to do”. (Shala 7). Because of this early childhood development’s main goal is to thoroughly progress a child’s potential in their social, motor, and cognitive development. (“Early” 1). While development itself is made up of changes in the amount of difficulty attempting certain activities and acquiring skills, gradual movement from basic to complex adjustments in learning, and gaining new ways to move one's body. (Damovska et al 13). For this reason it has become dire for programs to exist that are aimed at younger groups of children so that their mental and social development may continue on track. (“Early” 1). While their level of behavioral unde...
In the second stage, Erikson argued that the challenge is to establish autonomy vs. shame. In this certain stage, parents begin to help children take some personal responsibility, such as toilet training, feeding, and dressing. A Toddler realizes that they are a ...
The first stage of Erikson’s theory occurs in infancy, which occurs roughly from birth to 18 months. Infancy is an important stage according to Erikson’s theory. In this stage, the individual learns how to trust other individuals. If all the individual’s needs are met in this stage...
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
The third stage is the concrete operational stage. Children from 7 years to 11 are most likely in this stage. In this stage children start to think logical about concrete events. They begin to understand basic concept of conservation. Their thinking becomes more logical and they start being less egocentric and begin to think about how other people might think and feel.
Early childhood reveals a distinctive opportunity for the foundation of a healthy development and a time of immense growth and of helplessness. In early childhood, children begin to learn what causes emotions and begin noticing others reactions to these feelings. They begin to learn to manage and control their feelings in self regulation. Emotional self regulation refers to the strategies used to adjust emotions to a contented level so goals can be accomplished. This requires voluntary, effortless management of emotions (Berk, 2007). Promoting young children’s social-emotional development is essential for three interconnected reasons: Positive social-emotional development provides a base for life-long learning; Social skills and emotional self-regulation are integrally related to later academic success in school, Prevention of future social and behavioral difficulties is more effective than later remediation (U.S Department of Health and Human Services). Research on early childhood has highlighted the strength of the first five years of a child’s life on thier social-emotional development. Neg...
The first stage in Erikson 's theory is Infancy. During this stage, an infant is expected to learn basic trust and mistrust. With that being said, a balanced combination of the two is needed in order to "...acquire [his or her] first strength-hope" (Feist, Feist, Roberts 227). A child will also go through Oral-Sensory Mode during stage one. In other words, the child, while learning how to get, he or she will also learn how to give (Feist, Feist, Roberts 226). I developed basic trust because, during this time in my life, my
Erikson’s first stage of development is the Trust versus Mistrust stage that occurs from birth till the first 18 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 Mom. My mom was a stay at home parent while my dad worked. Both my