An Insight Of. Erikson Theory On Aging. Anthony Isamade.

I will be presenting part of what I am thinking to write about in the chapter, at the Aging and Society's 6th Interdisciplinary conference in October. If the presentation would not violate the terms of the chapter submission, I would be very happy to contribute to the book.

Ego integrity versus despair occurs from sixty-five years of age until death. At this stage, individuals reminisce about their life and are either satisfied with their life or feel regret and despair over a life they feel was a wasted one. Individuals who are happy with their accomplishments in life will feel a sense of integrity. When

Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.

The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. People are living longer which means that the population of older adults, those sixty years and over, is growing. It is projected that by the year 2040, older adults will far outnumber school age children. Older adults are currently healthier and lead more productive lives than ever before, due in part to modern medicine and the new idea of seeing older people for their potential rather than their problems. This has prompted the concept of “creative aging” or “successful aging.” This positive view of aging is not new, only the terminology. Cicero, the Roman philosopher, is perhaps the first to introduce the idea of “good aging” in his essay, “On Old Age” which was penned in the year 44 BC. He wrote this essay in his early 60’s to show that old age is not a phase of decline and loss, and if approached properly becomes a time for positive change and productive functioning (Baltes & Baltes, 1990). Over the last few decades the subject of

The self and Aging – “Adults maintain their self-concept despite senescence, which alters appearance and social status in ways that might undercut self-esteem,” in other words, each person depends on himself or herself, (Berger 540).

The term “aging” refers to a complex process of biological, physical, psychological and social changes in a person as he/ she ages over their lifetime. Typically, the term refers to older adults and takes on the meaning of the process of “getting old” and “being old”. It relates not only to how individuals live, act and perceive themselves, but also to society’s culture and perceptions, society’s policies and support systems designed for their needs - be it health care, social,

Determined attempt to gain an understanding of the “life course” of an older adult and what it means someone who is in their older adulthood, my main question is gathering and analyzing information about their personal experience in their stages of aging. The main purpose of this paper is interview my relative grandma who is approaching her seventies. My relative grandmother was born in 1946 in Somalia. During my interview with my relative grandmother she told me that her father passed away when she was in her early teen. He was very ill for three years with heart disease. Her mother passed when she was in her middle adulthood. She had asthma for a very long time and died for it. When I asked my relative grandmother what it like is to get older

Listening will be a very big part of our responsibility as future gerontologist. We had the assignment of being a person-centered listener during week 8 and this assignment helped me be more attentive when listening. This week, we are reading The Voices of the Informants, which explores Erikson’s eight psychosocial themes in the experiences of elders moving through old age. According to Erikson, Erikson & Kivnick, “Burdened by physical limitations and confronting a personal future that may seem more inescapable finite than ever before, those nearing the end of life cycle find themselves struggling to accept the inalterability of the past and the unknowability of the future, to acknowledge possible mistakes and omission, and to balance consequent despair with the sense of overall integrity that is essential to carry on. (p.56). These are the issues that older adults faces and when we take the time to listen to the elderly, they will appreciate that someone HEAR them. According to Rogers, “If I can listen to what he can tell me, if I can understand how it seems to him, if I can see its personal meaning for him, if I can sense the emotional flavor which it has for him, then I will be releasing potent forces of change in him.” (p. 332). As we listen, we are learning because the voices of the elderly are full of wisdom as we see when we read the Voice of the Informants. Sometimes the answers to the questions we have about that person is in the stories they tell. I often ask myself how I can prepare myself to be a great gerontologist, the answer lies in being a great listener and learning

Erikson viewed the lifespan through the presentation of a series of conflicts that must be resolved. His theory introduces eight different stages throughout an individual’s lifespan. As individual’s progress through these stages, categorized by age, they are presented with conflict at each stage of development. The crises can be resolved in a positive or negative manner, which determines future function of the individual. Erikson’s theory is psychosocial in nature because these crises involve psychological needs of the individual conflicting with the needs of society (Cronin & Mandich, 2016).

As a result of the mentor experience, my initial understanding of aging prior to the mentor experience changed. Initially, my understanding of aging what that it was an ongoing process of growth that can be denoted through the physical deterioration of the body. The body grows old, skin wrinkles, muscles shrink, and the bones weaken. However, this is not the only consequence of aging. Aging provides a new outlook on life and builds the spirit when reflecting on a life well-lived. Often times, aging is given a negative connotation when in reality it is a beneficial and positive process that leads to emotional, mental, and social growth. Consequently, one’s perspective of aging ultimately depends on their environments as well as their mediators.

As human beings age, according to Erik Erikson, they go through developmental stages that help to create and transform their personalities. If needs are met and the ego is gratified, then the individual is able to move on to the next challenge. Onward they march in life and in stage until they find the end level: integrity versus despair. This has been categorized as adults 65 years and older by Erikson. Here, people are to reminisce and judge their lives in terms of merit or disappointment. Erikson himself had a lot to comb through in his later years.

Human development is a process that starts right from childhood to adulthood. Individuals’ success and life satisfaction depends on what they develop in the society from their childhood period. This is a topic that has always drawn the attention of many scholars and theorists who try to explain what development entails through various stages of life. This paper provides an analysis of various relevant theories and research that focus on the developmental changes that take place in early, middle, and late adulthood. It focuses on Schaie’s stage of achieving, and Erikson’s theory on intimacy, generativity, and identity development. It also explores life satisfaction in middle adulthood, and lastly, the common illnesses of the elderly.

The final psychological conflict in Erikson’s theory, ego integrity versus despair, involves coming to terms with one’s life. Adults who arrive at a sense of integrity

Knowing and having an understanding of what ageing stands for, remains an important step, growing-up or growing older and ageism are theories about older individuals. Ageism includes preconceptions that elderly are categorized for their age and perceived as weak, and incapable of performing tasks and needy of others (Quadagno, 2014). Another view about elderly individuals is the way they are looked down on by the younger society, i.e. elderly are not as intelligent as their younger competitive working force. People fear what they do not know and do not understand. Age transpires as something that must be lived through in order to understand what ageing means; looking back on one’s life and seeing accomplishments made,

According to Erikson’s theory of self-development, people experience the stage of ego integrity versus despair in