Erick Erickson A Psychoanalytical Perspective on human development

Erik Erikson, a well known developmental theorist, developed his theory about stages of human development from birth to death by using Freud 's work as a starting point. According to Erikson, personality develops in a series of stages. Erikson found out that children experience conflicts which affect their development. He described the internal conflict which children go through in developmental stages using the term ‘crisis’ and are based on either developing a psychological quality, or failing to develop that quality (Bee & Boyd 2003). During this period of development, chances of developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality are equal. He believes that the personal identity and future development of a person are determined by the way he or she resolves the series of conflicts they go through.

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development was the first theory that demonstrated the development from “womb-to-tomb.” His theory posited three tenets, the first that each era in life had a developmental crisis, and that at each period there was the opportunity for growth and development. Each developmental stage poses a developmental crisis that is central to that age, and as stated in Erikson’s second tenet, if there is an interruption in the development of one of the stages, the stages following will be effected. Though each developmental stage has one fundamental stage that is being worked on, Erikson’s third tenet states that the challenges of all of the other stages are still present; although there is one crisis that is

Erik Erikson describes in his research eight psychosocial developmental stages. Although the first five are based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, he also added three adult stages. Erikson’s theories vary from Freud’s in that he believes genes and biological impulses, along with family and culture have the strongest consequence on human development.

Erikson believed that people develop in psychosocial stages. He emphasized developmental change throughout the human life span. In Erikson's theory, eight stages of development result as we go through the life span. Each stage consists of a crisis that must be faced. According to Erikson, this crisis is not a catastrophe but a turning point. The more an individual resolves the crises successfully, the healthier development will be.

The way in which an individual’s psychological development interacts with the environment around him/her defines Psychosocial. With this, one’s psyche develops with the help of social interactions and helps mature him into a functioning human being. Although this is different from social psychology, in which the focus is on social patterns in people deduced through their psychology. Psychosocial was the term first coined by Erik Erikson in his “Stages of Development”. He stated that there exist various stages of psychosocial development. Each stage makes a person overcome some challenges, which in future would cause experience them as problems. However, these stages need not to be considered in definitive order

Erikson’s (1968, 1980, 1982) psychosocial stages of development provide a framework for the different stages of development throughout the human lifespan. These stages of development begin at birth and continue until death, and separate the lifespan into eight stages based on chronological age. Within these eight different aging stages are corresponding psychosocial stages. Each of these psychosocial stages represent a conflict between two characteristics of development for that particular time period in a person’s 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,

This essay will demonstrate my understanding of developments which occur at each stage of an individual's life cycle. I will relate these developments to two relevant psychological theories and discuss how an individual's needs must be met to enable them to develop.

During our lives, everyone goes through a change and evolves in different ways. However, in the field of psychology as far as development, the process of growing and maturing has been previously linked only with childhood. One of the first theorists Erik Erickson felt that development continues throughout life. Erickson believes that each stage in life resembles to specific opportunities that the society might have. Erickson’s theory defines the impact of social involvement across the entire lifespan. Each stage of Erikson’s stages is unique in their own way. Erikson decided to present eight different stages of the psychosocial crisis for almost each age group.

Psychologist Erik Erikson developed his eight stages of development to clarify the developmental challenges faced at various times in people’s lives. Stage-based theories of development were extremely popular during Erikson’s era. However, Erikson’s theory differs from other popular theories in that a person does not have to successfully complete one stage of development to move on to the next stage of development. Erikson’s stages of development are widely taught in psychology courses in the United States.

Erik Erikson, in seeking to understand and describe human development, developed a theory in the early 1900s. His theory progressed to assume that humans must deal with or cope with the conflicts of a certain stage of life before they can move on to a higher level of development (Ashford et al, 2013). He organized eight different stages of psychosocial development from infancy to old age. Each of the eight stages represents an internal conflict that will greatly define who and individual becomes and the choices they will make later in life based on their experiences within each stage.

Since the development of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial model of development in the 1960s, it has become one of the most widely used measurements for studying emotional and personality development across the human lifespan (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). Erikson’s model contains eight developmental stages, beginning in infancy and progressing until old age, and as a person ages they begin to pass through the stages, with a new psychological crisis arising at each stage (Svetina, 2014). Whitbourne, Sneed and Sayer (2009) describe how the outcome of each crisis is met with identity attainment and new personal adaptations (positive outcome), or with an incoherent identity (negative outcome). Additionally, each new stage allows for the reassessment of previous achievements, and in some cases, failures (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). Erikson’s model is commonly recognised as a developmental ladder – each previous stage lays a foundation before an individual can progress toward the next stage (Malone, Liu, Valliant, Rentz & Waldinger, 2016). It is important to note that whilst they are referred to as “stages”, they should be viewed as being on a continuum rather than fixed categories (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017).

When it comes to Erickson's Eight Stages of Development, with other researches we can state that a person's childhood is what shapes their personality, that's why is a crucial time in a child's life. However, we face challenges throughout our life course that also shape us. They come in eight stages, stage 1 is, infancy- the challenge of trust, stage 2 is toddlerhood- the challenge of autonomy, stage 3 is preschool- the challenge of initiative, stage 4 is preadolescene- the challenge of industiousness, stage 5 is adolescence- the challenge of gaining identity, stage 6 is young-adulthood- the challenge of intimacy, stage 7 is middle adulthood- the challenge of making a difference, and finally stage 8 is old age- the challenge of integrity. The eight stages of

Psychologist, Erik Erikson, contributed a fundamentally significant theory which emphasizes eight stages of human development that unfold through an individual’s life. In each stage, a developmental task brings upon a unique crisis that must be resolved. Solving this crisis is especially crucial, for it determines how healthy ones development is (Santrock, 2012). In each stage, Erikson emphasizes certain important events such as feeding, toilet training, and schooling that must be successfully accomplished in order to resolve the conflict regarding personality and psychological skills. According to Erikson, when solving these conflicts, a distinct sense of ego develops that helps establish a sense of trust in others, develop a sense of identity in society, and help individuals prepare for the future.

For my life journey I have chose to use Eric Erikson’s theory I have decided to use his theory because to me his theory suited my life appropriately. Eric Erikson is a well known theorist from the twentieth century, he has produced many theories. One of his most known and recognized theory is the psychosocial development. This theory describes the steps a person goes through in life. There are nine stages in his theory. Originally his theory only eight steps, but his wife found the last step after his death and published it. The nine stages are: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy and soliditary vs. isolation, generativity vs. self absorption and stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. Although, I have not gone through all of these steps yet due to my age I am only twenty two. I will speak about the steps I have gone through so far.