Erickson's Stages

    According to Erikson’s first stage of development, “Trust vs. Mistrust” begins as soon as the infant is born. Erikson believe that when an infant is first born, they must learn how to trust others. In other words, their parents are the ones who are suppose to

At preschool age, guilt is a common aspect expressed by children when they do something they know they shouldn’t. Erikson’s theory is initiative versus guilt. By now the child has become convinced that they are a person all their own, discovering who they are as a person. Their emotional development is also a growing awareness of self, which is linked to the ability to feel a wide range of emotions. This allows them to make sense of other people’s reactions and to control their own. After a negative behavior, a child will feel guilt or shame after being told what they did was bad.

This Trust vs. Mistrust crisis occurs during the first year and a half of life with hope being the basic virtue once the stage is successfully completed (McLeod, 2013). When a sense of trust is developed, the infant will know that if a new crises arises, their needs will be met by the outside world. These physical and emotional needs include: being fed when hungry, kept warm and dry, allowed undisturbed sleep, protection from disease and injury, and receive adequate stimulation (Hutchison,

     Initiative vs. guilt is Erikson's third stage of development, which occurs between three to six years of age. This is an expansion on the autonomy developed in the second stage. During this stage children begin pretend play with peers and accept responsibilities such as chores. If this stage develops conflict between family members and this child is unable to balance their initiative with the demands of others guilt may begin to form. I was placed in my adopted family at the beginning of this stage. I believe that I developed a little slower in this stage than children who were biological or who were adopted at a young age. I also believe that I developed slower than children who lived in a consistent foster home during this stage and were adopted later did. The reason that I believe this is because I felt very guilty during this stage. I felt that I had abandoned my foster family and the people that I lived with. My biological parents had visitation up until this stage and I thought that I did something wrong that made them not want to see me anymore. I turned this sense of guilt in to a feeling of needing to please everyone. My parents said that I would do anything to help and would get very upset and ask them if they were going to give me away if I spilt something or forgot to put something away and had to be asked to do

Many follow the theories of ether Freud’s or Erickson’s that the use of development is through a variety of stages throughout life. People may believe in one over the other as they are both different theories. While Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician who is well known for his revolutionary ideas on psychology and psychiatry, but also on Western thought in general. He states that "If electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting" (894). However, Freud’s and Erickson’s theories stand apart in many ways, but both agree that personalities develop in a series of predetermined stages.

Erickson theory of initiative vs. guilt, "Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent." (Myers, D.G. 2000). When talking to my family

Erick Erickson help vastly change and pave the way for psychology. One of the aspect Erickson is known for are the 8 stages of development. Erickson suggests that every person who has ever lived must go through these stages of development. The theories describe how people and personalities go through life’s stages and function in society.

The success of this stage is measured by the feeling of safety and security of our world. This will set the child up for success for the rest of their life. The other side is failure that would lead mistrust and the feeling of insecurity of the world around them. This will set them up to have issues especially in relationship. McLeod mentions, “For example, if the care has been harsh or inconsistent, unpredictable and unreliable then the infant will develop a sense of mistrust and will not have confidence in the world around them or in their abilities to influence events” (McLeod 19).

Stage one of Erikson’s theory is described as “trust vs. mistrust.” This stage occurs from birth to year one of a child’s life (Erickson H., 1964). It is obvious that overcoming this developmental crisis is out of the hands of the child at this point in their lives. If there is stable and consistent care, the child will gain a feeling of trust that carries on in relationships later on in life. On the other hand, inconsistency and neglect will instill in the infant a sense of mistrust that carries on in future relationships (Erickson H., 1964).

Erickson’s stage of development states that ages 3-5 is the stage of initiative versus guilt stage (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Explain

Once a sense of autonomy has been developed, the next stage in the psychosocial theory is initiative versus guilt. This stage is from about age three to age six and

Stage four is the latency stage, or the school-age child from about six to twelve. The task is to develop a capacity for industry while avoiding an excessive sense of inferiority. Children must "tame the imagination" and dedicate themselves to education and to learning the social skills their society requires of them. At this stage, the parents and other family members are joined by teachers, peers, and other members of he community at large. They all contribute: Parents must encourage, teachers must care, peers must accept. Children must learn that there is pleasure not only in conceiving a plan, but also in carrying it out. They must learn the feeling of success, whether it is in school or on the playground, academic or social.

If the individual’s needs are not met in this stage the individual will most likely develop a mistrust that will hamper relationship in the future. The relationship between parent and caregiver is vital. “It is during the first months of life that the baby comes to trust or not, to have faith or not. Whether trust and faith are developed has direct implications for identity formation” (Goodwin, 1998) The goal of this stage is to gain ‘Hope’.

This stage is called industry versus inferiority/ Elementary school-aged children who succeed in learning new, productive life skills develop a sense of pride and competence. Those who fail to develop these skills feel inadequate and unproductive. Children learn early new life skills that give them a sense of pride. Pride and competence are good for children because then, they feel like there is no empty spaces in their life. I feel like when I was a child I was never taught to show my pride. Today, I know if I would have learned to show my pride I wouldn’t back down from anyone and would be a totally different

During the first stage of Erikson’s theory trust vs. mistrust – hope it includes from infancy to the first two years of life. The main importance is on the mother and father’s development skill and care for a child, particularly in terms of visual contact and touch. The child will build up hopefulness, trust, confidence, and security if correctly cared for and handled. If a child does not receive trust,