Erik Erikson 's Psychosocial Development

Erikson was a German psychologist and psychoanalyst. He was a student of Freud, and was greatly influenced by his theories of personality development. Similarly to Winnicott, Erikson drew on his experiences as a child analyst, to inform his contributions. Erikson’s theories, like Winnicott, are highly regarded today.

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,

Rachel Getting Married is a movie about a drug addict who 's coming home from rehab to attend her sister’s wedding. The main character’s name is Kim. In the movie, she is shown to have many issues going on, ranging from an incomplete stage of Erikson 's to symptoms of depression. Throughout the movie, she goes through many emotional turmoils and drama, which changes her behavior.

At the age of 6 years old, a child would most likely experienced the school system which would include pre-school and kindergarten. There are many physical, cognitive and social changes that are happening in middle childhood development. This paper will examine what these changes affect the child’s ability to function in society. This analysis will focus on the normal course of development in middle childhood as it applies to the theorist Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages and then give examples of what may happen if the developments are not carried out.

Erik Erikson psychosocial developmental stages plays a major role in the preschooler period. Children have completed the stage of trust versus mistrust where they start to build long lasting attachment with their caregivers. The next stage is autonomy versus shame and doubt which Feldman(2012) explains that children develop independence and autonomy if the parents encourage exploration and freedom within safe boundaries( p.185). However if the child is restricted and overly protected , they will feel shame, self doubt and unhappiness( Feldman 2012,P.185). Mahki home setting allows him to explore and have his own independence. Though Mahki , is hesitate when it comes to new things and experiences once he finds security and confirmation in his mother ,he is ready to take the challenge.

The middle adulthood stage of development is from about forty years of age until about sixty five years of age. At this stage, the typical person has found their desired career path, a relationship worth settling down with, and their piece of the bigger picture. Being successful and giving back to the community is important during this time frame. According to Erikson’s psychosocial stages of human development, this is the point in life where the question is generativity or stagnation. Generativity is reached if a person feels that they are successful and doing a good service for the rest of the world, but if the feeling of failure in these areas arises stagnation, inactivity, is reached. Both generativity and stagnation are developed mainly

Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud are well known within the field of psychology for their theories on human development. These two men acted both as scholars and psychoanalysts. Erikson was a psychologist and Freud a psychiatrist. Erik Erikson studied and taught Freudian theory in Vienna, where Freud once studied at the University and practiced as a psychiatrist. Erikson believed that Freud’s developmental stages had discrepancies. Freud believed that “our personality is shaped by the age of five” (Sharkey, 1997, para. 2). Erikson felt that our personalities are built and changed over the course of a lifetime. Both Erikson and Freud are amazing theorists and well respected by other theorists in the field of psychology.

According to Rogers (2013, p.87) Jessica was in stage six intimacy verses isolation of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development Persons in this stage of psychosocial development are looking for intimacy and closeness in their relationships while still keeping their identity. If they do not achieve intimacy than they are at risk of isolation. One could view Jessica seeking fertility treatment as her wanting to obtain ultimate intimacy with her husband. What is more intimate than sharing a child with someone. This could be the reason why Jessica thought something was wrong with her which was making her question her identity in a sense. Jessica said that since Laurel has been born her and John have grown closer which could indicate that sharing a child together gave them the intimacy they both were seeking.

The eight psychosocial stages of development are all vital in some way to our advancement as humans but the stage that is the most important to us is the first stage of Trust vs. Mistrust. This stage takes place from the moment the baby is birthed into this world all the way until they are almost two years old. It can also occur near the end of people’s lives as they have to trust they will be taken care of when they are too old to do so themselves. In this psychosocial stage, this is when infants learn to either trust or mistrust the world around them and Erikson believed that it helps to regulate and employ a prevailing impact over a person’s relations with others for the rest of their lifetime. Infants need care and attention because they fully rely on others for their numerous needs to be met. These particular needs

Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development was greatly influenced by Freud and his psychoanalytic theory. Both Freud and Erikson believed that the life span included distinct stages that

20 is a strange age, you don’t have the excuse of being a teenager to fall back on but people still treat you like a child. Since high school, I’ve been interested in psychology, a topic many people engage in because as humans, we all naturally try to learn more about ourselves as a whole, but also as individuals. Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development mark the eight points people go through from infancy to elder hood. Based on Erikson’s theory, twenty year olds are at the end of adolescence where we wonder who we are and what we can be, as well as being at the beginning of early adulthood where we have formed most of our identity but are also now trying to find love and where we fit into the world.

A student of Anna Freud (daughter to Sigmund Freud), Erik Erikson saw human development as continuing throughout the life span. This is in contrast to Freudian theory, that posits that development is mostly completed by adolescence. Erikson built onto the Freudian model of and extended it throughout the entire life span, into older adulthood. Erikson appears to attempt a linkage between individual development and the broader context of society. His early stages are linked to those of Sigmund Freud, but they are formulated on very different lines of thinking. Erikson focuses more on ego qualities that emerge from each stage and less on sexual modes and their consequences (as Freud’s theory does).

Erik Erikson has had a tremendous life and has left an amazing legacy. He was an influential and pioneering psychologist, psychoanalyst, and author whose development of his psychosocial stages are immeasurable to the study of personalities. Erikson came from a somewhat troubled past, not so much economically, but psychologically. Erikson was born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany to his mother Karla Abrahamsen (Friedman, 1999). According to Lawrence Friedman (1999) and his discussions with Erikson showed that he did in fact have a troubled path growing up. His mother, Karla, had been married to Valdemar Isidor Salomonsen in 1898. According to Friedman (1999),

Adolescence is the fifth stage in Erikson's psychosocial development theory. It is posited to last from ages 12 to 18, and the basic conflict inherent in the adolescent stage, which the person must resolve, is between identity and role confusion. This conflict between identity and role confusion especially plays itself out in peer relationships, but the teenager also navigates through identity and role confusion with relationships in the family unit. Identity and role confusion issues can arise with sexuality, as well as worldviews.

Erikson’s theory followed Freud´s and it was based on many of Freud´s ideas. He had studied at Anna Freud, Freud’s daughter in Vienna. Erikson´s and Freud´s theories have similarities. Both theories admit the importance of the unconscious on development. They also both separates development into stages of a person´s life and handle similar age spans for these developmental stages. However, there are also differences that exist between names of the stages and the developmental subjects that are assumed during each stage. Part of the reason for that is that each psychologist has his own exclusive view of what causes a person’s development.