Erik Erikson 's Theory Of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1902. Because his mother was Jewish and his father was not, he was often bullied in school. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, so his Jewish peers mocked him for standing out and being different, and his peers at school teased him simply for being Jewish. His own internal conflict with his identity sparked his interest in identity formation and development. Although he never actually received a degree in medicine or psychology, he became friends with Anna Freud who helped him study psychoanalysis. Erikson supported and was influenced by many of Sigmund Freud’s ideas. Freud had a theory on development, he called it the 5 stages of psychosexual development, this is one of the theories that Erikson

Erik Erikson is identified as a private, complicated man who lacked a formal academic training and came to America as an immigrant in the 1930s. His ideas of the identity development became influential to different theorist such as Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol Gilligan and Bruno Bettelheim who often reference from his work Erikson rarely referenced his work to others with the exclusion of Freud, and he often did not support his theories with empirical evidence, even though his work has become well known (Friedman, 1999).

Erikson (1968) believed that the primary psychosocial task of adolescence is the formation of identity. Therefore, he called developmental conflict identity versus confusion. There are various contributing factors to the formation of identity such as cognitive development, personality as well as schools and communities etc. The onset of puberty during adolescents leads to newfound cognitive skills and physical abilities (Kroger,2004) . In addition, increased independence and autonomy leads to greater interactions with communities and schools etc. according to Erikson (1968), this allows the individual to explore relationships and ideologies. He gave particular attention to the career domain, starting “In general, it is the ability to settle

German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson developed eight stages of psychosocial theory of development where the main key to developmental task was “development of identity”. (SITATION HERE). The book “The life Cycle Completed” by Erik H. Erikson emphasizes on how each individuals need to go through trust and mistrust or also known as crisis to get to the right solution, to find their identities. During the early adolescence is when we develop bonding with parent, friend, and romantic partners. In

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).

The main element in his theory is the ego identity. He describes Ego Identity as the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction. (Erickson) He believes that our ego suffer many changes during our lifetime and that can interfere or help the development of identity.

Erik Erikson’s specialty is in the field of ego psychology. As an ego psychologist, his theory on ego identity is renown as the best-known theory of psychosocial development. Erikson’s theory defines ego identity as “the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction which is inclusive of all beliefs, ideals, and values that help shape and guide a person’s behavior” (Cherry, n.d., p. 1).

From the moment we are born till the moment we die, and everything in between, are the moments that determine who we are and who we were as individuals – these stages of life, along with a hint of biological factors, are what mold our personalities and characteristics. Forming an identity is crucial, since it's what distinguishes us from other people. In the article "Identity", Erik Erikson, one of the first psychologists to develop a theory which extends from birth to death and determines how our identities are formed, claims that to develop an identity and experience self-awareness, one must have "challenges, and crisis that must be mastered in order for a healthy personality to form" (Vensel 576). Furthermore, Erickson refers to a 'crisis'

One of the stages in his theory was ego identity; he believed that we develop this consciously as we begin to develop through social interaction. Erik Erikson believed that our ego identity changed on a daily basis which was changed through experiences, interactions and information we gained. He also believed that as we begin to develop, our ego identity could improve or slow down. Erikson believed that each stage the child/adult needs to be competent in that certain are of life, if not, they will feel they lack in the area.

How is Laura’s behavior indicative of role confusion as discussed by Erik Erikson’s model of psychosocial development?

Erikson also noted that identity is not only developed by the individual but also, through interaction with, recognition and confirmation of friends and family. Showing how just like in particular Internet sites, children learn social competence through “cliques” and large crowds of people who impose various types of influences (Schöpflin). This concept relates back to two assumptions based on identity. “Identity” is currently used in two concurrent senses, one of which is “personal” and the other “social” (Schöpflin). In the first aspect of identity, an individual’s identity is some distinctive trait, or a fixed category, that that person views as socially significant but more-or-less unchangeable. In other words, an identity is given to you. One of the key principles of developmental psychology, applicable to personal identity change, is continuity and discontinuity. In simple terms, this discusses what changes and what stays the same within an individual over time. From the moment of birth to the last day of life, people change along numerous parallel pathways, including association, cognizance, social skills and emotion. Discontinuity occurs when differences between a person of one age and either earlier or subsequent ages appear rather brusquely rather than steadily. Discontinuity tends to be seen when children hit ‘milestones,’ like their first steps and words. Just the day prior, the child did not have these behaviors but they still emerged with little warning. Some

Based on Erikson’s theory and the age group, I am currently in the identity versus identity confusion stage.

There are eight stages of Erikson’s theory. These stages indicate key developmental points in our lives, in which the resolution of each developmental crisis influences individual perceptions of oneself

I have been successful with the stages I have already experienced and will continue on my journey of self-identity. With success at each of the stages it put me at a closer step to what I have to accomplish at the next. If I had not been successful at any point and stage that would have and will affect me later on when trying to get passed another stage. Each stage coherently works together to reach the final stage of personal development. In each stage, Erikson deemed people are tested with a struggle that distributes a turning point in development. In Erikson's outlook, these battles are centered on either developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality. Amid these times, the dormant for personal growth is elevated, but so is the dormant or failure.

Erikson stated that the ego is a powerful part of personality which is functional independently. This approach of Erickson is later on expressed by many as the ego psychology. Unlike Freud, Erikson believed that personality development is continuous across the life time. Furthermore, Erikson (1950) explained personality development in eight stages through which a healthy individual passes.