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Essay on Erik Erikson's Stages of Development

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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, …show more content…

I would say that I came out of this stage successfully because I am not in fear of the world. My parents took care of all of my needs as I was a baby, they made sure I had food, clothes, love and everything that a baby needs, so now I feel that I can trust people, and that there is no need for me to fear the world or the people around me. The second stage in Erickson’s theory is the stage of autonomy vs. shame and doubt, this stage occurs between the ages of two and three. This is the stage where individuals are supposed to learn personal control (Crandell and Crandell p.36). This is stage where you basically gain control over everything. Erikson believed that an important aspect of this stage is toilet training the child, he believed that proper toilet training and learning how to control body functions, provides for a feeling of control and sense of independence. Other ideas of this stage is that the child learns to make their own food and clothing preferences and their favorite toys. Successful outcomes of this stage are the feelings of confidence and security as you get older. Unsuccessful outcomes lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. A perfect combination of this stage would result in the child acting with intention, within their reasons and limits (Erikson’s theory, p 1). During this stage, I was able to pick out my own outfits (I know this because nothing I

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