Erikson Guilt

In this stage the toddler gains ability to use own initiative in planning and carrying out plans; or if cannot live within parents limits develops a sense of guilt over misbehavior. Wuornos grandparent’s limits were distorted and so from a young age she was confused and never developed a sense of guilt.

A theory proposed by Erik Erikson (1950, 1963) promotes the eight development stages of adolescents through adulthood by comparing the transitory periods. During each stage, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis which could have a positive or negative outcome for identity and personality development. The first stage is trust vs. mistrust, this stage starts at birth and end at the age of one year. This stage also explains the safety that the infant is getting from the caregiver. For example, if the infant receives constant care, they will develop a sense of trust which will be carried out with them to other and future relationships. The second stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt; this stage occurs at the age of two to three years old. In this stage, the child is mainly discovering their skills and abilities. The third stage is Initiative vs. Guilt; this stage occurs around age three to age

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.

     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

As stages in psychological development have been defined by Freud, stages in moral development have been outlined by early educators Jean Piaget and Kohlberg, who put forth differing views on the moral development of children. Piaget theorized that children process morals in stages, first one then the next, with a transition in between. The first stage (from ages 4 to about 7) is referred to as “heteronymous morality”, where children think of rules as constants, that is to say, rules are part of the world’s makeup with no input or possibility of change by people. As children progress from seven to ten years of age, they move from one stage to the next, maintaining some of the traits of the

Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to lead others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of

Child S who was observed showed signs of the Initiative vs. Guilt stage of Erikson's Psychosocial Theory. There was a time when the teacher called S over to work on the lesson they were doing for the day. The lesson involved rolling a die and whatever number they would roll they would take small pieces of paper, which represent garbage, and put them in garbage trucks on their worksheets. When it was S's turn to roll her die she was extremely focused on the task. She took her turn, and the teacher asked her to count the number of dots on the die that she rolled. S would then count for the teacher and would take her pieces of garbage. It was on the next roll where S rolled before the teacher could even ask, already started counting the dots and then told the teacher she needed that number of pieces of paper. It was at this moment where S seemed very confident and showed that

Initiative versus guilt is the third stage of Erickson’s theory and applies to children between three and five years of life. In this stage the child begins emulate the actions of adults and take initiative in creating play situations. They like to make up stories with their toys (i.e. Ninja turtles, matchbox cars, Barbie and Ken) they are like to play out roles as what adults do. Basically learning what it means to be an adult. They also begin to ask question like why so they can find a way to explore the world. Erikson has said that at this stage they become involved in oedipal struggles a resolve these struggles through social role identification.

Erikson believed that during this age children begin realizing that they have a will and they begin to understand that their actions are their own. Children will begin to accept and proclaim their own independence. However, just like Freud, Erikson believed that if parents are too strict with their children, or punished them too harshly this could result with the child having unhealthy feelings of shame and doubt.

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

Oedipus and Electra complex in which the child unconsciously wishes to posses the parent of the opposite sex and rid themselves of the parent of the same sex. The result of this desire in boys would experience castration anxiety which would drive them to identify with their fathers. If there is no male figure in this stage of a child’s development it is thought that the child will have problems with authority figures later in life as he has never had the chance to conclude this stage. Freud’s explanation for the female development claiming that they would experience penis envy (a realisation they do not have a penis) they would eventually overcome by achieving motherhood and having their own baby. Latency stage from six years through puberty here the child will develop their confidence and mastery of the world around them. He believed that during this stage their experiences and excitations of previous stages are repressed and children develop infantile amnesia being unable to remember much of their earlier years. The Genital stage from twelve years upwards to adulthood is the culmination of the psychosexual development and the fixing of sexual energy in the genitals. This eventually directs humans towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of the next cycle of life (Breger, 2009).

Early Childhood is roughly from 18 months to 3 years. During early childhood, the second stage of Erikson’s theory manifests; this stage is called Autonomy v. Shame. In this stage, “the psycho social theme of autonomy-shame and doubt is manifested during toddlerhood and leads to self-will or will-power.” (Ginsburg, 1992) If all the needs of the individual are met at this stage they develop a feeling of self-control and power over themselves. If the individual’s needs are not met in this stage they tend to develop feelings of shame and doubt in themselves. “If individuals

Initiative versus guilt is the third stage of psychosocial development. It’s around three to six years of age when this role must be established. The goal is to establish purpose and its achieved through exploration and play (Cherry, 2011). Children begin to affirm their power over the world through interaction between people and play (Cherry, 2011). They assert control over their environment and they try to take control of their lives by planning activities, doing different assignments and taking on different challenges (Cherry, 2011). Imagination plays an important role because it encourages the freedom to do what they want and take the initiative of their lives (Cherry, 2011). When the child is not given the chance to play or explore, or is stopped

This stage last from ages 2-3 years old. This stage corresponds to Freud 's anal stage. Initiative vs. Guilt is the stage where a developing child must be active in their environment. The ages of this stage are 3-5 years old. The child needs to have a sense of purpose. Industry vs. Inferiority is the stage where a child develops competence. The ages for this stage are 6-11 years old. These are the school years of a child 's life. Ego Identity Vs. Role Confusion is the stage where a child is in their adolescent years. The ages of this stage are 12-18 years old. The teenager is going through puberty and is noticing members of the opposite sex. Intimacy Vs. Isolation is the stage where the person is trying to find a mate for themselves. The ages for this stage are 18-24 years old. They want love. Generativity Vs. Stagnation is the stage where the now adult is working and they want to be a mentor for other children. the ages in this stage are 25-64 years old. The last stage of Erickson 's theory is Ego Integrity Vs. Despair. In this last stage a person needs to become comfortable with the life that they are living and have lived. The ages of this last stage are from 65-death.