Erikson 's Stages Of Psychosocial Development Essay

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

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,

Erik Erikson’s stages of personality development focuses mainly on the external factors that influence an individual’s personality. The students at Charleston High School represent the fifth stage of personality develop which outlines the development of identity or role confusion (Cherry, 2016). As shown in the film, many of the students at Charleston High School seem to be going through role confusion. The environment in Charleston has taught the students that whites and blacks are meant to be separated however personally, many of them do not feel the need to because they have grown intimate with each other after being together for so long. Nonetheless, they fear if they do not follow the norm, they will be seen as outsiders in their society.

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.

Erik H. Erikson had eight stages of development that he used to identify personality and identity. These stages of development are Infancy—the challenge of trust{versus mistrust), Stage 2: Toddlerhood—the challenge of autonomy (versus doubt and shame), Stage 3: Preschool—the challenge of initiative (versus guilt), Stage 4: Preadolescence—the challenge of industriousness (versus inferiority), Stage 5: Adolescence—the challenge of gaining identity (versus confusion), Stage 6: Young adulthood—the challenge of intimacy (versus isolation), Stage 7: Middle adulthood—the challenge of making a difference (versus self-absorption), and Stage 8: Old age—the challenge of integrity (versus despair). Now that I've given you the stages of development I'm

Although I am not the typical age (a young adult) in Erikson’s sixth stage of life (Intimacy versus Isolation) I feel I am currently stuck in this crisis. In the past couple of years I have made some major life changes, got out of what could be considered an abusive relationship, decided what “I want to be when I grow up” (an Occupational Therapist, OT) so applied and was accepted into the graduate program, have moved out of my parents after several years of being stalked feeling brave enough my ex would no longer harm me, have decided who my friends really are and who I want around me as positive influences, and have made a gigantic leap leaving my job of 10 years to go after my dream of becoming an OT. So many changes at once have led me into an anxiety state that led to a severe depression, which I am now rising out of with the help of many personal and professional relationships. However, isolating myself has become a norm for me.

I vaguely remember studying Erik Erikson in school and your description of his psychosocial stages helped me get reacquainted so I thank you. His admiration of Sigmund Freud both helped and hindered his professional life (Boeree, 2006). The controversial man contributed to (Boeree, 2006). Erikson incorporates moral and civic character within each stage. Seider identifies a few traits as examples of moral character, these include: integrity, compassion, and respect. Civic character is defined as “the knowledge, skills, virtues, and commitments necessary for engaged and responsible citizenship” (Seider, 2012, p. 164).

According to Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, Neveah is in middle adolescence, which is focused on the conflict of identity verses role confusion (Ashford & LeCroy, 2010). The developmental characteristics of middle adolescents include sexual identity, role experimentation, moral development, and self-discovery (Ashford & LeCroy, 2010). Adolescents are evaluating how they fit into society and more specifically their social sphere. During this time, friends, social groups, and cultural trends greatly impact the adolescent. According to Gibbs (2015), at this stage in development it is critical to be valued and accepted by a peer group. To evaluate Neveah’s stage of development, her ethnicity, immigration, and history of childhood abuse must be taken into consideration. According to Ashford and LeCroy (2010), adolescent immigrants face the unique challenge of fulfilling their sense of belonging, while facing issues of acculturation and minority status. As they seek to develop their own identity, they must combine the norms, values, and culture of their minority status and the dominant Caucasian culture (Ashford & LeCroy, 2010). Adolescent immigrants face more discrimination as well as are hyper-cognizant of their differences in appearance and language (Ashford & LeCroy, 2010). According to Chicchetti and Toth (1995), child maltreatment effects the development of attachment and affect regulation. They further state that studies

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 second stage in Erikson’s psychosocial development is anal-muscular, where the crisis experienced is autonomy versus shame and doubt. During this stage, children learn how to use the toilet; being potty trained allows children a sense of control and independence. As a result of this stage, a child can either become autonomous, where they gain self-control, or they can become shameful and doubtful, where they may feel self-conscious and uncertain. If the child resolves this stage successfully, they will gain the virtue of willpower. However, if this stage is not resolved, then the child will develop the maladaptive tendency of impulsivity or the malignancy of compulsion. If the child is impulsive, they have no control over their actions,

In 1963, the psychology theorist Erik Erikson, developed the idea that each life stage has a psychosocial task that they must conquer. I was given the opportunity to observe his theory on my own through a series of interviews. The first person that I interviewed was an adolescent, whose psychosocial developmental conflict is between identity and role confusion. The next person that I interviewed was a young adult, whose conflict is between intimacy. The next person that I interviewed was of middle adulthood, whose crisis is between generativity and stagnation. Finally, I interviewed a woman in the stage of late adulthood, whose crisis is integrity versus despair. Ultimately, I was able to be a first-hand witness to development throughout life

When I look back to my transition to college and how my family has supported me throughout my life, I realized that many developmental theories could apply. In Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development, he uses different ranges of age to portray one’s crises and dilemmas in various stages of life (Bjorklund, 2015). As an 18 year-old college student, I feel connected to the fifth stage of Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development: Identity versus Role Confusion. In the fifth stage, Erikson describes that during the ages 13-18, most teens are transitioning to young adults and this is the stage in human development where they are trying to find their identity in their occupation, gender/sex role, religion, and politics (Bjorklund, 2015). Either they have found their identity or they have failed to find their identity which leads into a role confusion. During my transition into college, I experienced an identity crisis for not knowing what I wanted to study or pursue as a career. Before I came to college, I was considering a career in Math and I thought I knew what I wanted to study. However, as I grew older and saw different perspectives of my intended career as a college student, I changed my mind. Although I have begun to answer some of these questions about gender roles, religion, and politics, I am still uncertain of my occupational identity.

Laura’s behavior is indicative of role confusion, as discussed by Erik Erikson’s model of psychosocial development because she is trying to figure out her place in the world. She is having trouble deciding if she wants to follow her parents’ middle-class lifestyle, or continue to party with her friends, and even develop a “career” in prostitution.

Erikson was a theorist who focused on his theory for psychosocial development. The article Psychosocial Identity Development Theories, highlights the keys points and idea of Erikson’s psychosocial theory. Erikson was very focused on the idea of ego identity and obtaining full potential. His theory or “model” stats that, “identity formation is based on overcoming conflicts that individuals encounter during adolescent and early childhood.”(Karkouti, 2014, p.257) He believed that all people must endure certain conflicts in their lives, and then overcome them in order to obtain their ego identity. The idea of psychosocial development is focused on social conflicts, and environmental factors. In the psychosocial model that Erikson created, it places people into eight stages. In order for someone to move on to the next stage, they must first overcome the conflict presented to them in the stage that they are in. A well-established identity will get stronger the more that conflict is successfully resolved. The eight stages are basic trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative verses guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus identity diffusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and ego integrity versus despair. In this article, it not only focuses on the main idea for psychosocial development, but it continues by then saying that the theory has two criticisms, “stages are descriptive and they are difficult to be empirically

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.