My Reflection of Erikson Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist known for his theory of psychosocial development. Unlike other theorists of his time Erikson’s theory focused on human development across the lifespan from birth to late adulthood. Erikson believed that development change occurs throughout our lives in eight distinctive stages that emerge in a fixed pattern and are similar for all people. Erikson argued that each stage presents a crisis or conflict which results in either a positive or negative outcome (Feldman p.16). In this essay I will identify incidents in my own life that demonstrate each stage of development according to Erikson that I have lived through. I will also interview my Aunt Tami, who will share her experiences for the remainder of the stages of Erikson’s development that I have not gone through thus far. Erikson’s first stage of development is the Trust versus Mistrust stage that occurs from birth till 18 months of life. According to Erikson this is the period in which infants develop a sense of trust or mistrust, depending largely on how well their caregivers meet their needs (Feldman p. 187). During this stage of my life I was being taken care of by both Mom and Dad, but primarily by Mom. My Mom was a stay at home parent while my Dad worked. Both my parents went above and beyond to make sure I had everything I needed food, shelter, clothes and most importantly love and affection. Through my positive experience in this stage I developed
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development was the first theory that demonstrated the development from “womb-to-tomb.” His theory posited three tenets, the first that each era in life had a developmental crisis, and that at each period there was the opportunity for growth and development. Each developmental stage poses a developmental crisis that is central to that age, and as stated in Erikson’s second tenet, if there is an interruption in the development of one of the stages, the stages following will be effected. Though each developmental stage has one fundamental stage that is being worked on, Erikson’s third tenet states that the challenges of all of the other stages are still present; although there is one crisis that is
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
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.
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
Just like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed in the significance of early childhood. However, he believed that an individual’s personality development occurs over the individual’s entire course of life. In the early 1960s, Erik Erikson proposed a theory that provided a description of eight different stages of human development (Scheck, 2014). According to him, in each phase, individuals face new challenges and the outcome of the stage depends on how individuals handle the encountered challenges (Scheck, 2014). The stages are named based on the possible outcomes.
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,
I think, over the period including the initial 12 months to a year and a half of my life, I could compare to the first stage of Erikson's psychosocial stages. My mom, amid this time, provided me with proper arrangements of nourishment, warmth, and the solace of physical closeness. This enabled me to comprehend and acknowledge that other things and individuals exist even when I couldn't see them. This was a noteworthy venturing stone where the establishment for trust ended up plainly vital. In the next part time of my life, from around year and a half to 3 years old, I could resolve the second of Erikson's psychosocial stages satisfactorily. It was around this time I started to accept vital obligations for my own particular self-mind like sustain myself,
How is Laura’s behavior indicative of role confusion as discussed by Erik Erikson’s model of psychosocial development?
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.
Erik Erikson (1902-1994) provided a new perspective of psychosocial behavior and development while expanding on the works of other theorists. Erikson believed there to be eight stages of psychosocial development which a person transitions through. These stages start at birth and end with old age/death. Erikson’s work is used throughout many outlets of social work. Social workers use this information to help them figure out what is going on with clients and how best to help them. Erikson provides a clear and accurate perception of the various transitions in a person 's psychosocial development.
Eric Erikson was one of the most remarkable theorists of the twentieth century. One of his famous theory is the psychosocial development theory. This theory comes in different stages as part of human development. The first stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development is the trust vs mistrust stage which occurs from birth to 12 months old. Erikson proposed that “infants learn about the basic trustworthiness of their environment from their caregivers” (Dunn & Craig, 2013, p.14).
Erik Erikson’s identification of the several stages of psychosocial development is a brilliant theory. He acknowledged the significance of the unconscious mind and early childhood, as well as, furthered his studies and developed his own ideas. It provides a good base of knowledge for understanding what conflicts individuals may be facing at their particular developmental levels. This involves developing a sense of trust in others, a sense of identity in society, and assisting the next generation for the future. The Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial stages of development accuracy can perhaps be demonstrated when reflected to one’s life’s span. I was surprised by the accuracy of the stages when reflected to my own, especially my current stage which is Erikson’s sixth stage (young adulthood, 20 to 39 years old) Intimacy vs Isolation. In this stage, the most important factor is intimate relationships. I can strongly relate to Erikson’s theory of this stage where he asserts, it is not the quantity, but the quality of the relationships that
Erik Erikson came up with eight stages of psychosocial development. These eight stages are stages that one passes through from infancy to late adulthood and is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of two conflicting forces. It is known that Erik Erikson’s fifth and sixth stages are the two of the highest hurdles to jump in life. The fifth stage occurs during adolescence and its psychosocial crisis is identity vs. role confusion. The sixth stage occurs in early adulthood and contains the psychosocial crisis of intimacy vs. isolation.
For my life journey I have chose to use Eric Erikson’s theory I have decided to use his theory because to me his theory suited my life appropriately. Eric Erikson is a well known theorist from the twentieth century, he has produced many theories. One of his most known and recognized theory is the psychosocial development. This theory describes the steps a person goes through in life. There are nine stages in his theory. Originally his theory only eight steps, but his wife found the last step after his death and published it. The nine stages are: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy and soliditary vs. isolation, generativity vs. self absorption and stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. Although, I have not gone through all of these steps yet due to my age I am only twenty two. I will speak about the steps I have gone through so far.