Erikson's Eight Stages Of Development

The topic of focus is Down syndrome (DS) teenagers between the ages of 12 - 18 years old. According to Erikson growth and development theory there are five stages, namely: Infancy, Toddlers, Preschoolers, School-ages and Adolescence (Teenagers) (Leifer 2011, p.365). The stage of development that we will be elaborating on is stage five, Adolescence. Erikson defines adolescence as “the period of life beginning with the appearance of secondary sex characteristics and ending with cessation of growth and emotional maturity” (Leifer 2011, p.451). Erikson continues in discussing that the major growth and development theory during the adolescence years in that he/she is trying to identify whom one is and because of their delayed physical and mental

If this stage is successful the child have the virtue of purpose. The fourth stage is industry vs. inferiority which happens in elementary school from the age 6 until puberty. During this stage, the child’s teacher and peers become the source of self-esteem. Children in this stage feel like they need to fit in and gain approval of those around them. They feel confident and gain a sense of pride when they are praised for their accomplishments. If this stage is successful they will gain the virtue of competence. If they feel they can’t do what is asked of them, are rejected by their peers, or their parents/teachers treat them insensitively, they will learn inferiority. Stage five is ego-identity vs. role-confusions which occurs during adolescence. Teenagers being to wonder who they are. This leads to them going through phases and rebelling to search for where they fit in and belong. They explore themselves, others, and roles. If they are unable to establish who they are, they’ll experience role-confusion and suffer an identity crisis. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of fidelity, but failure means they feel they have no place in society. Stage six is intimacy vs. isolation, this

Erikson believed that people develop in psychosocial stages. He emphasized developmental change throughout the human life span. In Erikson's theory, eight stages of development result as we go through the life span. Each stage consists of a crisis that must be faced. According to Erikson, this crisis is not a catastrophe but a turning point. The more an individual resolves the crises successfully, the healthier development will be.

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 talks about theories regarding the design and schema of a structure of a person's personality. Erik Erikson was a psychologist who studied a person's ego. He talked about within the ego, there are conflicts that could occur with the role of the culture and in society. According to Erik Erikson, there are eight stages of psychosocial development that a person will go through. Erikson believes that the ego will flourish as it achieves with success to be determined to handle a critical situation that are clearly in a sociable setting. This will help for a person to build or form a sense of trust or mistrust in a person. This also will help for a person to establish himself in society. Each of the eight stages forms and beginning

with family members. We moved each year and never stayed in a home for more than two years.

The first stage of Erikson’s eight stages of development is called Trust vs Mistrust, and these two coexists on how the infant will later be affected in the world. Trust revolves around how often the parent attends to their children. Mistrust of course is the complete opposite from Trust. According to Erikson, my mother informed me that I developed a sense of Mistrust/Trust. She explained to me that at first she used to attend to my needs, and pick me up every time I cried, therefore, I developed trust. That all went downhill when my great grandmother told my mother to not pick me up because, crying will help my lungs. Ending with mistrust, is part of the reason why I don’t try to get close to others as much. Nowadays, I tend to keep my distance from other people.

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.

Erikson considers this phase of development to be primarily focused on figuring out who one is in the world. This stage is said to take place between the ages of twelve and eighteen with the focus on figuring out

Identity v. Confusion; this stage is explored by children during adolescence as they develop their sense of self, independency and their own belief system. Attaining this stage will allow the individual to live comfortably by societal expectations. Intimacy vs. Isolation; exploring relationships in early adulthood, developing relationships that are both intimate and committed. The development of confident sense of personal identity fosters individuals that are capable of successfully build relationships. Generativity vs. Stagnation; throughout our lives we are continually building and growing both personally and professionally.

I interviewed and adolescent, freshly turned, eighteen year old female. According to Piaget she should already have developed all four cognitive stages; and according to Erikson she should be right between the identity vs. role confusion, and intimacy vs. isolation stages of development. Through her answers I can see areas where she does, and does not comply with where she stands on the developmental timeline according to Piaget and Erikson.

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

Erikson’s Psyco-Social Stages of Development was extremely influential the field of developmental psychology because it laid down stages for ages to come. There are eight stages that span the human life expectancy. The first stage is called Trust vs. Mistrust, which deals with infants. The infant is developing trust within the mother and parental figures and with that trust, stability is either established or not. The mistrust that infants may develop comes from a lack of stability with their caregivers.

As a child gains initiative, the child is then most likely in middle to late childhood and experiencing a developmental stage Erikson called industry versus inferiority. At this stage, children master knowledge and educational skills with the help of an elementary school classroom. If children believe that they are not mastering skills at a level as same as their peers, children may develop a sense of inferiority which may also hinder the educational experience throughout a child’s entire life. When a child passes through Erikson’s fourth stage and into adolescence, the child experiences a stage identified as identity versus identity confusion. Identity versus identity confusion is the final stage that affects a child’s development. Children at this stage are searching for their own identities through many avenues to identify themselves in the way they feel. A child at this age should be able to search out his or her own identity because; if the child is constrained in anyway the child may become identity confused. Identity confusion is caused when a child fails to choose any one identity but instead chooses several to identify his or her self.

The Initiative vs. Guilt ranges from the ages 3-6. My dad worked crazy hours so I spent most of my time with my mom. My siblings were all in school or already moved out. I spent most of my time with my mom, so I talked and interacted more when I was just with her. I enjoyed helping with household things, i.e doing laundry, dinner, learning all my school basics – alphabet and number. I felt included with my mom, and my independences started showing around this age, as long as no one was around. If it was just my mom and me, I was very open and creative but I still never explored much on my own. By this stage, I hadn 't grown completely out of my shyness so I remained very reclusive. I’m very independent and open now, creativity is my passion. I love to express myself, mostly through music.