Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development

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

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,

The second theory examined is Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development. Each stage in Erikson’s theory involves a conflict/crisis that a person must work through to evolve their personality. Rosenthal (1981) explains that, “Each stage arises because a new dimension of social interaction

Erikson’s theory of personality is based on his eight stages of development. In each of these eight stages of

The middle adulthood stage of development is from about forty years of age until about sixty five years of age. At this stage, the typical person has found their desired career path, a relationship worth settling down with, and their piece of the bigger picture. Being successful and giving back to the community is important during this time frame. According to Erikson’s psychosocial stages of human development, this is the point in life where the question is generativity or stagnation. Generativity is reached if a person feels that they are successful and doing a good service for the rest of the world, but if the feeling of failure in these areas arises stagnation, inactivity, is reached. Both generativity and stagnation are developed mainly

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.

Erik Erikson, in seeking to understand and describe human development, developed a theory in the early 1900s. His theory progressed to assume that humans must deal with or cope with the conflicts of a certain stage of life before they can move on to a higher level of development (Ashford et al, 2013). He organized eight different stages of psychosocial development from infancy to old age. Each of the eight stages represents an internal conflict that will greatly define who and individual becomes and the choices they will make later in life based on their experiences within each stage.

Since the development of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial model of development in the 1960s, it has become one of the most widely used measurements for studying emotional and personality development across the human lifespan (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). Erikson’s model contains eight developmental stages, beginning in infancy and progressing until old age, and as a person ages they begin to pass through the stages, with a new psychological crisis arising at each stage (Svetina, 2014). Whitbourne, Sneed and Sayer (2009) describe how the outcome of each crisis is met with identity attainment and new personal adaptations (positive outcome), or with an incoherent identity (negative outcome). Additionally, each new stage allows for the reassessment of previous achievements, and in some cases, failures (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). Erikson’s model is commonly recognised as a developmental ladder – each previous stage lays a foundation before an individual can progress toward the next stage (Malone, Liu, Valliant, Rentz & Waldinger, 2016). It is important to note that whilst they are referred to as “stages”, they should be viewed as being on a continuum rather than fixed categories (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017).

Erikson’s main contribution to psychology was his developmental theory. He developed eight psychosocial stages of development and believed that each stage presents

The development of our personalities throughout our lifespan can be broken down into various stages when considering Erikson’s approach to psychology development. Each person moves through these stages during life, which directly affects his or her success in the next stage. The personality is being built and shaped at each stage. The first step is to summarize what was learned about the psychosocial development through observations/ interviews. Second, summarize the trends seen through the observations/interviews regarding psychosocial development. Third, explain how movement through

His psychosocial theory of development takes in consideration of the impact of external factors, the parents, and society on a personality development from childhood to adulthood. Erikson’s theory says, that every person must pass through a series of eight interrelated stages over their entire life cycle. With this theory, it is more significant to defining a child’s or an adolescent’s development since it breaks down what is going on in the different stages of their life. Depending on factors that can occur at any different time in life, not everyone will experience those same events at the same time in their life. This can affect the way a child develops.

Erikson presented a model of human development, which turned to a classical psychological theory.” (pg.393) Erikson believed that we go though a series of “crises” that help shape us and become healthier individuals that are able to resolve our issues. Santrock summaries, that Erikson explained his theory with eight stages of development . (Pg. 18) With each stage we are faced with a different obstacles that shape us as to move on to the next stage until we reach old age.

The psychodynamic approach is predicated on a struggle between conscious and unconscious forces. As with anything in life forces are always at battle affecting our psyche, development, and mental health. Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Development theory outlines how environmental forces can either foster a healthy development or cause maladaptive behaviors and development. Everyone has either seen or heard the awful stories of children being mistreated to the point it hinders proper development, and his theory helps to explain how to properly ensure a child, adolescent, or even adult has a healthy chance at life.

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.