Exploring Erikson’s Final Four Stages of Development Erik Erikson is credited with being the first developmental theorists to cover development from birth to end of life (Robbins, Chatterjee, and Canda, 2012). His theory begins by addressing the early developing concepts of trust and autonomy. The theory wraps up by exploring the ideas of successful aging, including the concepts of generativity and integrity (Erikson Handouts, 2017). This paper will explore the last four stages of Erikson’s theory. Identity verses Role Confusion 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 …show more content…
Greater access to higher education and the increased usage of social media could both play a major influence in the development of the sense of self and who one is. As twenty first century adolescents develop in a technological era, it is likely that path to identity development will be altered. Levy (2009) discussed another important influence on the path toward developing a sense of identity, sexual identity. Levy (2009) points out that most stage models focus on what is considered typical development. Robbins et al. (2012) report that an unsuccessful identify development could result in confusion and a sense of inferiority. It could be easily assumed that individuals who do not identify as heterosexual would struggle to successfully resolve their identity. Adolescence is well known to be a time when young adults start to sexually explore and establish their path in life. The political climate the last year and a half speak to the struggles that individual face when they do not identify as heteronormative. Stifling one’s sense of identity to meet the expectations of society could play a major role in developing a sense of identity. Intimacy verses Isolation The next stage of development is said to take place between the early and late 20’s. During this phase it is said that one develops a deeper sense of relationship with others around them. This is the stage when young adults develop a deeper concept of being loved (Erikson Handouts, 2017).
According to Erik Erikson, adolescence is marked by the child’s questioning his or her identity during what he refers to as the identity versus identity confusion developmental stage. During this phase, the adolescent becomes mindful of his or her identity and seeks his or her purpose in life, as well as the answer to the eternal question, “who
During this stage, the thought process becomes more rational, mature and 'adult like ', or more 'operational ', although this process most often continues well into the teenage years.
Culture, ethnicity, family, sexuality, and society are all factors that can influence a person’s identity. A combination of all these elements usually result in the successful discovery of self-identity. Preadolescents and adolescents often find themselves in a constant battle attempting to find who they are or who they want to be. Adolescents are faced with questions like, What do you want to be when you grow up? What colleges are you looking into? What are your plans after high school?. In a normal process of growth, teens experiment with new activities in order to find their identity, but this is not the case for every teen. Some adolescents do not go through the normal process of experimentation for various reasons.
“Identity Development “ Identity is most simply defined as a person's own sense of self; their personal sense of who they are. Identity development is intrinsically linked with adolescence because, according to John Santrock author of the book entitled Adolescence 15th edition, "...for the first time, physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development advance to the point at which the individual can sort through and synthesize childhood identities and identifications to construct a viable path toward adult maturity.” We often see the results of this sorting process in behaviors of adolescents such as adopting and shedding different personas, including speech patterns, clothing styles and peer groups. Although these transitions
Well, Erikson dedicated his time investigating the development of a child to adulthood. During that process, he recognizes the importance of the first four stages of the life cycle, simply because they are the “prerequisites in physiological growth, mental maturation, and social responsibility to experience and pass through the crisis of identity.” (d’Heurle & Tash, 2004, Pg. 255) Those stages are imperative for his growth, without them, his future could possibly look bleak; ultimately, become troublesome. (d’Heurle & Tash, 2004, Pg. 259) The others were equally important and slightly more reliant on the earlier teachings, which will also prepare the child for either an accomplished life and a hopelessly, depressed and despair life.
It is a well-known fact that an individual’s childhood has a significant impact on one’s life. This upbringing may consist of abuse, violence, or love as the type of treatment one receives, is out of their control. However one thing will always remain constant, the individual will continue to grow and develop regardless of whether or not specific childhood stages are successfully fulfilled and completed. These stages were established by psychologist Erik Erikson in his theory named, stages of development that consist of eight phases (five being between the ages of 1-18) that he believed were crucial in the development of a healthy human.
The two life stages that were observed during the family observation were ‘intimacy vs isolation and industry vs inferiority’ (Green, 2010). According to Erikson Beatrice is currently in the ‘intimacy vs isolation’ as she is aged between 18 and 40 (Green, 2010). This psychosocial theory believes that people pass through stages centred on emotional and social development. This stage forces on forming and developing intimate and loving relationships with others. However, it should be noted that having a sexual relationship does not constitute as intimate because people can be sexually intermit without being committed. Erikson believed overcoming development conflict to achieve psychosocial skills are required in this stage. A person that does not develop a sense for committed relationship will fall in to isolation (Bee, 1994; Berger, 2005; cited in Green 2010).
Erikson’s theories have something we can all relate to as it covers a vast area of the development of our life stages. There is no such thing as a typical person or a typical life, but we can all relate to some of Erikson’s life stages theory. We have all gone through our own developmental milestones. Events such as a graduation, marriage, having children, the death of a parent have, or will be a part of our lives. Whether these events are positive or negative, and how we deal with these events will determine our future (Diessner, 2008).
In 1968, psychoanalyst Erik Erikson proposed his theory of psychosocial developments and its conflicts that are associated with each stages of life. The first life stage is infacy that begins from birth to 18 months. Trust and mistrust is associated with the life stage. The positive resolution is to provide consistent and warm care so that the child can rely and trust the caregiver. Negligence will lead to fear, anxiety and mistrust. Stage two is toddlerhood which last from 18 months to 3 years of age. Autonomy and or doubt is associated with toddlerhood. Encouraging the child to be independent and self-sufficient
The Early Childhood Themes and Life Cycle Issues course was focused of human development through the lifespan. The course work included observations of different stages of development, small group presentation, research paper, movies reflection, and discussions. From this class, I gain knowledge and understanding Erikson’s theories of the stages of life. Throughout our lives, we go through different stages of development. I gain deeper understanding when I reflected back on the life I have lived and crisis that I have struggled with in my life and how these have impacted to my personal development. At each developmental stage posing many challenges and opportunities, and that will lead us to our purpose in life.
Stage five of Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development is undoubtedly one of the most important. The formation of values, beliefs, and goals will help an individual by producing a moral guide that can be used by a person to judge what is right and what is wrong and act accordingly. Children entering this stage will have to find out the parts they have to hold as an adult. Adolescents seek independence and wish to fit into society. They reevaluate themselves in an attempt to find out their true sense of self.
The adolescence stage in Erikson’s theory occurs between age twelve to age eighteen, where the conflict to be resolved includes identity versus role confusion. During this timeframe, the individual establishes a sense of self, where successful
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial stages, is considered a significant concrete basis for understanding human progression and development (Arnold, 2016)
Erik Erikson stated that there are eight psychosocial stages of development. Within each of these stages, he states that there is a crisis that must be resolved. Trust vs. mistrust is the first, which occurs from the time you were born to about one year of age. From there you move on to autonomy vs. shame and doubt, which occurs from ages one to three. Then there is initiative vs. guilt, which occurs from age’s three to six. After that it is industry vs. inferiority, which occurs between ages, is six to twelve. Fowling that is intimacy vs. isolation, which occurs between ages eighteen to thirty. Then comes generativity vs. stagnation, which occurs between ages thirty and into late adulthood. The last stage is integrity vs. despair,
Intro : When growing up we as people continue to go through stages. When growing up I hit the stage Identity vs. role confusion by Eric Erickson. This stages hits at age 12-18 years. During those years teens don’t know who they are and what their personal identity is. A person does this by exploring their personal values, beliefs and goals. The teen also wants to fit in with everyone else.