Part IIi- Research For Relationship Improvement Essay

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, as articulated by Erik Erikson, in collaboration with Joan Erikson,[1] is a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory that identifies a series of eight stages, in which a healthy developing individual should pass through from infancy to late adulthood. All stages are present at birth but only begin to unfold according to both a natural scheme and one's ecological and cultural upbringing. In each stage, the person confronts, and hopefully masters, new challenges. Each stage builds upon the successful completion of earlier stages. The challenges of stages not successfully completed may be expected to reappear as problems in the future.

In this stage the child learns to feel comfortable with parents and trusts their care or develops a deep mistrust that makes them feel unsafe. Although Aileen’s mother did not leave her until age 3 she neglected them at a very young age and Aileen did not have a father to nurture her either.

Erik Erikson describes in his research eight psychosocial developmental stages. Although the first five are based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, he also added three adult stages. Erikson’s theories vary from Freud’s in that he believes genes and biological impulses, along with family and culture have the strongest consequence on human development.

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.

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

Stage 2: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt. The child develops a sense of autonomy and learns to hold on and let go of things and emotions. If a child is not encouraged to share his or her emotions, toys, food, the child does not learn to trust others. Trust is manifested in getting the toys back and maybe tasting someone else’s food, receiving and giving affection from others. Therefore it is important to foster trust in children at this stage. (Page 158)

Erikson’s eight stages of development are trust vs. mistrust, Industry vs. Inferiority and Identity vs. Role Confusion. Stage one is Trust vs. mistrust – birth to age 1- At this stage the infant learns to trust the caregiver to provide for their basic needs or develops mistrust. Stage two is Autonomy vs. shame and doubt– 1-3yrs- At this stage toddlers begin to express their independence by talking, walking, dressing, feeding, and toileting

Erik Erikson created a theory, in which he created eight stages of development based on Freud’s theory of development. The eight stages are trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, ego identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ego integrity vs. despair. As someone develops in age, going through these stages, it increases in complexity. Erikson believed that each stage becomes a crisis that needs to be solved through self-discovery.

Erikson believes that our development is determined by the epigenetic principle to mean that every stage is entirely dependent on genetic factors. But in the end, it is the environment that helps in determination of whether all have been realized. In broad context, he presented an optimistic and a flattering image of human nature. He has expounded on this in his theory to show that people have capability to resolve conflicts in a very positive

Development refers to a series of age-related changes that occur over an individual’s life course. Several famous psychologists such as Erik Erikson, Sigmund Freud, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Jean Piaget describe development of an individual as a series of phases or stages. In this case, a stage refers to a period in development in which individuals exhibit typical patterns in behavior and establish certain capabilities. The various stages of development as outlined in various developmental theories and concepts that would be analyzed in the paper share three main assumptions. The firs assumption that individuals go through stages in a given order, with each phase

Erik Erikson was a psychologist who came up with the eight stages of human development. He emphasizes on the life stages starting with infants that are comforted and fed by their mothers, and ending a late adult who is independent and has already experienced the last seven stages of life. Erikson hoped to create a successful plan for each stage that resulted in healthy relationships, good personalities, and the investment of basic virtues.

Many of our temperament traits are evident at birth. However, other characteristics such as trust, guilt and competency are learned based upon our life experiences and the support we receive as we grow and develop. Based upon his research, Erikson became aware of the influence maturation and social demands have on behavior and ultimately on our development. He believed these two forces "push[ed] humans everywhere through…[a set of] eight psychosocial crises" (Sigelman, C. & Rider, E., 2009, pg.332). He organized life into eight stages that extend from birth to death.

This theory is the third of eight parts to Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Erikson states that we progress through these eight stages of development in a fixed order with each stage involving a crucial event or predicament that must be overcome in order to progress to the proceeding stage. This event takes place during a critical period within the individual’s development, thus if it is negatively resolved then it will prevent optimal development into the following stages however if it is positively resolved then the individual will advance normally. The manner in which we progress through each stage shapes our personalities and abilities, as even if we negatively complete a stage, we still pass through it, however the consequences are revealed later on in the next stage and so forth.

Erikson focused on the various stages of personality development throughout the entire lifespan. “Erikson maintained that personality develops in a predetermined order, builds upon each previous stage.” (McLeod, 2013) The eight stages begin at birth up and expand into maturity which is 65 years old and older. Erikson felt that a crisis occurs at each stage of development and he focuses a lot on the adolescent period.

Erik Erikson is known for his psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial development comprising eight stages from infancy to adulthood. Psychologist Erik Erikson, is a major contributor to developmental psychology, who proposed a comprehensive theory of the ways that individuals develop their identity, a sense of who they are, and society's influence on that development. Erikson stated that people go through crisis at each stage of their lives. The stages each had a developmental task to be mastered. As an individual resolved these various crises an individual would have a better harmony with their social environment that they live in. If an individual could not successfully resolve a crisis, they would be” out of step”, and the individual would have a greater difficulty in their dealing with a crisis in the future. Erikson did however recognize that an individual can develop through a stage negatively and still go on with their life. Erikson stated that each of the psychological stages have a basic conflict and important event leading to growth. The theory was developed from his hundreds of clinical observations in children.