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The Psychosocial Theory Of Life Span Development

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Developmental Analysis
Melissa Snyder
Liberty University

Abstract

Life span development, and ultimately who we are and become as a person, is influenced by many different things that include biologic, cognitive, and socio-emotional factors. These different areas of development can be positively or negatively affected by environmental factors and stressors. If those negative environmental factors are not dealt with by the time a person reaches adulthood, there is a likelihood that the person will develop dysfunctional personalities and struggle to maintain healthy relationships. According to Eric Erickson, those positive and negative environmental factors influence the individual 's development differently when it is experienced during a particular stage of development. Erickson 's psychosocial theory of development asserts that there are eight stages of development that each person passes through over the course of their life. Each stage has a specific goal that can be attained by resolving particular conflicts. This conflict resolution will result in a healthy, well balanced individual. This paper will look at each stage of Erickson 's psychosocial theory of life span development and how it applies to my own development.

Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development was greatly influenced by Freud and his psychoanalytic theory. Both Freud and Erikson believed that the life span included distinct stages that

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