Theoretical Self Analysis Essay

Elementary and middle school years (6-12) are Erikson’s fourth stage in which the child must resolve the crisis between industry and inferiority. During this stage, a child becomes more aware of themselves as individuals. It is important that a child learn the feeling of success; if not allowed enough success, they might develop a sense of inferiority or incompetence. Again, it is about the balance of industry and inferiority that leads to competence both intellectually and socially. Despite the fact that the Welsh school administration placed Jeannette in classes for students with learning disabilities, she knows she is smart. She was in honors classes in Phoenix and continues to excel academically under the guidance of her parents. She reads on her own and understands that education is important. Despite her placement in the lower classes and not having any close friends, she is able to develop a sense of industry.

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.

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

One of the theorists to investigate the development of identity would be Erik Erikson. According to Erikson (1968), throughout an individual’s life-span, they experience conflicts. These conflicts arise at certain points in life and need to be successfully resolved for the progression in to the next of Erikson’s eight stages (Sigelman & Rider, 2015). The specific stage relevant to the development of identity formation in adolescence would be the ‘identity versus role confusion’ stage. Identity development involves exploring options and making commitments to obtain a relatively stable self-perception (DeHaan & MacDermid, 1996). In contrast, role confusion occurs when individuals are not able to commit specific life choices (DeHaan & MacDermid,

There is a lot of things that I have learned about myself in the past few weeks of this course. I have learned many things about myself that I would have never known if it was not for this course. I have learned about my; self concept, attitudes and feelings. I have also learned about social influence, group dynamics and relationships. I learned about myself and how to describe the way that I am and the way that I think.

Erik Erikson founded the psychosocial stages of development in which he believed there were 8 stages. Erikson felt that the Industry vs. Inferiority stage (5-12) was a critical time for elementary age children, as this was time to gain recognition from teachers and peers. During this stage, children are encouraged to try new things and are acknowledged for their accomplishments; resulting in increased self-confidence. My parents did their best to raise my brother and me, but due to circumstances with my dad’s work, we moved around a lot. This meant I was always the “new kid” in school. When I was eight years old, my parents decided to homeschool my brother and me, which resulted in us not benefiting from the social interaction with teachers and peers. I think this may be a reason that both my brother and I were not able to master this stage leading to feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.

He had retaken his rightful place in our household; however, at that time, I did not feel that way. The identity that I had created for myself was no more, and I was left to figure it out essentially on my own. According to Erikson’s Stages of Development, at my age of 13, I would have been transitioning from the Industry vs. Inferiority stage to the Identity vs. Role Confusion. During the Industry vs. Inferiority Stage, where a child must resolve the crisis surrounding competence, I feel that I was able to successfully resolved that stage crisis. I was smart and good at a lot of different things –both academically and athletically. However, the fact that I began Erikson’s Stage of Identity vs. Role confusion with the return of my father, left me in a crisis stage that would essentially last through my early and middle 20’s and affect me developmentally (Broderick & Blewitt,

I am currently 18 years old and have lived through Erikson’s fifth stage in psychosocial development, Identity vs. Role Confusion. I wasn’t always sure about what career path I wanted to take and this frightened me. I felt confused and alone, until I learned that this was a normal stage in life that many people went through. Discovering Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development helps me feel more self-assured in the challenges I’ll face as I grow

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.

For Erikson (1950) adolescence is a period during which individuals seek to avoid dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion by establishing a sense of personal identity. Individuals have to find answers for two major questions “who am I?” and “what is my place in society?” Identity is a “conscious sense of individual uniqueness” and an “unconscious striving for a continuity of experience” (Erikson, 1968, p. 208).

Before taking this course my writing styles and habits were very different. I was the typical procrastinator because I would wait until the night before a paper was due to start it. This did not allow me enough time to properly proofread everything, which resulted in getting points deducted for simple grammatical errors that could have been avoided if I would have had the time to proofread. My writing styles have many strengths and weaknesses and I have been able to improve my writing because of them. I have learned from my strengths and weaknesses how to become a better writer.

Erikson’s first stage was trust verses mistrust and it occurred from zero to 18 months of age. The point of this stage is to establish trust. Erikson believed this was the most important period in a person’s life. Since

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.

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.