Understanding Erickson 's Stages Of Psychosocial Development

A theory proposed by Erik Erikson (1950, 1963) promotes the eight development stages of adolescents through adulthood by comparing the transitory periods. During each stage, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis which could have a positive or negative outcome for identity and personality development. The first stage is trust vs. mistrust, this stage starts at birth and end at the age of one year. This stage also explains the safety that the infant is getting from the caregiver. For example, if the infant receives constant care, they will develop a sense of trust which will be carried out with them to other and future relationships. The second stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt; this stage occurs at the age of two to three years old. In this stage, the child is mainly discovering their skills and abilities. The third stage is Initiative vs. Guilt; this stage occurs around age three to age

Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1902. Because his mother was Jewish and his father was not, he was often bullied in school. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, so his Jewish peers mocked him for standing out and being different, and his peers at school teased him simply for being Jewish. His own internal conflict with his identity sparked his interest in identity formation and development. Although he never actually received a degree in medicine or psychology, he became friends with Anna Freud who helped him study psychoanalysis. Erikson supported and was influenced by many of Sigmund Freud’s ideas. Freud had a theory on development, he called it the 5 stages of psychosexual development, this is one of the theories that Erikson

Middle adulthood refers to the time period between 45 and 65, in which adults have settled down and are now contemplating their place in the world. It's during middle adulthood that adults now are faced with the effort of passing on something meaningful to future generations. The theories associated with middle adulthood describe the different aspects that are important during middle adulthood, from personality development to vital relationships. Examining these aspects can help one to gain a better understanding of the development that occurs during middle adulthood.

According to Newman & Newman (2012), “Infancy: Trust versus mistrust (first 24 months), Toddlerhood: Autonomy versus shame and doubt (2 to 4 years old), Early School Age: Initiative versus guilt (4 to 6 years old), Middle Childhood: Industry versus inferiority (6 to 12 years old), Early Adolescence: Group identity versus alienation (12 to 18 years old), Later Adolescence: Individual identity versus identity confusion (18 to 24 years old), Early Adulthood: Intimacy versus isolation (24 to 34 years old), Middle Adulthood: Generativity versus stagnation (34 to 60 years old), Later Adulthood: Integrity versus despair (60 to 75 years old), and Elderhood: Immortality versus extinction (75 years old until death)” (p. 71).

Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory is also part of the psychodynamic perspective. According to Erikson (Berk, 2007) society and culture have an influence on human development. In contrast to Freud whose theory that proposed development was complete by adolescence (Berk, 2007), Erikson’s theory argues that development is continuous throughout the lifespan and occurs in eight stages. The first stage of development, trust versus mistrust, occurs during infancy (birth to 1-year-old). During this stage if an infant’s basic needs are met by a responsive and attentive caregiver, the infant will begin to trust the caregiver, thus establishing the foundation for future trust relationships. In contrast if an infant does not receive enough or irregular care, or if caregivers are unresponsive, the infant can develop mistrust. The autonomy versus shame and doubt is the next stage, which occurs between the first and third years

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.

Society plays an important role in the development and formation of individual’s identity, the social idea of the perfect man or woman tends to create different traumas in people who are trying to be accepted or recognized in their environment. Seeking perfection or social acceptance often tend people fall into depression, loneliness, low self-esteem, insecurity, frustration, isolation, and many other problems that will not allow individuals to express themselves freely and create their true identity. When we think about identity we referred to the individual unique characteristic that a person have in order to be recognized as human being. Identity is also the awareness that a person has with respect to itself and makes one different from

According to Rogers (2013, p.87) Jessica was in stage six intimacy verses isolation of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development Persons in this stage of psychosocial development are looking for intimacy and closeness in their relationships while still keeping their identity. If they do not achieve intimacy than they are at risk of isolation. One could view Jessica seeking fertility treatment as her wanting to obtain ultimate intimacy with her husband. What is more intimate than sharing a child with someone. This could be the reason why Jessica thought something was wrong with her which was making her question her identity in a sense. Jessica said that since Laurel has been born her and John have grown closer which could indicate that sharing a child together gave them the intimacy they both were seeking.

During this stage one is still exploring into young adulthood and beginning to be more intimate with others. Individuals begin to have relationships with longer commitment with others besides family members. When this stage is successful a person feels a sense of safety and ability to commit in a relationship. If this stage is not accomplished they tend to fear commitment which can lead to loneliness, isolation or depression.

Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development underscores the important effect that external conditions, society and parents have on an individual’s personality development. The eight interrelated stages that every individual undergoes include infant, toddler, preschooler, school - child, adolescent, young adult, middle aged adult and older adult. The most important values for these successive groups are hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom respectively. For the school aged child, their psychology is wired to value and pursue competence. They struggle with the crisis of industry vs.

Thank you for sharing your discovery of animism as I think it would be hard to catch such behavior in this environment. I find your post very interesting as I also visited a mall but did not find such behavior being portrayed. I can assume that the little girl engaged in pragmatics to communicate her ideas and feelings to her father in order to explain to her father what she wants to do. We can also assume the little girl is around the ages of two through seven years of age as it falls under the preoperational stage of Piaget's four stages of cognitive development (Tanner, Warren, & Bellack, 2015). The little girl can also fall under Erickson's psychosocial stage of Childhood (Tanner, Warren, & Bellack, 2015) has she is able

Erik Erikson’s identification of the several stages of psychosocial development is a brilliant theory. He acknowledged the significance of the unconscious mind and early childhood, as well as, furthered his studies and developed his own ideas. It provides a good base of knowledge for understanding what conflicts individuals may be facing at their particular developmental levels. This involves developing a sense of trust in others, a sense of identity in society, and assisting the next generation for the future. The Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial stages of development accuracy can perhaps be demonstrated when reflected to one’s life’s span. I was surprised by the accuracy of the stages when reflected to my own, especially my current stage which is Erikson’s sixth stage (young adulthood, 20 to 39 years old) Intimacy vs Isolation. In this stage, the most important factor is intimate relationships. I can strongly relate to Erikson’s theory of this stage where he asserts, it is not the quantity, but the quality of the relationships that

In this paper I will discuss Erik Erickson’s eight stages of Psychosocial Development. My paper will look at each stage in depth and when you’re done reading them, you will have a broader understanding of each stage in detail.

Erikson believed that external factors such as parents and society play a major role in development from childhood to adulthood. Out of the eight stages Erikson proposed, the first four stages of development depend on what is done to a person while stages five through eight depend primarily upon what a person does. The first stage (basic trust vs mistrust) occurs in infancy where the mother and fathers care taking skills may have a lasting impact on their child. If not properly cared for, the child may develop a feeling of insecurity and worthlessness. The second stage (autonomy vs shame) occurs during early childhood and it’s when the child is just beginning to develop a self-esteem and autonomy as they begin to learn new skills and know right from wrong. If a child is well cared

Today I am going to narrate and reflect on one of my elderly relative’s life using Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, which consist of eight stages from infancy to adulthood. When I asked Harold if I could do my life narrative paper on him, he brought up concerns about how accurate his life would be portrayed in the paper, because he knows that I am a writer and I might consider using this piece as inspiration for a novel or a short story. I quickly ensured him that I would not turn in this paper until he was happy with my portrayal of his life. He suggested that I do the paper in the style of Rolling Stone magazine interviews and I agreed because in that style, I would be narrating his narrative of his life, while adding my own psychology perspective on it, making it an academic paper that still stays honest to his perspective.