Erikson Case Study

Erik Erikson is known in the psychology field for his developmental theory. Erikson is known for challenging Sigmund Freuds theory which is that our personalities are shaped by the age of five by developing a theory that says humans develop throughout their entire lives. Erikson developed eight stages which include, Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, Generativity vs. stagnation, and lastly integrity vs. despair. Erikson’s eight stages are psychosocial dilemmas, which is psychological conflicts that occur during a “typical” life. Throughout our multiple stages in life, we are confronted with psychosocial dilemmas personal instincts and reality.
Stage 1. Young children are very vulnerable when they are little, and they depend on others to help them, this is where the first stage of trust vs. mistrust is introduced. The first stage is established between birth and the first year. Trust is established when the babies feel comfortable with whom ever they are with. Children are able to gain trust when they feel warmth, touching, love and physical care. On the opposite end, children can have mistrust, when they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. As a baby, I was very trusting with my parents due to the fact that
The sixth stage is intimacy vs. isolation. This stage begin in our young adulthood. In this stage, young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loniless and isolation. Ive experienced both outcomes of this stage. I’ve had my fair share of relationships in which all began in the intimacy stage and then leads to failure, leaving myself feeling lonely and isolated. In the isolation stage, you feel as if there is no one for you and you begin to give up. But then one day, things change and I found the one and our relationship stays in the intimacy