The Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development. Erik Erikson was an American psychologist famous for his theory of psychosocial development. Erikson postulated that psychological and social factors played an enormous role in human development. The psychosocial theory brakes down human development into eight interdependent stages, with each stage having specific culminating goals and a pair of crises (Woolfolk, 2013, p. 99). The failure to achieve the goals of one stage could hinder the successful completion of subsequent stages. According to Erickson, the first stage of development is the infancy stage, which begins at twelve months and ends approximately at eighteen months. During this stage, children are totally dependent on their caregivers …show more content…
Children, from eighteen months to the age of three, begin to develop independence and self-confidence. The skills that children will learn at this stage, such as toilet training, verbal communication and motor skills, will help them develop self-confidence. The crisis that occurs during this period is “autonomy vs. shame.” Children gain autonomy when they are able to master certain skills, however, when the fail to develop these skills, children often become frustrated and tend to lack confidence in themselves. The next stage of development is when a child enters preschool, roughly from ages three to five. Children at these ages begin to exert greater control of their world, initiating games and mimicking the social interactions of adults. You may also see them to control more control of their environments enhancing and driving their leadership qualities. The fourth stage of development occurs between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. As children enter elementary school, their social circle expands to include their teachers and peers. Children also begin to form their own identities independent of family members. In elementary school, the desire to excel academically as well as socially plays an important role in building the self-confidence of a child. Children strive to achieve goals while seeking approval from family members, teachers and peers. If children fail to succeed academically or fit in with their …show more content…
The main issue that children face during this stage is self-identification. Adolescents are making the transition to adulthood and trying to figure out exactly who they are. Children during this time, often experience an identity crisis as they explore many different beliefs and value systems in the search for self-identity (Woolfolk, 2013, p.102). Societal forces, such as race, sex and class, also play an important role in self-identification, especially in regards to African American youth. Erikson believed that the search for identity encompassed not only how an individual viewed him or herself but also how they were viewed by society (Brittian 2012). African Americans, between the ages of 12 and 18, grapple with the same issues all adolescents experience, such as physical changes and the desire for autonomy. However, African American adolescents also deal with racial prejudice and the role that it plays in shaping their self-perception. According to Brittian (2012), the way that African Americans handle issues of race, rather problematic or constructive, has a major impact on the formation of their self-identity. Identity is the focal point of the adolescence stage and when children can’t decide who they are or their place in society, they become hampered by an identity
Erikson suggested that there are eight stages of development in a child’s life. In ages two
The second stage, autonomy vs. shame, doubt, is the age of the toddlers, 18 months to three years of age. Autonomy is taking a chance, exploring, and doing things
Sensorimotor stage (birth – 2 years old) – Children begin to make sense of the world around them based on their interaction with their physical environment. Reality begins to be defined.
Erikson’s work emphasized each person’s relationship to the social environment –psychosocial human development and proposed eight stages of human development with crisis in each stage to be resolved. Individuals must go through all the stages in a lifetime, whether they resolve the conflict in each stage successfully or not. You must resolve each stage before moving to the next stages in life.
Erik Erikson discusses the eight stages of social development throughout the entire life span. In each stage, there is a crisis or conflict that is connected to a developmental task. If each stage of development is completed then a person will develop a healthy personality. The first stage occurs from the birth to age one, the main conflict being trust versus mistrust. In this stage babies learn to trust or mistrust based on whether their needs are met or not. Stage two’s conflict is autonomy versus shame and doubt, which occurs from the ages one to three. During this time, toddlers begin to gain independence. Erikson believed that if this behavior is encouraged then they will learn to become independent rather than have feelings of shame and doubt. Imitative versus guilt is the conflict that arises during Erikson’s third stage. It occurs with preschool age children, aged three to six. At this time, children learn to start activities on their own. If this stage is completed correctly a child will a sense of social responsibility and self-confidence. However, if this stage is not fully completed then a child might have a sense of guilt. At ages six through twelve, children deal with stage four’s crisis which is industry versus inferiority.
The first stage, which occurs during the first year of life, is labeled as trust versus mistrust. Trust is developed when the caregiver is nurturing which gives the child a feel of comfort. When a child receives positive care giving, the child will then trust his or her caregiver, providing beneficial development. However, when a child does not receive positive care giving then mistrust develops. When a child reaches the ages of one to three years old, the stage the child experiences is autonomy versus shame and doubt. When a child or infant gains trust in his or her caregiver, they realize that their behavior is their own (cccc73). At this stage, infants are discovering and learning new concepts and tasks daily. Since learning and independence is important at this age, restraint by the parents can hinder development and cause the child to feel a sense of shame or doubt. As a child enters her or his preschool years, Erikson’s third stage becomes present which is initiative versus guilt. During this stage, children are developing socially and “need to engage in active, purposeful behavior that involves initiative” (Santrock 74). With a greater social world comes greater responsibility especially behavior ...
The final stage in the social development initiative. In this stage children are trying to find out how to do things alone. The preschool age child doesn’t want ...
Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development consist of eight stages we encounter as we develop and grow. After successfully resolving an emotional crisis within a stage, we then proceed to the next one. Erikson believed that human development covers the entire lifespan, rather than ending during adolescence. If we are unable to resolve the crisis during any one stage, either due to a personal or environmental factor, it would prohibit us from moving on.
The outcome of the first psychosocial stage significantly influences the internal crisis of the second stage. This second stage is more socially referred to as the child's "independence stage" or "terrible two's." According to Erikson's psychosocial theory, this second stage begins at 18 months and persists until the third year of child development. During this development stage, the child struggles with another internal crisis, in which Erikson identified as "autonomy versus shame and doubt." Building off the foundation developed in the first stage, a child begins to analyze their surroundings. If those surroundings are ideal for a healthy development, a child will learn independence. In which they will initially start actively venturing out
Erikson Erikson’s psychosocial human development is largely concerned with how personality and behaviour is influenced after birth, not before, and especially during childhood just like Sigmund Freud. Erikson maintains that personality develops in a predetermined order and builds upon each previous stage and he called this the epigenic principle. He is interested in how children socialize and how this affects their sense of self. Erikson’s ideas were, to a large extent, influenced by Freud though it is important to mention that Freud is an id psychologist while Erikson is an ego psychologist. According to Erikson, the ego develops as it successfully resolves crises that are distinctly social in nature. These involve establishing a sense of trust in others and developing a sense of identity in society. His main focus is on the adaptive and creative characteristic of the ego. (http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html)
As they become more and more independent, they will know what they want and giving them options they don’t agree with will result in lots of responses of ‘NO!’. Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is a crucial part of early childhood development. It’s important to note that the stages of trust and independence come in a child’s first three years of life. Even though we go through the stages of trust and independence, one should understand that an infant and toddler will experience the other (mistrust and shame&doubt), but there should be no reason to be alarmed. According to Erikson, one needs to gain trust, then independence to continue through his eight different stages of development.
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development is a psychoanalytic theory which identifies eight stages every human experiences between infancy and late adulthood. In these stages the person meets new challenges and learns from them. These stages naturally work as building blocks and those who master the prior challenges are more prepared to face the next. While mastery of a stage is not required to move on, challenges avoided or not conquered are usually expected to reappear in the future. I was asked to give an honest self analysis using this theory and I could not be more nervous.
The stages do range from birth to adult, but if the first stage is not met the infant cannot move up into the next stage. (Young Child, 167) Trust vs. Mistress is the first stage and occurs around birth through one year olds. Trust vs. Mistress is a stage of hope for the child. The second stage is Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt and occurs between one year olds through three years old. This particular stage shows if the child is willing to do an activity. Stage three is Initiative vs. Guilt which occurs ages three through six years and shows if the child has a purpose for doing something. The fourth stage is Industry vs. Inferiority which occurs at ages between six and eleven years and shows if the child has a sense of competence. The fifth stage is Identity vs. Role Confusion and occurs in adolescents and shows them if they have a sense of fidelity. The sixth stage is Intimacy/Solidarity vs. Isolation which occurs in adults and shows them if they have the ability to love. The seventh stage is Generativity vs. Self-Absorption and also occurs in adults and enables them to care. The eighth and final stage of theory is Integrity vs. Despair which occurs in adults and shows them if they have the wisdom to share with younger children and teenagers. Like I said before, this theory must start at birth and travel smoothly up the stairs so that no or minimal contact
The purpose of this paper is to describe the underlying principles of Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychological Development. In describing the underlying principles of each stage, the writer includes an analysis of a character that best represents that stage. In each stage, the essayist discusses how the character is doing at resolving the crisis.
In this specific stage child is less or not egocentric so that they can think critically. Final stage of child development is formal operational stage. Children above 11 years would be able to do things without depending on concrete manipulations. In this stage child thinks creatively and starts to use abstract reasoning and imagine the outcome of particular actions.