According to Erikson's psychoanalytic theory of development, there are certain relationships that help us proceed through life and move though stages of development. At every at stage in his theory there is a fight, there is a balance that must be found to solve a crisis. If the crisis is resolved in each stage the individual will find a virtue. A good balance is made up of mostly the positive outcome but a healthy amount of the negative is necessary or else the individual will have too much a good thing, which Erikson calls a maladaptation. (Maianu, 2011). I will be applying a few stages of this theory to the life of Jo March in the 1994 film “Little Women”.
Erikson's third stage of development is initiative verses guilt. In this stage the child must begin to find and show responsible behavior (Santrock, 2010). Instead of imitating other people's actions, they begin to initiate their own behavior. If criticized too much, they may feel guilty about everything they do, because constant scolding may cause them to feel that everything they do will be or could be wrong. This makes them too afraid to take the first step without being given specific directions. However, if too much initiative is acquired the person will not only take initiative, but they will go on with their plans and won't care who they step on as long as they reach their goals (Maianu, 2011). If the right balance between initiative and guilt is found, the individual will find the virtue of purpose. They will be able to feel useful and take the first step towards achieving their goal, without just mimicking others. Parent's can play a huge role in helping their child find balance at this stage. They can help the child find purpose by giving the child a limited a...
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...his is a hard time for her but she begins filling pages with her sister's story as well as her own. When Jo finishes writing her novel she symbolically ties the pages together and tucks a flower into the string. This is the moment where were we can see that Jo has found her true identity. She looks at peace with herself and the work that she has created. Later on, we learn that when the professor read her novel he thought it was like reading Jo's very heart (Anderson, 1994).
Works Cited
Armstrong, G. (Director). (1994). Little Women [Motion picture]. United States: Sony Pictures.
Maianu, C. (2011, Spring semester). Child Development, Psychology 212, [Lecture notes]. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Area Community College.
Santrock, J. W. (2010). Child development: an introduction(13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Humanities.
People change over time, and no past history sets the future in stone. Developmentalists divide life into different segments based on age known as growth stages (Berger, 2009). Each stage affects the others causing development at every stage to build upon the other (Berger, 2009). Development does not follow a straight line, it instead moves up and down, back and forth, and it moves at different speeds (Berger, 2009). Although there are several theories of development, and it would be remiss to subscribe to only one; however for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on Erik Erikson’s Theory of Initiative versus Guilt; Industry versus Inferiority; and Identity versus Role Confusion. I also prefer to take an eclectic approach in the application of counseling theories and techniques; however for the purpose of this paper I will utilize three different therapies for each stage of development.
guilt (3-5 yrs.), adults are seen as examples in regards to how a child should engage in society (Stevens, 1983, p. 47). As children learn that they can do things like adults it is essential that parents reassure their children through positive "support"; if the child does not receive positive support in activities of choice, guilt may form as a result (Table 9.1. Comparison of Freudian and Eriksonian Stages of Development, 2014, p. 1). Children in this stage also begin to ask for what they want, this helps children in their ability to make decisions later on in life. If the child learns to take initiative, a sense of purpose will form in the child (Erikson, 1964, p.
Slater, A., and Muir, D., (1998). The Blackwell Reader in Developmental Psychology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.
Shaffer, D. R., & Kipp, K. (2014). Infancy. In Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence (p. 158). Australia: Wadsworth.
The two important psychoanalytic theories on human development are psychosexual development theory by Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory. Many researchers use these two major approaches to analyze the human development in different stages of life. Since Freud’s approach was the foundation of Erikson’s psychosocial theory, there are many similarities between them. Even though they are both focusing on phases of life, there are still some differences on the definitions and ideas of life stages. In this paper, I will concentrate on Freud and Erikson’s ideas of different stages of human development because these two approaches always come together and they are mostly overlapping. Yet, there are divergences and transformations between all the stages.
There are few fields within the child development science. One of them is represented by the psychoanalytical theory, which looks at the child emotional development within the context of social interaction and early attachments. This framework is called psychosocial as it looks on the emotional and social aspects. Running in parallel and influencing each other there are two more main areas, cognitive and physical. Although I am focusing on the aspects of the psychosocial development, it is important to remember that all these areas are being affected one by the other, where the development of the emotional skills plays central role in a regular development of cognitive and physical skills.
Papalia, Diane E, Sally W. Olds, and Ruth D. Feldman. A Child's World: Infancy Through Adolescence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print. The author is a child development and psychology professor. This is an anthology with strictly objective information. The content is broken down into physical, cognitive, and psychosocial developments of different stages of childhood.
Erik Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages that occur through life. These stages help parents of younger children understand what the child is thinking and why they are acting the way that they do. For a person to become a well-rounded adult they need to succeed in each level. This essay will discuss the first six stages into young adulthood.
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt is Erikson's second stage of development occurs between the first and third years in life. During this stage children learn to be independent by mastering tasks such as feeding a dressing themselves. If children do not develop autonomy during this stage they will doubt their ability and develop a sense of shame. I lived in one foster home from the time I was one and a half to the time my parents adopted me at age three. I believe that I developed during this stage just as well if not better than children who are biological or who are adopte...
Erik H. Erikson was a significant psychologist that greatly changed the field of child development. In the 1950’s, Erikson advanced a Freudian approach in development. He viewed that social development as a series of eight challenges that people have to overcome. Each challenge has an outcome that’s either favorable or unfavorable. The outcome drastically affects a person’s personality. For example, in a favorable outcome, the result can leave a positive feeling. With a positive outlook, it’s easier for a person to cope with challenges in life. An unfavorable outcome can leave a person at a disadvantaged for the future. During the first couple challenges, Erikson believed that the caregiver has a great impact on a child’s development (Romero).
This assignment’s main focus will be centred on Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, which consists of eight stages however only the fifth stage ‘identity versus role confusion’ will be discussed. Aspects such as identity crises, exploration of autonomy whilst developing a sense of self, factors that may contribute to identity formation as well as the successful/unsuccessful resolution of this particular stage will be discussed thoroughly. Erikson’s theory was also expanded by James Marcia, who identified certain identity statuses. The discussion will then progress to the psychosocial development of a case study based on Anna Monroe in connection to the difficulties she faced, such as gender, sexuality, peer pressure,
Psychosocial development is development on a social realm. Psychosocial development is how one develops their mind, maturity level, and emotions over the course of one’s life. The rate of development depends on different factors such as biological processes as well as environmental factors. A man named Erik Erikson who was a psychoanalyst who believed that early childhood successes and failures were responsible for influencing later developmental stages developed this theory. Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is based around the theory that social experience has an impact over an entire lifespan. There are eight stages developmental stages of development in the psychosocial theory and I will briefly examine all eight stages in this
In the developing stages of a child, psychological factors play a huge role in th...
Shaffer, D., Kipp, K., Wood, E., & Willoughby, T. (2010). Developmental psychology childhood and adolescence. (3rd ed.). USA: Thomson Wadsworth
Wood, A. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2007). Child development: The world of psychology.