Analyzing Erikson's Stages Of Development

Assignment #1 - Stages of Development

Erikson’s Theory

Erikson’s Stages of Development are the most universally accepted theory as to how humans develop from birth to old age. In this theory there is a crisis to be resolved and a virtue to be gained at each stage. Erikson’s Theory states that failing to properly succeed in each step, may lead to problems in the future.

In Erikson’s Theory there are eight definite stages from birth to old age.

In stage one – birth to one year, the period of development is Basic Trust vs. Mistrust. At this stage babies develop a basic trust of their caregivers. Failure to receive proper love and care will lead to mistrust.

Stage two, age one to three years is the Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt period.

The erogenous zone is the genitalia. During the third stage the child should learn to suppress attraction to the parent of the opposite sex and identify with the parent of the same sex. If the third stage is not successfully met the adult may have some sexual dysfunction or deviancy.

Stage four is from six years to adolescence. This is the latency stage. During this stage there is no erogenous zone and the child should be focused on living his daily life.

Stage five is adolescence. This is the genital stage, in which the genitals are the erogenous zone. During this stage the child should feel attraction to the opposite sex and full sexual maturity is reached.

Freud believed that if all the stages were successfully completed that a person should be mentally health and sexually matured.

Piaget also had a theory for the way a child develops. His theory centers on the cognitive development of the brain which includes thinking perceiving, remembering, believing and reasoning. His theory is also broken into four distinct developmental stages.

Stage one is from birth to two years. This is the Sensorimotor Stage in which the child’s knowledge of the world is gained through his senses and

A child at the age of ten according to Erikson should be full engaged in the Industry vs. Inferiority Stage. This means he should be learning the basic skill to work with others. Children at this age must continue to develop their self-confidence. They do this by constantly learning new things. If the child is not encouraged and praised properly during this time at this age, they may not develop the necessary self-confidence they need and therefore this could lead to low self-esteem or an inferiority complex. If this stage is not successful they child may use a lot of negative self-talk such as I’m too dumb and I can’t do