Erik Erickson's Psychosocial Theory

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Erik Erickson has devised a theory of psychosocial development. It explains the impact of social experience throughout a life time. The first stage is infancy. This occurs between birth and the ages of 1, is called trust versus mistrust. This is the most fundamental stage in life. A baby during this time is completely dependent on its care takers. It needs food, love, and nourishment. If the baby is not given those things during this particular time it is not going to have trust in the adults in its life. While no child can have one hundred percent trust or one hundred percent distrust there can be balance. When this occurs, hope in the baby can be achieved. The second stage is early childhood. At this stage the child is starting to become …show more content…

A conflict that occurs during this stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. The third stage is the play age. The conflict in this stage is initiative vs. guilt. In this stage children start exploring and attempt to take control of the environment, if they do well in this environment they feel a sense of purpose, if not they feel guilt. The fourth stage is the school age. The conflict here is industry vs. inferiority here children start going to school and have to deal with attempting to be successful socially and academically. The fifth stage is adolescence. The conflict here is identify vs. role confusion. A conflict that characterizes adolescence is social relationships. Also, sexual identity is a conflict in this stage. Humans during this age need to develop a sense of identity. If they do then they stay true to themselves. If not they have a weak sense of self. The sixth stage is Young adulthood. The conflict here is Intimacy vs. Isolation. An important event here is relationships building. Young adults need to have loving and positive relationships. Success in this leads to good relationships. Failure causes isolation. The seventh stage is Middle

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