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Reflection on Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development essay
“Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Stages of Development”
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Introduction: The lives of people never remain in stasis; instead, as a human develops, his or her life path changes accordingly with his or her gains and losses in cognitive and physical ability. This essay will discuss how these changes in life path affect people in middle adulthood (40 – 60) with reference to Erikson’s developmental theory and give examples of how these changes impact social function. It will use peer-reviewed journal articles and books as references to form a reliable information base when discussing the theories and scientific outcomes of aging. It will begin by explaining and critiquing Erikson’s developmental theory and then continue to discuss the kinds of changes being made in middle adulthood and the impact of these …show more content…
In each stage a person is faced with decisions which he will unconsciously make with either a positive or negative outcome (Vogel-Scibilia et al, 2009). Success in later stages is partially predetermined by successes or failures in earlier stages (Agronin, 2014). Success in the three stages of adulthood hinges on whether the individual healthily navigated through “identity vs. confusion” in adolescence which in turn is affected by the childhood stages before it (Agronin, 2014). The first stage begins at infancy when the baby will be lead into the first decision of trust vs. mistrust and from then onwards it will be faced with another seven stages (Schoklitsch et al, 2012). The stage being focussed on in this essay occurs in middle adulthood between the ages of 40 – 60, when the key decision being made according to Erikson is generativity vs. stagnation (Vogel-Scibilia et al, 2009). Generativity is defined by Erikson as “the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation” and was cited by him and other academics as a key indicator of successful aging (Schoklitsch et al, 2012). In order to succeed in the generativity vs. stagnation stage, an adult must establish the willingness to pass on their knowledge and values to the younger generation (Busch et al, 2012). Failure to properly achieve generativity can be caused …show more content…
In this longitudinal study data was collected regarding the participants social standing when they were 15 and then recollected when they had reached middle adulthood (Marion et al, 2013). The purpose of the study was to test whether the negative impacts of isolation during adolescence were still present in some form during middle adulthood (Marion et al, 2013). They discovered that people who lacked friends during adolescence also struggled during middle adulthood as they reported lowered instances of life satisfaction and lower friendship quality (Marion et al, 2013). The study shows that poor social functioning is a persistent problem throughout the lifespan (Marion et al, 2013). The importance of a strong social support is highlighted in a study by Takizawa et al (2006). The study was based in a village with a high suicide rate where they tested the effect of social support on stress-buffering (Takizawa et al, 2006). The stress-buffering effect of social support was found to be highly effective but only for males (Takizawa et al, 2006). The effect was so high in males that it was found in not only males receiving the support but also in males providing the support, however, there was no effect on depressive symptoms in women (Takizawa et al, 2006). This gender discrepancy was similar but more severe than the one found in Van Aken et al’s (2006)
The woman given in this case study is not doing well. It is needless to say that she probably didn’t think that her life would end up this way. A woman of her age and a mother of two going through a divorce is always a stressful and complicated time. To make matters worse, this crisis in her life corresponds perfectly with a crisis in her faith life. My initial guess is that these two crises are not individual events, but rather that they are interrelated on a fundamental level. From the information given in this case study it would appear that this woman is experiencing developmental issues in two ways: her divorce and crumbling family life has thrust her into a psychosocial crisis of early adulthood, and the resulting crisis has revealed
My client which I will refer to as Martin, is a 12 year old Hispanic male that was referred by his mother for have problems controlling his anger, poor self-esteem, and poor social skills. The client when I did his assessment was very timid and shy with myself. The answers I was getting from him were very short and straight to the point. I had little knowledge of this age group but I did know a little about him before he came in from the conversation I had with his mother. Growing up his biological father verbally, mentally, and physically abused him. His step-father after his mother remarried, was also abusive during that married. Now the most current step-father is the opposite of them, that he is loving and caring towards Martin. Martin all he has known growing up is getting hit for anything he did that was
The thought of aging is not void of hesitance given it produces questions deprived of answers in the absence of a crystal ball. Subsequently, aging parallels the unknown; thus, faced with uncertainty adopting a positive perspective remains elusive. Although, it’s preferred to view aging optimistically one cannot escape its negative connotations. Will I be an active agent or isolated burden remains a noteworthy unknown that enervates my optimism. Another consideration leading to my vacillating view on aging is, not knowing to what degree personal competencies and capacities will carry forward, thereby affording autonomy in the elder years. However, as research suggest, the aging process transforms healthy adults into frail ones; thus, dashing one’s hope that such traits will endure (Friis, 2010). Incidentally, at age 48, these lingering questions will soon be answered. In the interim, there is an inherent responsibility to prepare physically, psychologically, and financially for entry into the aging population. Ideally, the goal is to
Erik Erikson stated that there are eight psychosocial stages of development. Within each of these stages, he states that there is a crisis that must be resolved. Trust vs. mistrust is the first, which occurs from the time you were born to about one year of age. From there you move on to autonomy vs. shame and doubt, which occurs from ages one to three. Then there is initiative vs. guilt, which occurs from age’s three to six. After that it is industry vs. inferiority, which occurs between ages, is six to twelve. Fowling that is intimacy vs. isolation, which occurs between ages eighteen to thirty. Then comes generativity vs. stagnation, which occurs between ages thirty and into late adulthood. The last stage is integrity vs. despair, which occurs in late adulthood. Erikson eight stages of development occur in every one. Your friends and family are all going through different parts of these stages right now.
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
His theory “emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself” (McLeod, 2008). Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development has eight stages. The seventh stage is generativity vs. stagnation; it includes midlife adults between the ages of forty and sixty. “Generativity is in which people in midlife find meaning from nurturing the next generation, care for others or enriching the lives of others through their work. Stagnation is when midlife adults have not achieved generativity. They tend to feel without a sense of purpose in life” (Belsky, 2016, p. 363). A key factor to this stage is parenting. The big question that is asked is, does this midlife adult have the capability to educate the next generation? (Cramer, Flynn, LaFave,
Erik Erikson was a researcher of the Psychodynamic perspective who lived through the years 1902 to 1994. He developed a theory that dealt with the stages of human development and was referred to as a Neo-Freudian. A Neo-Freudian are those “who have revised Sigmund Freud’s theory” (Massey, 1986). His theory argued that “both society and culture challenge and shape us” (Feldman, 2011). Erik Erikson’s theory of psychological development does not specify specific ages, so the age categories can only be guessed upon. It is my personal thought that this was a smart move due to different age milestones for different cultures. The essay titled Erik Erikson: Ages, stages, and stories argues that the stages “are organized into a system of polarities that tempt us to think about psychological dynamics in a form that is more binary than Erikson intended.” Each stage has a ‘resolution’ or goal. Each stage presents a “crisis or conflict that the individual must resolve” (Feldman, 2011, p.16)
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
Erik Erikson developed the eight stages of life theory. Erikson’s theory focuses on the development from birth to death, social context, and interpersonal relations during each stage of life (McAdams, 2009). In the same manner, each stage of life is comprehendible in three levels, such as the body, ego, and family and culture. The eight stages of life are infancy (trust vs. mistrust), early childhood (autonomy vs. shame and doubt), childhood (initiative vs. guilt), childhood (industry vs. inferiority), adolescence and young adulthood (identity vs. role confusion), young adulthood (intimacy vs. isolation), mature adulthood (generativity vs. stagnation (or self-absorption)), and old age (ego integrity vs. despair).
In Erikson's fifth phase of psychosocial advancement struggle is focused amongst character and part perplexity. Character is first stood up to in youth between the ages 12 – 19 years of age, because of physical and hormonal changes in the body. A prologue to formal operations in subjective improvement and societal desire adds to an individual's personality to be investigated and built up (McAdams, 2009), this likewise prompts the revelation of one's character, however the (interior and outer) strengths that advance character improvement, ordinarily makes a feeling of pressure inside/for the person. The essential errand is, in Erikson's terms, "constancy or honesty and consistency to one's center self or confidence in one's philosophy", more or less: "Who am I and where am I going?" " (Fleming, 2004: 9),
Aging and being old has been dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time. At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict with each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics seems that successful aging means is not aging.
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
...through 8 different psychosocial stages of life. Each step has to be completed in order to have gained knowledge and to be able to be successful in the next stage of development. Researching this topic has taught me that we can’t skip over skills and expect to have success or live happily ever after. I now realize how important learning from my mistakes can be. Childhood becomes the remembered past and adulthood the anticipated future (McAdams, 2001).
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,
No matter who you are I believe that everyone will go through stages in their life that will get them to where they are on today. I am a person who has a very interesting story; this is the first time it will be told in full. We were asked to use Erik Erikson’s theory of development as a guideline to telling the story of our lives. At first I was very nervous; however, I soon realized that this would be a fun task. Erik Erikson has eight stages of Development (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman). I will be walking you though my life using each one of his stages drawing out the map of my life. Within my life I have had some very interesting encounters. I have been through foster care, abuse, rape, molestation, starvation, adoption, depression, and success. Although my life may not be perfect, I believe that I have overcome these battles and become the person that I am on today. I will be talking about a few crises, milestones, and some of the people that were set in place to help me and or hurt me.