Erikson's Third Stages Of Psychosocial Development: Initiative Vs. Guilt

Erikson 's third stage of psychosocial development is Initiative vs. Guilt. This stage generally occurs between ages of 3 to 6 years, and during this stage the child initiates new activities and considers new ideas. The child demonstrates an increased interest in exploring the world, and as a result the child becomes involved and busy. Children often become aware of their personhood in the Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt stage of psychosocial development, and so often times during the Initiative vs. Guilt stage of development they attempt to make sense of what type of person they are going to be. Children during this stage of development often embrace the phrase "Why?". They are also often eager to collaborate with other children to construct

Guilt stage of development leads to feelings of guilt and the child often feels a lack of purpose. Guilt also arises when adults constantly correct and discipline a child for exercising their developing mental power, and locomotor skills. Two polarities of behavior may result when a child feels a sense of guilt; At one extreme the child may engage in behaviors of flight, withdrawal, or a fear of starting things, at the other extreme, the child may engage in behaviors that allow them to "show off", or they may be over aggressive and manipulative. The child may exhibit inhibition, over-obedience, and repressed hopes and fantasies as a result of feelings of guilt (Poole,

Inferiority. This stage of development often occurs between 6 to 12 years of age or what many refer to as school age. During this stage of development children begin to develop new interests and they become involved in new activities. Children also take pride in their accomplishments in sports, school, home, and in the community. Children often love to learn during this stage of development and they often are often most eager to learn techniques that are "in line with the ethos of production" (Poole, 2011). Erikson states that during this stage of development the personality crystallizes around the conviction, "I am what I learn". Children are often eager to learn and they are often very curious, so the child 's questions often revolve around "What is this?", "What is that?", and "How can I do?". Children tend to gravitate towards individuals who are knowledgable and skill-oriented and they often form friendships with children who are at their school or in their neighborhood. To master this stage of development the child must have greater ratio of Industry vs. Inferiority so that they can develop the virtue of competence, or the belief that they can both begin and complete a project at an acceptable level (Poole,