Erikson's Phychosocial Development

2550 Words6 Pages

Erik Erikson was a psychologist who did most of his work in the post-Freudian era, in the 1930s to the 1950s. Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, explain eight stages through which a healthily developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood. Erikson ideas, though, were greatly influenced by Freud, emphasises the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself. Like Freud, Erikson assumes that a crisis occurs at each stage of development. For Erikson, these crises are of a psychosocial in nature because they involve psychological needs of the individual conflicting with the needs of society. According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego can use to resolve subsequent crises. Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. These stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time. In this essay the writer will evaluate Erikson’s psychosocial stages of human development and its contribution to the study of human development. Erikson's first psychosocial crisis occurs during the first year to eighteen months of life. The crisis is one of trust versus mistrust. During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, predictable and reliable they will develop a sense of trust which will carry with them to other relati... ... middle of paper ... ...they will develop a sense of trust which will carry with them to other relationships. In conclusion we can safely say that Erikson's psychosocial stages of human development made various contributions to the study of human development. The theory offers a useful framework for analyzing developmental histories. The theory helps create interest and research on human development through the lifespan. It also assists care givers to adopt the correct parenting styles that can yield positive results. Critics of Erikson's theory say that his theory is more applicable to boys than to girls, and that more attention is paid to infancy and childhood than to adult life, despite the claim to be a life-span theory. Critics also say that single words can be misleading and rarely convey much meaning whilst others say that the universality of his theory can and must be questioned.

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