Psychosocial Development Essay

710 Words2 Pages

Life is a series of lessons and challenges which help us to grow. The word 'psychosocial' is Erikson's term, effectively from the words psychological (mind) and social (relationships). Erikson believed that his psychosocial principle is genetically inevitable in shaping human development. It occurs in all people. For my Developmental Interview, I interviewed my boyfriend’s sister, Alyssa, at her house. I have known her since she was about five years old so it was very easy to talk to her and have her open up. It was also a laid back environment (backyard) and comfortable for her.
According to Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, school age children (up until about twelve years old) are expected to fall in the category Industry (competence) vs. Inferiority. Children are at the stage where they will be learning to read and write, to do sums, to make things on their own. Teachers begin to take an important role in the child’s life as they teach the child specific skills. It is at this stage that the child’s peer group will gain greater significance and will become a major source of the child’s self-esteem. Children feel the need to win approval by demonstrating specific competencies that are valued by society, and begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments. If children are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative, they begin to feel industrious and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals. If this initiative is not encouraged, if it is restricted by parents or teacher, then the child begins to feel inferior, doubting his own abilities and therefore may not reach his or her potential. If the child cannot develop the specific skill they feel society is demanding (e.g. being athletic) then they ...

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...Conducting the interview met my expectations of learning. It was a great learning opportunity to interact as well as research the psychosocial development.
Encouraging elaboration could have improved the interview process. For example, I could have had her tell me more about her choices. Showing interest and creating a conversation also would make the child feel more comfortable. It would also be important to make sure you know your age group and use appropriate language accordingly. I think it also would have helped to ask the child where she wanted to go for the interview. For example, instead of having the interview at her house, I could have taken her to the frozen yogurt place. All of these techniques would have improved the interview process to collect more data. The child would feel comfortable and relaxed and may even forget you are “interviewing” them.

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