Erik Erikson was a psychologist and psychoanalyst who is best known for his theory of psychological development. Though he created many theories, his eight stages of development may be the most talked about; it discusses stages that every person goes through during their lifetime. His original theory included only eight stages of development, but later after Erikson’s death his wife, Joan Erikson, found a ninth stage. The eight stages of Erikson’s theory include: (1) trust vs. mistrust, (2) autonomy vs. shame and doubt, (3) initiative vs. guilt, (4) industry vs. inferiority, (5) identity vs identity confusion, (6) intimacy vs. isolation, (7) generativity vs. stagnation, and (8) integrity vs. despair. Erikson’s first theory is trust vs. mistrust. …show more content…
shame and doubt. The goal of this stage is for children, ages eighteen months to three years old, to reach autonomy; autonomy meaning a sense of self control or worth. By this age, children should be beginning to show signs of independence, from walking, to picking out toys, to eating and dressing. Erikson describes this stage as a crucial point in children’s lives, because they are beginning to learn and understand that they have skills and abilities. As parents, we should allow children to explore the limitations or their abilities. If children at this stage are successful, they will inhibit independence and confidence in their ability to succeed in life. Whereas if children at this stage are not successful or are criticized and dictated, they will feel as though their abilities are inadequate and feel shame and/or doubt (McLeod, …show more content…
stagnation, occurs during the ages of forty and sixty-five. Individuals are establishing careers, settling down with a life partner, beginning families, and looking towards the “bigger picture” of life. Individuals start giving back to their community and society by raising their children, being productive at work, and volunteering within their community. Failing to achieve generativity results in stagnation and feeling unproductive (David, 2014). Erikson’s eighth stage of development, ego integrity vs despair. Ego integrity vs. despair occurs in individuals over the age of sixty-five. In this stage, the goal is for individuals to be satisfied with their lives (McLeod, 2013). Did they see their selves as successful? Did they accomplish everything they wanted to accomplish? Saul McLeod states in his research article, “Erik Erikson believed if we see our lives as unproductive, feel guilt about our past, or feel that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop despair, often leading to depression and
This paper will take a look at two developmental theories looking for similarities and differences. It will also look at how each theory does or does not incorporate explanations or allowances for populations that have been oppressed. The paper will also look at each stage of both theories looking for similarities and major differences and also their strengths and limitations.
Erik Erikson was heavily influenced by Freud but while Freud was an ID psychologist, Erikson was an ego psychologist. Erikson stressed that the development of the ego depended heavily on personal and social aspects. “According to Erikson, the ego develops as it successfully resolves crises that are distinctly social in nature. These involve establishing a sense of trust in others, developing a sense of identity in society, and helping the next generation prepare for the future” (McLeod, S. 1970). His theory focused on personality development through eight distinct stages. He believed that personality progressed in a stacking or pre-determined manner, this is referred to as the epigenetic principle. One must
Erikson’s theory, developed in 1963, supports the idea that early life experiences impact an individual across their lifespan. This theory considers that the growth of an individual is a result of interaction with the environment, biological maturation and societal influences, therefore, allowing for experiences from early life, to influence an individual throughout their lifespan (White, Hayes, and Livesey, 2009). Erikson’s theory focuses on eight different developmental stages within a lifespan and in order to progress from one stage to another, an individual must overcome a potential crisis of two opposing forces at each stage. There are two types of resolution of each stage, successful and unsuccessful. If an individual is
Psychosocial stage of development The theory of personality of Erik Erikson is among one of the most important theories used to explain how people develop their personality. Although a psychoanalyst, Erikson not merely considered the psychosexual aspect as the mere factors that contributed to the development of individuals’ personality, but also took into account the psychosocial aspect. Erikson divided personality development into eight stages: basic trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role diffusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair, (Cervone & Pervin, 2013; Johnson & Ahmad, 2014; Maitland, 2011). According to this theory, I have been greatly influenced by the stage four: industry vs. inferiority.
Eric Erikson was one of the most famous theorists of the twentieth century; he created many theories. One of the most talked about theories is his theory of psychosocial development. This is a theory that describes stages in which an individual should pass as they are going through life. His theory includes nine stages all together. The original theory only included eight stages but Erikson‘s wife found a ninth stage and published it after his death. The nine stages include: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. identity confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, integrity vs. despair, and hope and faith vs. despair (Crandell and Crandell, p.35-36)).
Erik Erikson’s eight Stages of man; politically known as the eight stages of psychosocial development. He promotes social interactions as a motivation to personality development. Erickson studied stages from the beginning of the life cycle to the later stages of life. Erickson was trained under the famous Sigmund Freud. His belief was that it wasn’t only sex that motivated personality development. Social interaction and a growing sense of competence is the key to it all. Because his beliefs differed from the beliefs of Freud, Erikson quickly began to work on his own. Erickson has focused on many different eras of psychological development.
Erik Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages that occur through life. These stages help parents of younger children understand what the child is thinking and why they are acting the way that they do. For a person to become a well-rounded adult they need to succeed in each level. This essay will discuss the first six stages into young adulthood.
Erik Erikson’s psychoanalytic theory of development is made up of eight stages that span the lifetime. The stages correspond to a specific age and provide a blueprint for what to expect universally from someone in that stage in terms of social development. Erikson believed
Erikson believed that people develop in psychosocial stages. He emphasized developmental change throughout the human life span. In Erikson's theory, eight stages of development result as we go through the life span. Each stage consists of a crisis that must be faced. According to Erikson, this crisis is not a catastrophe but a turning point. The more an individual resolves the crises successfully, the healthier development will be.
He implemented eight psychosocial stages which includes trust versus mistrust. One example of the specified inclusions are infants. In order to come to a resolution for these feelings of insecurity, infants look towards their care givers for care and stability to fulfill their desired needs. With autonomy versus shame stage, children begin to assert their independence, utilizing their skills otherwise they will end up doubting their abilities. Initiative versus guilt is another stage where pre-scholars develop initiative by devising and carrying out bold plans. These people plan activities, developing a sense of initiative with others therefore feeling secure in their ability to lead and make decisions. The identity versus role confusion stage is noted as Erikson’s most popular. He characterized adolescence as a crucial and critical time of identity development. To achieve a sense of identity some adolescents attempt to define and explore who they are regarding their career choice, religion, political views, sexual orientation etc., figuring out a way to fit into society. According to Erikson, “the adolescent mind is essentially a mind or moratorium, a psychosocial stage between the morality learned by the child, and the ethics to be developed by the adult” (Erikson, 1963, p.245. As they go through the different sexual and
shame and doubt. This second stage appears in a child’s early years. The primary focus of this stage is the general development of a greater sense of one’s control and autonomy- very similar to what Erikson believed about the importance of toilet training at this particular stage of development. Erikson recognizes that it is crucial for a child to learn and establish at least some sense of independence- successfully of course. This stage also covers the period of time when the child must learn, or begin to learn to control his or her bodily functions; meaning he or she must learn to gain control over food choices, selection of clothing/toys. Children who do not lack of this stage feel not only confident, but also secure, whereas those who do lack of this stage are found to gain a sense of inadequacy, frailty, instability and
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)
His belief was that each human developed their own personality through a series of stages and these stages developed due to the social experiences that one experienced through life. According to Erikson, there are eight stages and each stage centers around a conflict that has to be resolved. Under Erikson’s theory, if conflict or crisis is not resolved, then the outcome will be more crisis and struggles with that issue later on in life (Domino & Affonso, 2011).
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development were complex, but simple. It is something everyone will go through and experiences will always be different. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his stages can lead to quite a disaster. Surprisingly, previous stages are highly influential to the proceeding stage. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his psychosocial stages can have a very devastating effect on a person. This is because the effects built up rather than taking the place of one another. The effects are quite horrifying, but with the right environment, experiences and beliefs, everything can go well.
Theorists have expanded our knowledge of psychology, influenced one another to broaden, and built upon each other’s theories to develop their own. One theorist who has built upon previous theorists was Erik Erikson. Erikson developed an eight-stage theory of identity and psychosocial development, which has countless strengths and weaknesses.