Observation To Erikson's Stages Of Psychosocial Development

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The individual that I chose to observe is a toddler. She appears to be between the ages of ten to fifteen months. She has brunette hair, wore a pink outfit on, and is of mixed race. My observation was completed at chucky cheese. She was accompanied by her mother, father, and older brother. Her brother was not that much older than her. He had to be about three or four years old. When I arrived, I had a hard time picking someone. When I first saw her she was in a teacup ride. Her father was standing close by watching her. I thought to myself, “how cute”. I knew instantly she was the one. I grew up with a father who was detached. It was nice seeing a father interacting with his daughter. At first, I didn’t know her mother and brother were there. …show more content…

Stage 1 plays on the idea of trust verses mistrust. According to Erikson, she will not be able to move on to the next stage of her life until she has mastered the first one (p. 112). Once she has mastered the first one, she cannot move on until she masters the second one, and so forth and so on. If she does not master the stage that she is in, she will be stuck there until she can (p.112). Fortunately, this is not the case of the toddler I am observing. It is obvious that the trust is there. Whatever her needs were at the time, she knew her parents would be able to assist her. Now that that the foundation for trust is there, she is moving into the next stage of her life. Stage 2, Autonomy verse shame and doubt. In this stage, “toddlers must develop self-confidence and a sense of mastery over themselves. They must use newly developed motor skills, or they will develop shame and doubt about their inability to develop control” (p.112). As I mentioned above, she displays good motor skills. As far as confidence, she appears to not be lacking any. She freely roamed all through that Chuckie cheese building with no

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