Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development
Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development
For purposes of this discussion, the life-span development theory that will be analyzed is Erik Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory. According to Zastrow et al. (2019) Erickson’s theory assumes that one’s ability to resolve crisis early on will help them resolve crisis in later stages of life. In other words, difficulty in later stages of development are due to the inability to reach milestones in previous stages, (Zastrow et al., 2019). Erikson’s Psychosocial theory is broken down into eight developmental stages. Stage 1 is basic trust vs mistrust; this stage starts at infancy and ends at 18 months, (Zastrow et al., 2019). According to Zastrow et al. (2019) babies learn who they can trust to have their basic needs met. Essentially this is a time where babies learn to trust their caregivers and depend on them for nurture and warmth, (Zastrow et al., 2019). Stage 2 is labeled autonomy vs Shame/Doubt; this stage suggests that children from 18 months to 3 years old strive for independence, (Zastrow et al., 2019). Additionally, children in this stage who can achieve independence gains a sense of self-worth, and doubt when they are unable to according to Zastrow et al., (2019). Stage 3 of Erickson’s psychosocial development theory is titled Initiative vs Guilt; this stage is for children ages 3-6 and emphasizes exploration to build confidence which will help them later in life, (Zastrow et al., (2019). Stage 4 is titled Industry (competence) vs Inferiority; children ages 6-12 are learning to master skills such as academic performance, (Zastrow et al., 2019). During this stage it is said that children are comparing themselves to their peers, and when they are unable to perform there is a growing sense of inferiority and low self-worth, (Zastrow et al., 2019). Stage 5 titled Identity vs Role Confusion; is geared to adolescents and said to be the stage in which exploration with the intent to establish identity occurs according to Zastrow et al., (2019). This stage indicates that there may be some conflict with different roles as a child is transitioning into adulthood, (Zastrow et al., 2019). Stage 6 of Erickson’s theory is labeled Intimacy vs Isolation; during this stage young adults are looking to gain intimacy in relationships as well as the ability to form mutual reciprocity with other individuals, (Zastrow et al., 2019). Stage 7 of Erickson’s theory is called Generativity vs Stagnation, which suggest that adults in this stage tend to focus on productivity for future generations, (Zastrow et al., 2019). This stage suggests that people who are focused solely on themselves will reach a period of stagnation due to lack of productivity, (Zastrow et al., 2019). The last stage of Erickson’s is titled Ego Integrity vs Despair; which suggest that elderly individuals in late adulthood who are proud of their achievements develop a sense of peace as their life is nearing the end, (Zastrow et al., 2019). On the latter, this stage suggests that when there is low fulfillment with life, individuals in late adulthood tend to be regretful and struggle to find peace with the end of life, (Zastrow et al., 2019).
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