Eriksons Eight Stages Of Psychosocial Development Essay Example

Erik Erikson is without doubt one of the most outstanding psychologists of the previous century. Erikson was born in 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany and is famous for creating the phase ‘identity crisis’. Erikson together with his wife June, became famous for his work on psychological development, particularly his theory based on the eight stages of psychosocial development which was influenced by Sigmund Freud’s stage theory. Erikson’s theory can be compared to other psychological theories; however, it has been correlated to the lifespan in a different way. Erikson believed that a person went through eight developmental stages which causes them to mature. During each of these stages there are two conflicting ideas in which a person must overcome to mature and successfully move on to the next stage of their development. If an individual successfully accomplishes each stage they will become an accomplished and well-adjusted adult.

Stage one: Trust vs Mistrust

In the first phase of psychosocial development a child’s life is dependent on their relationship with their primary caregiver (typically their mother) and whether they trust them or not. It is through the act of basic caretaking that a child begins to trust (Dunkel and Harbke, 2016). During this stage we begin to wonder if the world is a safe place, if we do not have trust in our primary caregiver then it will be challenging for us trust people throughout the course of our life and it will be common for use to experience feelings of doubt. It is essential that the young child builds a relationship in this stage that is filled with love, trust, and care. This allows the child to understand that they are deserving of all of the love, care and attention that they are receiving (Arnett and Maynard, 2016). This stage of the theory is similar to the attachment theory developed by Bowlby and Ainsworth (1979) which describes the emotional attachment between a child and his/her primary caregiver, if the child is lacking this attachment they will develop a sense of mistrust. 

Stage two: Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt

When a child grows out of the infant stage, they begin to experience them self and discover their body. Both parents play a major role during this stage. If the child is encouraged to explore their surroundings and complete tasks independently, they will develop into a confident human being. As I mentioned earlier there is a positive side and a negative side, unfortunately if a child is not encouraged in this way, the child will become “overly dependent” and experience shame (McLeod, 2007).”In this stage, be firm and yet tolerant towards the child, and he will become firm and tolerant towards himself” (Erikson, 1995). The love, care and affection that the child has received in the first stage will allow the child to have faith in not only the people around them but in them self, it will give them the confidence to believe that they are capable of completing these tasks independently. 

Stage three: Initiative vs Guilt

When a child reaches preschool age, they begin to take initiative, learn new things, and understand basic principles. This is a crucial stage in a child’s development as it allows them to understand the world around them. During this stage the child will often be described as “being a nuisance” (McLeod, 2007) because they will begin to act inquisitive and will constantly be asking questions and attempting new things. This is complementary to Piaget’s cognitive theory of development. Piaget believed that thinking is a natural part of children’s development and that children are naturally inquisitive (Piaget and Appel, 1977).  The third stage is the stage in which a child will set him or herself apart from others (Scheck, 2005). Similarly, to the second stage, this stage will be characterized by the child’s physical abilities. During this stage the child has three developmental spurts, initially, the child learns to move around freely which can often lead to violence and disruption, it also causes the child to develop a new radius of goals, the final developmental spurt in this stage causes the child’s language to perfect, the child will begin to understand more, however, it can also lead to the child misunderstanding (Scheck, 2005).  

Stage four: Industry vs Inferiority

When a child reaches school age, they move into the fourth stage of psychosocial development. The key people in a person’s life at this stage is their peers in which they are constantly seeking approval from. In this stage the child is always trying to improve themselves and thrives on praise from other people. At this stage of life our main goal is showing people the things that we are able to achieve. This stage can also lead to the child finding their own interests and hobbies such a sport, music, art etc. If we receive positive feedback from those around us during this stage it will cause us to become hard working, unfortunately, if we do not receive the praise that we deserve it can lead to a lack in motivation (Sprouts, 2017). 

To summarize, the first stage the child believes ‘I am what hope I have and give’, the second stage the child thinks ‘I am what I can freely’, in the third stage the child assumes that ‘I am what I imagine I will’ and eventually in the fourth stage they accept that ‘I am what I can learn to make work’ (Erikson, 1971).

Stage five: Identity vs Role Confusion

As teenagers we begin to learn our social roles. We begin to make friends and contacts outside of our family. Many adolescents experience an identity crisis at this stage as they try to figure out who they are and who they aspire to be. If our parents allow us to explore and live our own lives at this stage, we will succeed in finding our own identity. If the opposite of this happens and we are held back by our parent’s values and beliefs we can experience role confusion. During this stage ‘adolescents must develop an awareness of who they are’ (Arnett, 2016). If the teenager does not get the chance to develop in this way then they will struggle to move onto the next stage of their psychosocial development.

Stage six: Intimacy vs Isolation

Once we have developed our sense of self during adolescence, we now feel the need to share our lives with others. Erikson believed that before we can have an intimate relationship with someone else, we must first have a strong sense of self. If a person has not developed through the other stages successfully it will be different for them to love someone else and form a long-term, committed relationship. At this stage the adult ‘is ready for intimacy, that is, the capacity to commit himself to concrete affiliations and partnerships and to develop the ethical strength to abide by such commitments’ (Erikson, 1995).  If we are able to commit to a serious relationship we will experience feelings of happiness, if we have not developed correctly throughout the previous five stages we will not be able to commit to long term relationships and friendships which will lead to loneliness and isolation (Sprouts, 2017). 

Stage seven: Generativity vs Stagnation

Throughout adulthood the individual begins to become comfortable and use their leisure time effectively. A person’s main goal at this stage of psychosocial development is making an impact on the world (McLeod, 2018). We are satisfied once we believe that we have the capability to lead the next generation into the world. If we have not resolved the conflicts that we have faced from earlier in life we may feel that we are not capable of acting as a role model for the younger generation and we can begin to feel pessimistic. 

Stage eight: Ego integrity vs Despair

The final stage of psychosocial development is less about developing and more about looking back on how we have developed throughout the course of life.  This stage contemplates the ‘acceptance of one’s one and only life cycle as something that had to be’ (Erikson, 1995). If an individual feels this sense wholeness that we all long for at this stage of our life we will feel a sense of integrity. Just like every other stage of psychosocial development if we have not fulfilled the previous stages, we will develop feelings of despair which can in turn lead to grumpiness and irritability.

Conclusion

Erikson’s theory that psychosocial development continues throughout a person’s lifespan has been highly recognised throughout the years. When Erikson developed this theory, he gave us a draft of a ‘realistic perspective of personality development’ (McLeod, 2018). There are both positive and negative characteristics to each of these stages and Erikson believed that if an individual did not accomplish each stage they would be left with feelings of regret. Fulfilling these life transitions will necessitate a sense of closure in the person. “Each stage comes to its ascendance, meets its crisis, and finds its lasting solution” (Scheck, 2005).