Erik Eriksons Psychosocial Model of Development - Research Paper Example

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Model of Development Introduction Human personality characteristics come in opposites. Individuals think of themselves as independent or dependent, optimistic or pessimistic, adventurous or cautious, emotional or unemotional, leader or follower, aggressive or passive. Even though most of these temperament characteristics or traits are inborn, others traits such as feeling inferior or even competent are learned depending on the support and challenges individuals receive while growing up. This concept was explored in great depth by Erik Erikson. He is a Freudian ego-psychologist, to him, behavior is not completely defensive and ego exists from birth. Erikson through his study recognized that culture had a great influence on behavior. According to him, development course is influenced by the interaction of cultural (ethos) influences, mind (psychological), and the body (genetic biological programming) (Erikson, 1968). Even thought Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is similar to Sigmund Freud theory, Erikson unlike Freud believes that each stage of development consist of conflicts which operate as turning points of human life. In his theory, Erikson organized human life into eight stages which run from birth to death. Every stage involves particular developmental task which are naturally psychosocial. These tasks are often cited using two conflicting terms. According to Erikson development theory, every human being must pass through a sequence of eight interrelated stages and span from birth to death they include: Infant (Hope) – Basic Trust vs. Mistrust, Toddler (Will) – Autonomy vs. Shame, Preschooler (Purpose) – Initiative vs. Guilt, School-Age Child (Competence) – Industry vs. Inferiority, Adolescent (Fidelity) – Identity vs. Identity Diffusion, Young Adult (Love) – Intimacy vs. Isolation, Middle-aged Adult (Care) – Generativity vs. Self-absorption, Older Adult (Wisdom) – Integrity vs. Despair. According to the psychologist, successful completion of each of the aforementioned stages results in a hale and hearty personality as well as the ability to successfully interrelate with others. Nevertheless, failure to complete any one stage successfully, can lead to reduced ability to go through other stages consequently, leading to a more unhealthy sense of self and personality. This study aims at discussing the adolescent stage in human development and personality as espoused by Erikson. The fifth stage of Erikson psychological development theory is Identity versus confusion. This stage ensues during adolescence at an approximate age of 12 to about 20yearss. During this stage, the adolescents need to develop a sense of personal and self-identity. This is because they are developing a sense of self as well as exploring their independence. Discussion Confusion may begin to ensue among teens as they transit from childhood to adulthood, they may also feel insecure about themselves and the way they relate to others in the society. According to Erikson, during this fifth stage of development, teenagers may experiment with different activities, behaviors, and roles as they try to establish a sense of self. This stage is therefore very significant for purposes of developing a sense of direction in an individual life as well as in forming a strong identity (Erikson, 1968). During this fifth stage of Identity vs. Identity Diffusion, those teens that get proper reinforcement as well as encouragement from personal exploration will come out of this stage with a feeling of control and independence coupled with a strong sense of self. Conversely, those who do not receive any form of encouragement and reinforcement, they remain unsure of their own desires and beliefs and as such confused and insecure about the future and themselves. Ego identity means how an individual fit in the society in general and knowing oneself. This process requires that a person takes everything that he or she have learnt about oneself and life, and then mold that knowledge into a unified self-image, which is considered meaningful in the community. At this stage, there are various things that help the teens mold their self-image with ease. To begin with, there should be a mainstream culture of adults in the society that is worth teen’s respect. This culture should open avenues of communication and also have good adult role models. In addition the society should avail a clear passage of rites, rituals, as well as certain accomplishments, these would help to differentiate the child from the adult. During the traditional and primitive society, boys in their adolescent stages may be required to go away for a given period of time from their village, and live on their own, to either seek an inspirational vision, or even hunt a particular symbolic animal. In such societies, boys and girls during their adolescent years may be required to undergo particular endurance tests, educational events, or even symbolic ceremonies. These events then become an avenue to distinguish in one way or another, between childhood times of powerless but irresponsible and times of adulthood which entails powerful and responsible is clearly defined (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009). In the absence of such things, adolescents at the fifth stage are likely to experience role confusion and thus uncertainty about one self ensue in relation to his or her place in the society and the world at large. According to Erikson’s psychological development theory, in the event that a teen is confronted by role confusion, the adolescent is suffering from a condition known as identity crisis. Often a times in our society, adolescents do ask straightforward questions regarding their identity such as Who am I? In his words, Erikson suggests that adolescent stage is the psychosocial moratorium in the society. At this stage a person want to be successful as fast as he or she can nevertheless, very few take time to visualize what it means to be successful. During adolescent stage, an individual may develop a maladaptive tendency fanaticism as it is described by Erikson. This is too much ego identity, a situation in which an individual is too much involved in a given role of a particular subculture or culture, that he or she leaves no room for any form of tolerance. This is caused by a strong conviction that whatever that person believes in is the only right way out (Shaffer, 2008). At this stage, the teens are quite idealistic; they are also cited as a group that perceives concepts in black and white. Adolescents may defend their life styles as well as their beliefs regardless of other people opinions towards them. More than any other stage, lack of identity during adolescence is quite troubling. According to Erikson, this state is known as repudiation. This means that the adolescents renounce their membership in the adults’ world and worst still renounce their claim for an identity. For this reason, some of the adolescents opt to join particular groups especially those groups that are keen to expose identity details of an individual. Such groups may include: militaristic organizations, groups founded on hatred, groups that have alienated themselves from what they perceive as painful demands of the conventional society, as well as religious cults. Further, following their lack of identity, adolescents may get involved in activities that are quite destructive, alcohol, drugs, or sometimes they may give in to their fantasies which are psychotic in nature. To them, being nobody or even being bad is far much better than being without any form of identity (Munley, 2008). Conclusion In the event that a person negotiates successfully through this fifth stage, Erickson states that the person develops a virtue known as fidelity. This virtue according to the psychologist means loyalty, such that an individual acquires the ability to survive the painful demands of mainstream society regardless of their inconsistencies, imperfections as well as incompleteness. This is because, if a person truly has the best interest of his society at heart, then, he or she would strive to enable it attain the best standards it can. The virtue of fidelity therefore means that an individual have attained a position in the society through which that person is capable of contributing to the well being of the community as a whole. The psychosocial development theory of Erik Erikson is indeed one of the well-known theories regarding development and personality. His theory describes the development of an individual in a series of stages that are predetermined. This theory further describes the influence of social experience throughout the lifespan of a human being. To him, each stage of development consist conflicts which operate as life turning points as aforementioned. References Erikson, E. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton. Munley, P. (2008), Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and vocational behavior. Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol 22(4), 314-319. doi: 10.1037/h0076749. Shaffer, D (2008). Social and Personality Development. Chicago: Cengage Learning. Shaffer, D & Kipp, K. (2009). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence. Chicago: Cengage Learning. Read More