Psychology: Erikson's Stages - Assignment Example

 Psychology: Erikson's Stages Abstract Human beings follow a long walk of life before they form their own pattern of behavior and personality. Therefore, people encounter many stages of growth and development, which affect their behavior and thought process. In most cases, people exhibit childhood behaviors even at old age due to problems that emerge in life, which hinder them from developing from one stage to the next. The way people handle their emotions and face life issues depends with the success that comes during the stages of growth, and life experiences that shape human behavior. Erickson developed eight stages of psychosocial development that human beings go through as they grow from birth time to the time they age. This paper will analyze the eight stages of development as proposed by Erickson. Erikson's Stages The first stage of development is infancy, which begins at the time of birth to eighteen months. In this stage of psychosocial development, an infant is faced by the challenge of developing desirable qualities, which will be essential for the survival of the infant. Two outcomes of the ego development are trust vs. mistrust, and this stage of development derives its fundamental strength from the drive and hope. Infancy is also called the Oral Sensory Stage; children direct anything that they put their hands on into their mouths. The chief focus of this stage is the loving and positive care of the mother to infant (Nevid, 2008). Further, the touch and visual contact are also of paramount importance to the infant. Infants who successfully pass this stage of development gain confidence that the world is a secure place, and they trust that they manage to survive. Therefore, the infants can trust that the future will be okay. However, if an infant’s needs are constantly ignored by the parents or people who give the infants basic care, then the infant develops frustration, and worse feelings of mistrust and worthlessness in the world. Research proves that people who experienced these feelings of worthlessness during their infant period of growth and development end up in engaging in suicide behavior. They develop the feeling that their life is valueless and that they do not deserve to live in the world. This is the reason that the strongest relationship exist between a child and the parent who gave the primary care to the person when he was an infant. It is imperative to note that infants should develop substantial trust to the parents and the care giver; he cannot survive without the help of these people (Nevid, 2008). The second stage of development, according to Erickson is early childhood, which occurs between the ages of eighteen months to the time the child is aged three years. The outcome of ego development at this stage is autonomy vs. shame, and the basic strengths are will, courage and self-control. In the height of this stage, infants learn to perfect skill on their own, and these skills include talking, walking and feeding (Nevid, 2008). The most significant skill in this stage of development is toilet training, which infants require to perfect for them to grow into adults who appreciate cleanliness. Further, infants control their bodies effectively at this stage, and their autonomy and self-esteem improves remarkably. This autonomy and self-esteem facilitate infants to increase their knowledge and skills; they learn the difference between wrong and right. At this stage, infants develop the ability of saying no at times, and this might not work well with parents though it facilitates the maturity of will skills in an individual (Nevid, 2008). On the contrary, if something goes wrong during this stage, infants can develop low self-esteem because they are extremely vulnerable to shame during toilet training. Infants might fail to learn essential skills, and their competence does not measure up to that of their peers. The third stage of psychosocial development is the play stage, which occurs to infants between the ages of three years to five years. During this stage of development, the outcome of ego development is the initiative vs. guilt, which is backed by the basic strength of purpose. At the height of this stage of development, infants are motivated by the urge to imitate the adults and copy their behaviors, as well come up with situations that can facilitate play (Nevid, 2008). Infants engage in stimulating and creative games with all manners of toys, and they assume the roles of adults in their adventures with these toys. These games are structured in a perfect blueprint of the real life of adults, and they demonstrate the beliefs that children have about adult life. Erickson asserted that children experience the oedipal struggles, which are resolved through the identification of social roles. However, if children do not succeed in resolving these struggles of natural goals and desires, they develop strong guilt feelings. The fourth stage of development is the school age, which sets in at the ages of six to the time the child twelve years. The outcome of ego development in this stage is the industry vs. inferiority, and the basic strengths are competence and method. At the summit of this stage, individuals manage to create, learn, and accomplish a lot of knowledge and skills, and this facilitates them to develop a spirit of industry. This stage of development is also associated with intensive socialization with peers, and if children have unresolved issues of inferiority and inadequacy among their peers, they experience grave problems of low self-esteem and lack of competence. Children shift their most essential relationships from their parents, and they give this attention to the schoolmates and the neighborhood. Parents lose their absolute authority over the child, but they remain extremely essential in the life of the child. The fifth stage of development is the adolescence stage, which occurs between the ages of twelve and eighteen years. The outcome of ego development in this stage of development is identity vs. Role confusion, and the basic strengths that reinforce this stage are fidelity and devotion. At this stage, the development is influenced by the things that other people have done to an individual, as well as the actions of the individual (Nevid, 2008). The complexity of life increases as people attempts to recognize their own identity, because this stage marks the transition from an individual being a child to that individual being an adult. Individuals maneuver through social interactions and they also struggle with issues that concern moral behavior in the community. The chief task in this stage is acquiring a unique identity, which is different from the parents, and the community, as well as find a suitable way to belong and fit in the society. Failure to acquire this identity in this stage makes individuals land into a network of upheaval and confusion. Further, individuals are faced by the task to establish a life philosophy; they think in terms conflict free ideals instead of reality. Though individuals at this stage lack substantial experience in life, they can develop fanatical devotion to causes and friends. Young adulthood is the next stage of development, which sets in between the ages of eighteen to thirty five years, and the outcome of ego development is intimacy and solidarity vs. isolation. The basic strengths for this stage are affiliation and love; individuals seek a partner to help them enjoy life. As people accomplish the task of establishing relationships, which are satisfying mutually, they also deal with the desires of starting a family. However, couples of today do not start families until they are at their late thirties or early forties. The reward of success in this stage is an experience of deep level intimacy. On the contrary, individuals who fail in this stage experience isolation and this isolation can compel them to distance themselves from other people. The world of such individuals shrinks because they can establish associations with individuals of the opposite gender, and in defense, such individuals feel that they are superior to other people (Nevid, 2008). Middle adulthood is the next stage of development that sets in at the age of thirty five and ends at the age of sixty five, and the outcome of ego development is generativity vs. stagnation. At the summit of this stage, individuals are fully occupied by work and creative thinking, as well as family issues; they assume the once envied role of being responsible of the family (Nevid, 2008). Furthermore, individuals face the task to transmit values and perpetuate culture to the kids, as well as create an environment that is stable for the family. The actions of the individual strive to better the live of other people and the welfare of the community. Mid life crisis emerges as the kids grow up and leave home, and if an individual does not navigate successfully through this stage, he becomes stagnant. The final stage is late adulthood, which sets in when individuals reaches the age of sixty five to the time of death. Individuals can either develop ego integrity or despair, which is backed up by wisdom. The chief significance of this stage is to recover the strength that was lost during the middle- life crisis. Adults reflect on the things that they have done in the course of their life, and they are contented that they have made significant accomplishments, and this is a symbol of a meaningful life (Nevid, 2008). This stage utilizes wisdom that has been accumulated throughout an individual’s life; individuals realize that life is a long journey, which ends when one dies. This feeling of contentment is referred as integrity. On the contrary, there are individuals who reflect on their life and they do not see any achievements, but failures. Such individuals become afraid of death, and they try to seek the meaning of life in the remaining part of their life. Other people might die with undesirable dogmatism that makes them believe that their ideas were always right. In conclusion, Erickson developed eight stages that describe the process of human development from infancy to the time of death. The stages of human psychosocial development present individuals with a couple of opposite qualities to be attained. Individuals who navigate through the entire stages of development successfully experience a feeling of triumph as it marks the conclusion of the journey of life. Such people experience a feeling of satisfaction, and they are proud of the influence they had made on the lives of other people, as well as the community. On the contrary, there are people who suffer from cumulative failures in life, and these failures hinder them from viewing life in a positive way. They fear death as their lives end with regrets and bitterness, over the many things that they did not accomplish. References Nevid, J.S. (2008). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More