Erik H Eriksons Psychosocial Theory - Research Paper Example

?Erik H. Erikson's Psychosocial Theory Introduction Erikson’s psychosocial model is one of the most regarded theories of personality. The theory is based on eight stages of human development that are also the stages of personality development and explains how the challenges faced by individuals help them grow. According to the theory, our personality or identity keeps changing depending on our everyday experiences with other people. Erick believed that being competent stimulate behaviors as well as our action and thus the eight stages focus on how people can become more competent hence motivated in life. This paper focuses on Erick’s theory of psychosocial development. Additionally, the paper includes a comparison of Erik’s theory with Piaget’s cognitive development theory. Erikson’s psychosocial theory lays a lot of emphasis on ego identity, which is the sense of self that a person develops due to everyday social interaction. According to Erik, the way each of the eight stages of psychosocial development is handled determines how motivated a person becomes. According to his theory, handling the stages appropriately gives a person some ego strength while managing the stages poorly leads to a feeling of inadequacy. Additionally, a person is faced by several conflicts on whether to develop a psychological quality or not to. The conflicts are important in that they act as a person’s turning point and determine if a person grows or fails depending on how one handles the conflict. The first stage of Erickson’s psychosocial development theory is referred to as Trust versus Mistrust. The first stage is the stage between birth and the time when one is about 18 months old. This is considered the most important stage since it is the stage in which a person is entirely dependent on others. Therefore, development is entirely reliant on the excellence of the caregivers. According to Erik, the stage entails the infant developing trust. To develop trust, the infant requires care form persons who are emotionally available and consistent caregivers to enable them learn how to trust. If the caregivers are inconsistent, rejecting, or emotionally unapproachable, the infant develops a sense of mistrust and insecurity. Additionally, the baby develops a sense of fear and tends to believe that the world in impulsive and inconsistent (Erikson 245-250). The second stage is referred to as autonomy versus shame and doubt and it occurs in the early childhood between the ages of about 18 months to about 3 years. This stage entails development of personal control. According to Erikson, "This stage, therefore, becomes decisive for the ratio between loving good will and hateful self-insistence, between cooperation and willfulness, and between self-expression and compulsive self-restraint or meek compliance" (Erikson Web). Erikson argues that toilet training plays a crucial role in this stage. According to the theory, developing the capability to control some body functions and processes helps in development of a sense of independence. Other activities that occur in this stage is acquisition of a sense of control over food choices as well as toy preferences which helps the child feel more confident about themselves. However, only the children who are capable of succeeding in this stage feel confident and develop a sense of autonomy. Those who fail to succeed end up feeling inadequate hence less confident, doubtful and shame in addition to lack of free will (Erikson 251-255). The third stage of Erikson’s psychosocial theory is the initiative versus guilt stage, which occurs in the period between three years to about five years. In this stage, the child develops either a sense of initiative or that of shame and guilt. Developing a sense of initiative eventually leads to development of a sense of purpose. This stage is marked by events such as mastery of language skill as well as locomotor skills. Development of this stage is determined by how the child interacts with the outside world hence expanding exploration as well as conquest (Erikson 255-264). The fourth stage is referred to as Industry versus inferiority and it occurs at the age between about five years and about 13 y ears. At this stage, the child is attending school. In this period, the child is in the conflict of industry versus inferiority. The aim of this stage is to develop a sense of competence (Erikson 264-266). The fifth stage is the identity versus role confusion, which occurs when a person is about 13 years up to about 21 years of age. The stage starts when a person is at puberty when a person is facing adolescent crisis, which is characterized by identity crisis and confusion. It is during adolescence that a person develops a sense of self. However, it requires a lot of encouragement as well as reinforcement for one to develop a sense of self and independence. This stage is also very important and succeeding leads to development of a sense of capacity for fidelity. People who receive less or no encouragement are unsure about themselves and end up developing a sense of insecurity in addition to a feeling of confusion about their identity as well as the future (Erikson 264-266). The sixth stage is the intimacy versus isolation is the stage, which occurs when a person is between about 21 years to about 40 years of age. This is also known as the young adulthood stage and, a period when people explore on relationships. This stage is characterized by conflict between intimacies versus isolation. According to Erickson, it is very important for people to develop and commit to relationships. The stage is dependent on how well one coped with the previous stages. People with a strong sense of personal identity are more capable of developing intimate relationships while those with poor image of self are likely to isolate themselves and commit less t relationships. It is at this stage that one develops capacity for love or fails to do so depending on how one deal with the crisis (Erikson 265-267). The seventh stage is the generativity versus stagnation is the stage between 40 and about 60 years of age. This stage determines if one develops a sense of care toward others or not. According to Erikson “Generativity is primarily the concern for establishing and guiding the next generation” (Erikson 267) which when absent leads to personal stagnation. At this stage, the crisis over generativity versus stagnation may lead to escapism, which is characterized by activities such as abuse of drugs and episodic drinking as witnesses among many people in the age between 20 and 30. Additionally, some may engage in other infidelities that characterize the mid-life crisis (Erikson 267-268). The eight and last stage is the integrity versus despair occur when one is about 60 years old up to death. This stage is characterized by tendency to reflect back on one’s life. People who succeed in this stage feel that their life was fulfilled, are happy and proud, and look back at the past with few regrets. Such are the people who attain wisdom even at the time of their death. However, people who are unsuccessful in this stage fell as if their life was a waste and regret most of the things they did. Additionally, they have a lot of bitterness and desperation (Erickson Web). Comparison of Erikson’s Theory to Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory Piaget’s theory is another popular theory though is less widely recognized as compared to Erikson’s theory. Unlike Erikson’s theory which remains applicable, Piagets theory has face a lot of criticism. Piaget’s theory argues that children think and behave differently from adults. Additionally, the theory posits that one’s restraints or capacities are hard-wired at birth. However, this concept is criticized since other factors such as environment and culture have been proved to influence ones capability. Bothe Erikson and Piaget believe that different stages of growth are important in determining the kind of a person one develops into. Both agree that each stage of development is dependent on the previous one. Additionally, they agree that the experiences determines how well copes with everyday situations. Unlike Erikson’s theory that focuses on interpersonal relationship and their effect on an individual, Piaget’s theory concentrates on cognitive development that occurs in the different ages. Additionally, Piaget’s theory involves four stages as opposed to the eight stages in Erikson’s theory (StateUniversity.com Web). Works Cited Erickson, Erik. Theory of Psychosocial Development. 31 Jan 2012. Web. 21 Sep 2012. . Erikson, Erik. Childhood and Society, 2nd Ed. New York: Norton, 1993. Print. StateUniversity.com. Developmental Theory - Cognitive And Information Processing, Evolutionary Approach, Vygotskian Theory - Historical Overview. 2012. Web. 21 Sep 2012. . Read More