Eric Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development - Essay Example

Eric Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Autonomy versus shame This is the second stage in a child development. It is mostly evident in the second year when a child starts showing some sense of identity. The stage comes with a lot of learning and self discovery. The child learns how to walk, talk, and for some to even feeding themselves. The child thus develops a sense of independence. The will to be autonomous grows to a point where it may develop conflict between the child and the parent or caregiver (Slee 228).

This happens when the child fights for separateness and the parent or caregiver restrain them. At this stage, the child feels that their needs are not fully met. Through experience, they start making choices in wat they want and refuse to take what they are offered. It is therefore the responsibility of the parents or caregivers to realize when this stage comes in order to give the toddlers a chance to explore. The parent should avoid being strict to the child in order to create room for growth into self-dependence.

However, giving a child an opportunity to be autonomous does not mean neglecting the duty of guiding and protecting children. For example at this stage, a toddler insist on doing certain things like playing in the mud, for some, jumping from a point higher, putting on cloths, and even saying no to things they should be doing like eating. The parent or caregiver has the responsibility of correcting the toddler in a friendly and yet firm manner (Newman et al. 223). This is to assist the child in setting the guidelines on what is acceptable and what is not.

The correction should be done in a way that still allows the child a chance to make choices and express him or herself freely. Studies have shown that restraining a child from making individual choices create doubts and level of consciousness. The consciousness develops into shame, which is an emotional attachment that makes somebody identify him or herself as imperfect or improper. Shame makes the toddler have a self-defeatist attitude, which leaves him or her emotionally injured. The child develops an inner fear of trying something since he or she is not sure of the parent’s reaction.

They are afraid of making mistakes hence always trying to avoid to engage in situations that may cause them shame. Toddlers who have been through an embarrassing situation are more prone to shame especially if they take it upon themselves to have caused the embarrassment. For example, a child who have gone through a tough toileting learning session may feel a shamed of even asking for assistance when such urge come. The toddler is a shamed of going through the process especially if an adult mentioned it as dirty thing to do.

Shame makes a child to wish that they stay in hiding as a way of avoiding situations that cause embarrassment to them. In conclusion, there exists an empirical relationship between shame and autonomy. Most of the times, children are innocent and quite unaware of the dangers involved in their actions when seeking for autonomy. For example, insisting on playing with water may be an innocent fight for autonomy but it is not right. Therefore, parents and caregivers play a major role in the autonomy versus shame stage.

When a child gets to that stage, they should be allowed to express themselves and when correction is necessary, it should be done with a lot of caution. When children engage in positive tasks like putting on pajamas, they should be encouraged to be doing that more often. A child should be allowed to enjoy their autonomy though with a lot of caution to avoid cases of accidents and later development of shame that develops unconsciously. Intimacy versus isolation Intimacy refers to an interpersonal and close relationship between two or more people who have similar goals and interests.

Intimacy pertains to affections shared between people who are familiar with one another. It is the sixth stage of psychosocial development with young adults contributing the highest number of membership. The stage requires one to have an identity to be able to trust others. Isolation means any form of separation from either the rest of the universe, finances family members or the society, as may be the case in confinements (Newman et al. 467). A person may choose to avoid any form of contact with the society especially after a traumatizing event or occurrence in life.

Regardless of the cause of isolation, long spells of isolation may lead to loneliness, which may in turn lead to other social defections associated with the same another. While intimacy requires one to be able to reveal him or herself freely to another person, isolation hinders an individual from doing so. The intimate person has genuine concerns about another person while the isolated person thinks of himself or herself alone (Steinberg 438). Isolation is often characterized by forgetfulness, anxiety, delirium, and aggressiveness.

Many social isolated individuals are vulnerable to higher risk of alcoholism and suicide (Pompili 8). While toddlers will choose to remain quite after having developed isolation character from experience, teenagers and adults take action. People in isolation feel locked out from sharing their issues hence opt to keep quite. Most children cry when they need help. They find it hard to speak out their feelings. However, this is the opposite with toddlers brought up in an intimate family. Many of them have a high self-esteem that allows them to express themselves regardless of who is around.

Such children are responsive when called and sent somewhere. They enjoy being in the company of other people than being alone. In conclusion, intimacy and isolations are opposite of each other. They both direct different individuals to behave differently. A person with an experience in intimacy behaves more freely than one who has suffered isolation. Therefore, for any society to enjoy social, political and economic freedoms and gains, it is important to avoid any actions, which may lead to isolation and rather focus on improving intimacy or integrations.

Works Cited Newman, Barbara M., et al. Isolation and Development through Life: A Psychological Approach. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Pampili, Maurizio. Suicide Risk in Schizopherenia: Larning from the past to Change the future. Annals of General Psychiatry, 6:10, 2007. Print. Slee, Phillip T. Child, Adolescent and Family Development. Cambridge University Press. Print. Steinberg, Laurence, D. Life-Span Development: Infancy through Adulthood. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.