Applying Psychological Theory to Write about One's Life - Essay Example

Understanding my past life experiences Abstract Erikson’s eight stage psychological development model can be used to assess the past life experiences of an individual. Each stage is associated with either positive or negative development outcomes. Positive outcomes lead to more satisfaction with life and better outcomes in the next development stage. The quality of parenting and the surrounding environment will influence the developmental outcomes. Understanding my past life experiences Introduction Erikson’s eight stages of psychological development theory can be used in assessing the past life experiences of an individual. The first stage is infancy (from birth to eighteen months). The second stage is development stages (one and half years to three years). The third stage is an early childhood stage (three years to five years) while the fourth stage is middle childhood (six years to puberty). The fifth stage is adolescent stage (10-20 years). The sixth stage of my life was early adulthood (20 to 30 years). The seventh stage of individual life is middle adulthood (40 to 50 years) while the last psychological development stage is late adulthood (60 years and above) (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). My first life experience was at my infancy stage. This stage is either characterized by trust or mistrust of the surrounding environment. The infant develops a belief that the caregiver and the surrounding environment should meet her or his social and physiological needs. The quality of childcare and relationship with a caregiver is important in ensuring trust. The child may either develop feelings of joy or even sadness and fear of environment depending on the provision of the needs (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). Personally, I trusted immediate environment and had feelings of physical comfort since my basic needs were adequately met. My parents provided me with enough warmth, comfort and food. My parents who acted as the caregiver’s were responsive to my needs and made me have an expectation of pleasant world in the future. I believe that if my caregiver’s failed in their responsibilities, I would now be viewing the world as an insecure place that is comprised of suspicion and frustrations (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). During my early childhood (between eighteen months and three years), I developed a sense of autonomy. According to Erikson’s model, this life stage experience is either characterized by autonomy or doubt. If the child trusts the environment, he develops a sense of self-control, but may also develop regrets for the inappropriate use of control (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). I started discovering the immediate environment on my own. I had basic confidence that I could try new things on my own. Although I had several internal struggles with my parents, they did not punish me harshly. My initial interest was playing with the family radio and was also interested in playing with the pet inside the house. I struggled with personal school and the need to separate from my caregiver. I was able to engage in imitations, draw objects and have mental imagination. I started mastering simple words and information communication such as use of gestures like head nods and waving hands. My parents encouraged me to play with things that were safe to me but discouraged me from walking to the nearby busy road alone. This is the period when I started feeding and washing myself. I received a lot of pleasure in destroying objects inside the house or even throwing objects to the rooftops. I finally developed a sense of autonomy, but I believe that if my parents were too restrictive and harsh I could have experienced shame and self-doubt (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). My early childhood years (between 3 to 5 years) were also characterized by imitativeness. The child will explore the surrounding environment through imitativeness and also experience guilt for wrong actions. I encountered a wide social environment include my peers at pre-school level. I had to assume more responsibilities and developed a sense of purpose that enabled me to control the surrounding environment (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). I was able to plan activities and make jokes with my peers. I could see my sense of accomplishment and developed some sense of guilt when I misbehaved as per my parents’ expectations. I felt part of the family and felt appreciated by the social world (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). The fourth stage of my psychological and life experiences was between middle to late childhood (6 years to 11 years). According to Erikson’s model, this stage is characterized by either industry or inferiority of the child. The child learns how to outperform peers either in education, jokes or school work. If the outcomes are poorly developed, the child will experience a sense of inferiority while interacting with peers. The neighborhood and school environment influences the outcomes of the social interactions such as hobbies and school work (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). I developed a deep sense of competence due to my excellent social skills and supportive learning environment. My life during this period was characterized by hard work. I moved to elementary school whereby my life was occupied with mastering knowledge and skills. I developed a sense of imagination in my classroom learning. My socializations with peers with peers at school made me develop my current sense of accomplishments, abilities and social skills. One of my hobbies was feeding the family pet. Due to my imagination and industry at that age, I believe I currently have a sense of academic accomplishments and social skills (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). At Adolescence stage (12 years to 18 years), my life experience at that stage also shaped my current life. According to Erikson’s model, the development outcomes lead to either development of identity or role confusion. The adolescent will have a deep sense of self, own thoughts and identical desires. The person identifies the social groups to identify with and thus to shun. This was a critical stage since I was involved in developing my unique identity. This entailed using my imagination to develop alternative solutions to problems. I successfully struggled with moral issues and social interactions in the society. This was the period that I started thinking of my future life in terms of my future career, my preferable relationships and even my future housing. I explored many possibilities on my future aspirations and finally formed an identity. For instance, I started setting my future career goals that include accomplishing a higher level of education and attaining a highly paying job. This is the period that I achieved an ego identity and avoided role confusion. I knew how I fit in the society and how other people of the society perceived me. For instance, I realized that I command a lot of respect and many of my family members had a lot of faith in my future career and wellbeing. I successfully negotiated through this stage through my unique identity since I committed to deep religious values and honesty (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). During my young adulthood (18 years to current age), I started sharing my intimate emotions with others. With a stable identity, I started searching for close intimate partners to share friendship, work and intimate feelings. I have been exploring meaningful relationships that will eventually lead to long time commitments. I believe that my successful completion of this life stage will lead to more comfortable relationship with a sense of safety, commitment and comfort. I am not afraid of commitment in a long term intimate relationship Since I have developed strong personal identity of my life, I am confident that I will develop a long term intimate relationship that is based on respect, honesty and shared values with my partner (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2012). Conclusion Today, I believe that my psychological development has been successful. I have a deep sense of trust on the surrounding environment and hope for a better future. I have a self-control and independent thinking. I take personal initiatives and industrious. My communication skills, social skills and interpersonal skills are well developed. I have a personal identity on my ideal lifestyle in the future including career aspirations and long term intimate relationships. I experienced permissive parenting since my parents placed few limits on my behavior and allowed me to experiment with the immediate environment. References: Kail, R.V & Cavanaugh, J.C. (2012). Human development: a life-span view. Belmont. Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Read More