The Sixth Stage of Psychosocial Development, Intimacy vs. Isolation - Coursework Example

Personal Development PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Erik Erikson was a German-born psycho-analyst credited with the theory of human psychosocial development. His contributions to psychology with his developmental theory can be compared to Freud’s theory in their claims that the development of humans occurs in stages. However, while recognizing the fundamental concepts of Freud’s theory, he was of the opinion that the latter misjudged essential dimensions of development. While Freud contended that human personality is shaped by the time one is 5 years of age, Erikson posited that humans continue to develop over their entire lifespan (Newman & Newman, 2012). In his theory of psychosocial development, he proposed that the failures and achievements of humans in their earlier developmental stages had a significant influence on the latter stages. In addition, the latter stages also transform and modify earlier phases of development. He developed eight stages of human development, in which sexual, instinctual, cognitive, and physical changes come together to trigger internal crises. The ability of each individual to resolve the crises that results in either psychosocial growth or regression, as well as the development of particular virtues (Newman & Newman, 2012). This paper will seek to discuss the sixth stage of psychosocial development, intimacy vs. isolation, and the way it relates to my personal development. The psychosocial conflict to be discussed is intimacy vs. isolation, of which the major question that is asked in this stage is whether one will be loved or will be alone and the basic virtue to be developed is love. The most important event during this stage is romantic relationships. Being Erikson’s sixth stage in the psychosocial development theory, this phase occurs between the ages of nineteen and forty, which is young adulthood. In this time period, the fundamental conflict faced by the individual is centered on the formation of loving and intimate relationships with others (Newman & Newman, 2012). Although psychosocial development theory is posited as a neatly defined series of sequential steps, crucially, it is important to recognize the importance of the preceding stages on the next. For instance, full resolution of the earlier stage, identity vs. confusion, results in formation of a sense of self, which is essential in the formation of intimate relationships (Newman & Newman, 2012). On the other hand, individuals who are unable to resolve the fifth stage and have a poor sense of self, as a result, have difficulty in intimate relationship-formation, leading to less commitment in relationships. The overall result for this in the sixth stage may be depression, loneliness, and emotional isolation. Intimacy vs. isolation happens in early adulthood, therefore, on the successful completion of the identity vs. confusion stage. Individuals who fail to establish a secure self-identity will, according to the theory of psychosocial development, struggle to attain future intimacy in their relationships (Newman & Newman, 2012). The intimacy sought during this stage is related to both sexual and friendly relationships, meaning it is both sexual and intellectual in nature. Where an individual is unable to achieve intimacy in this stage, their relationships end up being transient and superficial, which eventually results in isolation, as well as the rejection of relationships that have the potential of intimacy. According to the theory as posited by Erikson, it is vital for the individual to develop a committed and close relationship with other people. The young adult must find a person outside of his or her own family as a life partner to share his/her life with. Failure to do this results in prospects of societal isolation. Intimacy, in this case, is referent to an individual’s capacity to take part in an affectionate, supportive relationship sans loss of their sense self (Newman & Newman, 2012). However, a poor sense of self-identity is only but one of the barriers to positively resolving the intimacy vs. isolation crisis. Misunderstandings that arise from differences related to sex in interaction can also be a significant factor. For women, unlike men, intimacy has to do with self-disclosure, while men do not accord importance to self-exposure in intimacy (Newman & Newman, 2012). Thus, as a consequence, most men end up being fulfilled in relationships that women perceive as being inadequate. Majority of adults end up succeeding in the formation of forms of close relationships. However, for people who fail to do so, the psychosocial development theory would appear to be accurate. These persons end up experiencing significantly more depression and isolation compared to the average adult, while also being at risk of suffering from various problems related to mental health. The conflict between intimacy and isolation gains emphasis by the time the individual is 30. While the fifth stage is coming to a conclusion, it will still linger as the foundation stage and young adults will still show eagerness to blend their self-identity with acquaintances and friends, especially as they still want to fit in (Newman & Newman, 2012). In fact, the theory also posits that some individuals face isolation because of intimacy. Individuals in this stage are afraid of being turned down, rejected, or breaking up with partners as they are familiar with the pain of rejection from the earlier stage. In deed, their egos are unable to bear the pain of rejection. It can be argued that intimacy comes with another counterpart in distantiation, which is the individual’s readiness to embrace isolation. In this case, where necessary, they will seek to destroy the links to individuals and forces whose essence appears to be dangerous to their own, as well as those whose territory appears to clash with the extent of their intimate relationships (Newman & Newman, 2012). Once the crisis of the fifth stage is completely resolved in favor of identity, mostly by the early 30s, then the individual is ready for long-term commitments that are reciprocal in nature. Thus, they are willing to make compromises and sacrifices required of intimate, reciprocal relationships. However, if the needs and ego of the individual are still too great and unresolved, they cannot form intimate, reciprocal relationships, and they are unable to compromise with other people, resulting in a sense of societal isolation. Erikson also contended that the ego and the body must be masters the modes of organs to face the fear that one may lose their organs in case they abandon themselves (Newman & Newman, 2012). Accordingly, the theory of psychosocial development as posited by Erikson believes that love is the virtuous outcome of successful completion of the intimacy vs. isolation developmental stage. This is because love requires an enhanced sense of connection with friends and partners in one’s life, while it also requires reciprocation and compromise. When the individual has a clear sense of their identity, they are no longer fearful of losing their identity as happens during the adolescent stage (Newman & Newman, 2012). A fear of commitment towards the tail end of the sixth developmental stage may be taken as a result of immaturity, although this may not always be obvious. Lack of successful resolution of the fifth stage manifests in the sixth stage by putting off the progress of one’s intimate relationships, such as contending that they will have families when they are stable or get married when they have a house of their own. However, young adults in this stage who have resolved the crisis in their earlier stage no longer need to prove themselves. While relationships in the earlier stage were an attempt at self-identity establishment by coupling, the relationships of young adult in the sixth stage is a matter of two different egos that aim at creating a relationship that is larger than their own self-identities (Newman & Newman, 2012). Successful negotiation of the intimacy vs. isolation stage will endow the individual with the virtue of love, which is also a psychosocial strength. In this context, love means the ability to get past antagonisms and differences by mutual devotion (Berk, 2010). While arriving at this stage, it seems that I have made quite a journey in order to get to the psychosocial strength of love. Love is a condition that many young adults like me yearns for and yet find difficult to do, especially because we rarely have time to develop to this point because of the direction of our focus towards cognitive development and physical growth as human beings. After this, it was only timely and appropriate that I turned to finding love, both romantically and friendly. Following the outline provided by Erikson in his theory, it seems that love is unattainable sans conscious completion of the earlier five stages (Berk, 2010). Thus, it is my belief that I have become a loving adult since I have first attained physical health and a healthy ego. I feel attached to Erikson’s theory because I have struggled with the dilemma of finding out who I am and whether I am worthy of my partner. During times when I have felt unworthy of love, as well as not knowing who I am, it has been a tendency of mine to isolate and shield myself from the world until it feels safe, much to the consternation of my partner. However, during this stage, I have also found the time for self-introspection, which was not possible during my earlier stages (Berk, 2010). During the first five stages, society and my parents were there to urge me to grow in a particular manner, offering help and advice, which gave the impression that I did not have the freedom to choose what I wanted. However, it dawned on me that I am on my own now, and those who attempted to influence my decisions no longer have much impact, while they are more likely to allow me make my decisions. In turn, I feel stronger in pursuing other relationships with little or no influence from others. There has already been formation of some self options and beliefs that have been attained by what I believe to be successful completion of the fifth stage and gaining a self-identity (Berk, 2010), which helps in evaluating what is happening in relationships with other people. During this stage, I felt that my inability or ability to keep my heart open was the primary goal in the formation of relationships. However, I dealt with several fears, which were part of the crisis and needed to be resolved for successful attainment of love (Berk, 2010). Now that I have more or less completed this stage, I understand that this fear took on numerous disguises as a misguided effort at self-protection. Some of these fears included the fear of being wrong or bad, being unworthy or unlovable, being incompetent, being insecure and unsafe, being in pain, and being manipulated. In addition, I also dealt with the fear of humiliation and abandonment, as well as the fear of being disconnected or shut out. However, by identifying my fears, I was able to analyze and take charge of them, taking more conscious actions, and being more open with others (Berk, 2010). The means I used were; identifying my core fears, learning to love myself, meditating and following spiritual guidance, being more social, volunteering, and reviewing my failed relationships to determine whether I was the offender or the victim. At the end of Erikson’s fifth stage, there was contention about who I was, and I wanted to separate myself from my siblings and parents, making the conscious decision to create a separate self-identity and find things I liked (Berk, 2010), such as sport, at which I excelled. As I entered the sixth stage, I had already begun to discover my personal, communal, and cultural identity as I joined High School. I completed college during this stage, found a career, and started a family of my own. I also discovered that I was changing cognitively, socio-emotionally, and physically and having to deal with the pressures of an adult life, which required that I choose between being intimate or isolated. My conscious choice was intimacy, especially because I knew who I was, leading to a search for more companions and individuals with a similar identity as my own (Berk, 2010). As an individual, I attempted to attain relationships that were mutually satisfying, especially through friendship and marriage, as well as to start a family and progress my career, all of which I have done. Reference Berk, L. E. (2010). Exploring lifespan development. Boston, Mass: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson. Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2012). Life-span development: A psychosocial approach. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Read More