Erik Erikson Personality Theory - Essay Example

Personality Theory Personality Theory I: Theory Erik Erikson developed his theory of development in the post-Freudian era. He developed his theory after a great inspiration from Sigmund Freud and his wife. This is evident from the stages of development that he highlighted in his theory, with many of them similar to what Freud had discussed previously. However, Erickson explored a different cause in psychology that focused on understanding the significance of the environment in an individual’s psychological development. This explains why other psychologists have viewed Erickson’s as a psychosocial theory of personality development. Erickson highlighted that each individual underwent eight different stages of development throughout the entire lifespan. He had the conviction that each of the stages had a form of conflict that needed addressing (Friedman & Schustack, 2010). Individuals who addressed the conflict in each stage successfully were able to resolve he crises in other stages, as they grew older. Notably, Erickson focused on describing how identity formation occurred in the different stages of development. The first stage that Erickson described was the trust versus mistrust stage. This occurs in children from birth to the age of two. According to Erickson, infants at this stage develop trust I the world depending on how people around the infant responded to his or her needs. For example, if the parents are considerate, and attentive to the needs of the infants, a level of trust is established. On the other hand, failing to give attention to the needs of an infant may cultivate feelings of isolation and abandonment. Consequently, this triggers the feelings of mistrust (Carducci, 2006). The level of trust developed by the infant depends on the environmental factors and the response of the caregivers to the needs of the infant. Erickson highlighted that infants who developed mistrust at this stage were unlikely to trust people in the future. They would spend their entire lives assuming that people were not sensitive to their needs and only wanted to exploit them. However, children who develop a sense of trust at this stage have more chances of resolving the crises in other stages. The second stage is autonomy versus shame (Friedman & Schustack, 2010). This occurs in children between the ages two and four. At this stage, a young child begins to use all the senses and develop a form of autonomy. In their bid to express autonomy, children may face barriers from parents or other adults. This causes them to experience a sense of shame. On the other hand, allowing a child to explore different feelings and understand the limits of autonomy may help them to handle the crisis positively. During this stage, children may express feelings such as anger or jealousy when denied the room to be autonomous. However, if parents are careful, they can help a child to make use of all the senses while remaining sensitive to behavioral expressions. This can help a child to resolve the crisis in this stage (Shaffer, 2009). The third stage occurs in the ages between four and six and the child faces initiative versus guild crisis. Children in this age exhibit a high level of creativity and those who succeed in negotiating the crisis are able to pursue their imaginations. However, some children only imagine things but lack the confidence to pursue them. Such children may face difficulties when handling other crises in future. Parents should ensure that they promote activities that encourage the creativity of children. The fourth stage is the industry versus inferiority crisis occurring between six and twelve years. During this stage, children understand the purpose of academic competence. The approval of parents on different types of competencies determines what children pursue in the future. When parents disprove of some competencies, feelings of inferiority emerge. Erickson highlighted that parents and other adults needed to maintain a sensitive balance in order to help children develop different types of competencies (Friedman & Schustack, 2010). The fifth stage occurs during adolescence where teenagers face the identity versus role confusion crisis. During this stage, adolescents need to explore the self and adopt personal beliefs and values that define the self. The value of role models to adolescents at this stage is critical. Adolescents who do not explore the self during this time face challenges in future stages of development. The sixth stage occurs between nineteen and twenty five years when adults face intimacy versus isolation crisis (Carducci, 2006). During this stage, adults seek an opportunity to develop intimate relationships and failure to get such opportunities may trigger the feelings of isolation. From ages twenty six to forty, the seventh stage occurs in which individuals face the generativity versus stagnation crisis. Many adults in this stage crave to generate themselves in different ways. Failure to achieve generativity results to stagnation. The final stage occurs after forty years. The success in all the other stages determines this stage (Friedman & Schustack, 2010). Individuals face the ego integrity versus despair crisis. The individuals who have succeeded in developing a sense of unity within the self are likely to exhibit contentment while the others exhibit despair. II: My Personality Evidently, I have undergone most of the stages described by Erickson in his theory. My parents were committed to giving me a decent upbringing and allowed me to explore the opportunities presented by childhood. This means that I had the opportunity of developing trust in the world at a tender age. My mother encouraged autonomy since I was a little child. This explains why I had remained highly creative because I was able to negotiate the three critical stages that define early childhood successfully (Shaffer, 2009). In my early school days, I learned the value of being industrious. My mother encouraged me to develop a wide range of competencies, which she approved gladly. This explains why I was an outstanding student in my junior school years. I developed a range of different skills and a measure of self-confidence that has kept me going over the years. However, I remember an instance when I felt inferior because my parents did not approve of my intention to pursue a musical career from an early age. This explains why I did not get into music in my older years (Friedman & Schustack, 2010). Adolescence was the most critical part of my life. As a female, developing identity proved to be a challenge. There were many days when I felt lost and could not understand who exactly I was. However, at the age of sixteen, I finally explored the self and understood what I stood for and what I wanted to be in the future. In my opinion, the successful handling of the crisis in this stage determined the outcome of other stages. This explains why I was able to develop an intimate relationship that led to marriage in the years that followed. This means that I succeeded in resolving the crisis in the sixth stage described by Erickson. Currently, I am focusing on generativity because I am in the seventh stage of development. My priority now is my family and not myself. After successful resolution of the crises in all other stages, I am in a position to guide my children through positive development. Just as Erickson described, the successful recognition of each stage determines the outcome of other stages in the future. As mentioned above, adolescence was the most critical stage for me and resolving the identity versus role confusion crisis was a major milestone (Friedman & Schustack, 2010). III: Theory Limitations Erickson sought to develop a theory that would explain the role of the environment in negotiating different stages throughout the lifespan. However, it appears that Erickson gave more attention to infancy and childhood and described the crises in these stages in depth. However, the stages that define the crises in adult life did not receive much attention. This means that the theory is more applicable in understanding infancy and childhood (Carducci, 2006). The problem of giving minimal attention to adult life leaves a gap in understanding development. This is because many adults face numerous crises that determine their personality. Moreover, many psychologists opine that Erickson’s theory of development is more applicable to boys. The crises given attention in each stage are typical to a boy’s development. This means that it may be more challenging in applying the theory to the development of girls (Friedman & Schustack, 2010). In addition, Erickson’s theory may not apply to some adults who rediscover themselves during adulthood after different experiences. None of the stages in his theory presented such a possibility. However, there is evidence that individuals may undergo self-discovery in later stages, which alters their personality. This is irrespective of the positive negotiation of earlier stages (Shaffer, 2009). References Carducci, B. J. (2006). The psychology of personality. Oxford: Blackwell. Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2010). Personality: Classic theories and modern research. Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon. Shaffer, D. R. (2009). Social and personality development. Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Read More