HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

14 Sep 2015 

Contributed by: Angelika Martorillas

“Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If  life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired.”
- Erik Erikson

”Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory”

Erik Erikson’s life and theories:

• Erik Erikson was born June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany.
• He died May 12, 1994.

Erik Erikson’s stage theory of psychosocial development generated interest and research on human development through the lifespan, he became one of the most famous and influential thinkers of the twentieth century. He is best known for his well-known psychosocial theory of development and for coining the term identity crisis. In addition to holding teaching positions at Harvard, the University of California-Berkeley, and Yale, he also wrote a number of popular books including The Life Cycle Completed and Identity: Youth and Crisis. In psychosocial development here’s a broad introduction to the main features of Erikson’s model. Erikson’s psychosocial theory essentially states that each person experiences eight ‘psychosocial crisis’ (internal conflicts linked to life’s key stages) which help to define his or her growth and personality.Each stage is centered on a conflict that must be resolved. Learn more about the important events in each stage and the potential outcomes of succeeding or failing to resolve these conflicts.

Stage 1: Infancy (birth to 18 months) Basic Conflict: Trust vs. Mistrust   Important Events: Feeding Outcome: Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust.

Stage 2: Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) Basic Conflict: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Important Events: Toilet Training Outcome: Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt.

Stage 3: Preschool (3 to 5 years) Basic Conflict: Initiative vs. Guilt Important Events: Exploration Outcome: Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.

Stage 4: School Age (6 to 11 years) Basic Conflict: Industry vs. Inferiority Important Events: School Outcome: Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.

Stage 5: Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Basic Conflict: Identity vs. Role Confusion Important Events: Social Relationships Outcome: Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.

Stage 6: Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) Basic Conflict: Intimacy vs. Isolation Important Events: Relationships Outcome: Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.

Stage 7: Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) Basic Conflict: Generativity vs. Stagnation Important Events: Parenting Outcome: Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world.

Stage 8: Maturity(65 to death) Basic Conflict: Ego Integrity vs. Despair Important Events: Reflection on life Outcome: Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair.

This theory looks at the impact of parents and society on personality development from childhood to adulthood.Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development can be applied to many aspect of life, such as eating habits. His different stages correspond with the different stages in the development of eating habits. During the first stage, which is Trust vs. Distrust, children must be fed by there parents. It is important that parents feed their children only when they are hungry, and to do so in a cool, comfortable environment. By doing this, the child develops a sense of trust toward their adult. In the Autonomy Vs. Shame and Doubt stage, children acquire a greater sense of self control. Children should be allowed to attempt to feed themselves, regardless of whether they make a mess.

They may refuse a food, or attempt to combine them, and should not be discouraged. As they grow, the toddlers enter the Initiative Vs. Guilt Stage. As its name state, kids began to take more initiative. They will begin to try new foods, serving themselves, and deciding whether they are full. Finally, children enter the last stage that is related to eating habits, which is the Industry Vs. Inferiority Stage. Adolescents feel capable of fulfilling their own needs. They can discern whether they are hungry, and satisfy themselves. Kids can begin assisting in the formation of menus and can even help prepare foods. The development of eating habits in young men and women can be traced using  Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development.

References:
“Psychology – Article.” Psychology – Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. Web. 09 Nov. 2010.

Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.

Each person has to pass through a series of eight interrelated stages over his entire life cycle.Crises are seen as decisive turning points of increased vulnerability or strength to function effectively. However, Erikson did not imply that any manifestation of potentially dangerous traits is undesirable but that when the negative far outweighs the positive, then difficulties in development arise.