Erik Erikson Stages of Development By Jess H-E, Jess M, Shrimp and Lindsay.

Erik Erikson Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany in He moved to America in 1933 where he taught at Harvard and Yale universities. Erikson published his first book in 1950 called Childhood and Society. He died on May at the age of 91 from natural causes.

How It Began Interest in the development of human emotions began in his childhood. He studied psychoanalysis. Began his theory of emotional development based on the findings of Sigmund. Erikson decided to develop the findings of Freud from his five stages into eight stages

Stage 1- Infancy (birth – 18 months) Also known as the “oral stage” (as babies tend to test the world by putting everything in their mouth) a person will learn to trust the world and develop confidence that life will be ok in the future. Our maternal carer is the most vital person at this stage.

Stage 2- Early childhood (18 months-3 years) This stage is where we learnt the basic motor skills of life such as walking and talking. Particularly throughout the “terrible two’s”, individuals learn assertiveness through the power of “no”. This is also where self-esteem is developed e.g. if a child fails at toilet training they may feel shame and lower self-esteem. Parents or caregivers are the most important people at this stage.

Stage 3- Play Age (3-5 years) This stage involves imitation and games where young children copy the world around them. Playing with dolls, pretending to be doctors or firemen or gardeners helps them to understand their world and helps them understand what it is to be an adult. This is also the stage where children begin to question the world around them and seek understanding for common everyday events, using the question “why?”.

Stage 4- School Age (6-12 years) This stage may be referred to as latency, and is where we develop our knowledge, our world expands and we realise that parents are not the absolute authority. School and education becomes very important and we learn many new skills.

Stage 5- Adolescence (12 to 18 years) The development of a person in this stage now depends on what we do and not what is done. You start to find your own identity and learn to interact and socialise with others. This stage is also where we develop a philosophy of life.

Stage 6- Young Adulthood (18 to 35) This is the stage where we seek companions and love. It is usually the time when one begins to start a family and gets married

Stage 7- Middle Adulthood (35-55 or 65) This is the stage where we focus most on our family and professional life; focussing on creativity and advancement in our professional life. We focus predominantly on raising our children and teaching them values. We also fear inactivity and any feeling of uselessness. The most important relationships are that within the workplace and within our family.

Stage 8- Late Adulthood (55 or 65-death) This is the stage where we recover from the middle adulthood stage and reflect on our accomplishment throughout our life. We may feel content with what we have achieved and view death as a completion to a successful life. However, others may spend this period of their lives in depression and despair, recalling their past failures and fearing death as they struggle to find a purpose to their existence.

Illustrative Example of Each Stage

Stage 1- Infancy: Trust vs. Mistrust In the Infancy stage, a baby would develop trust with a big dependence on the main caregiver. If they experience too much anger, they will develop mistrust in the world around them.

Stage 2- Early Childhood: Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt In the Early Childhood stage, a toddler develops new skills and explores the world

Stage 3- Childhood: Initiative vs. Guilt In this stage, a child’s cognitive ability would be developed enough for them to realise the differences between right and wrong, and develop a plan.

Stage 4- Middle Childhood: Industry vs. Inferiority. A child would be attaining skills in reading, writing and social skills. Also a sense of identity would be developed.

Stage 5- Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion Typical adolescent is figuring out who they are, and what they want from life, trying to achieve a sense of identity.

Stage 6- Young Adulthood: Intimacy vs. Isolation Young adults tend to move into relationships, many intimate. Identities are formed.

Stage 7- Middle Adulthood: Generativity vs. Stagnation Children are a main focus of many in this development stage, whether to reproduce or not. They are also more aware of society around them.

Stage 8- Seniors: Integrity vs. Despair As a senior citizen, one would begin to question their lives, if they have lived full ones. Wisdom is a common trait but a feeling of dissatisfaction can lead to depression.

Critique The Theory Erikson’s “Stages of Psychosocial development” is a seemingly accurate portrayal of the human life and social developments, although it would not apply to all people as no one is the same

Pro’s Gives an accurate portrayal of human actions and social behaviour Assists in the understanding of people’s mentalities in different life stages. Establishes the different life stages to the general public

Con’s Generalizes people Certain stages only apply to certain cultures (e.g. adolescence) Overly simplified, could have been created by anyone, seems like general knowledge

How Has It Contributed To Our Understanding? Erikson’s theory has contributed to our understanding of the development of personal and social identity as it has explained to us the clear stages of life, and helped us recognize the traits shown by these life stages. He was the first to recognize the life stage of adolescence, which we are all experiencing right now.

Bibliography Kremitz, Jill Erik Erikson: Father of Psychosocial Development, Accessed 23.3 Average utility, questionable bias Author Unknown, Erik Erikson Accessed 23.3, questionable reliability, as wiki, reasonably useful. Chapman, Alan Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory Accessed 23.3, very reliable and useful, long passages with concise information. Bias can be questioned. Harder, Arlene F, The Development Stages of Erikson Accessed 23.3 It was written by a doctor, so it assumed to be accurate. Was also very useful Author Unknown, The Psychosocial Stages Accessed 23.3 Very useful, no hint of bias, validity seems okay Author Unknown, Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial development Accessed , validity and bias can be questioned as it came off Wikipedia, but was quite useful