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Erikson Paper

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Erikson Paper

Katherine Rochholz

Psy-190–1A-77 General Psychology

Dr. Chelsea Hansen

October 2nd, 2021

Abstract

Erickson theory of development is the division of the life of a human into eight stages, from infant to older adult. Within in stage there are events or milestones that should occur. Each stage in life has its own social and emotional conflicts, which can affect the way a person views and lives their lives. This paper is about each stage and how each stage can affect a person’s life, and which stage may have the most effect on the outcome of how one lives their lives.

Erikson Paper

Erik Erikson had taken the human life and divided the periods into eight specific periods, or stages (Klatt 2014). These stages are Infant, Toddler, Preschool Child, Preadolescent, Adolescent, Young Adult, Middle Adult, and Older Adult. Within each part of a person’s life, specific events should happen and tasks to master (Klatt 2014). If these tasks are not completed within that stage, significant consequences will carry on to all the remaining stages and affect the quality of life.

Infant

The infant stage is from birth to age one. The infant stage to stage one is essential to trust versus mistrust (Kalat 2014, p. 163). Attachments are essential to human life, and this all starts in the infant stage. John Bowlby proposed that infants who have strong attachments in infancy have a sense of security and safety than those who have no strong attachments in infancy. In fact, without solid attachments in this stage, it can cause issues with developing any close relationship at all in the future (Kalat 2014, p.164).

Research done by Mary Ainsworth measures this attachment in Strange Situation; an infant and their mother went into a room, then a stranger enters, the mother leaves, the mother then returns, the stranger and mother leaves, then the stranger comes back first followed by the mother. Infants securely attached would use the mother as a base; they would show her toys and coo at her, and when she left, she showed only some distress briefly, but when she comes back, she is excited and runs up to her. If the child has anxious attachment, they will cling to their mother, and the attitude towards her is a mix of happy and angry. The child will show an intense fear of strangers and cling to the mother. Those with an avoidant attachment will not stay with the mother, do not interact with her, and go to her when she comes back. An infant with disorganized attachment never notices their mother or even covering their face when approaching or lies on the floor; and shows more fear than attachment (Kalat 2014, 164). The Still-Face Paradigm has a child interact with the child and then goes unresponsive; a child that still looks at the parent with little distress tends to be securely attached.

One reason for the variance in attachment is their temperament. A person’s temperament is typically consistent throughout life. The other is how responsive the parents were to the child’s needs, did they hold them, paid attention, played with them, and making facial expressions (Kalat 2014, p.164). Where if there is abuse during this time frame, not only does it affect the infant physically, but it will affect how they form attachments all through adult life. They may withdraw from social interactions altogether. They may have feelings of being worthless and not be able to trust through their whole life. With no secure attachment, which is not present in abuse, they will have more problems forming long-lasting relationships (Kalat 2014, p. 164).

When they are neglected and abused, infants start to learn mistrust and that people may not always be around for them when they need them. If not taught how to trust, mistrust in this stage could prevent them from growing up with a positive self-image and thus prevent them from having a loving and supportive relationship when they are older (Oswalt, 2021).

Toddler

The toddler phase is generally accepted as ages one through three. This stage is the autonomy versus shame and doubt stage of development (Kalat 2014, p. 163). In this stage, it is important to start gaining personal independence and control. The child can start doing small things for themselves and gain confidence in their abilities (Cherry 2021). This stage is when people will start to build their self-esteem. There are essential steps in this stage, such as toilet training; this is a significant step in this stage as it is learning to control one’s own body. Learning to control one’s own body will build that confidence and self-esteem, whereas if they do not learn in this stage, it can make them dependent upon their caregivers, and they may not gain the confidence to trust their own choices in the future. Other events include making food choices, choices in clothing, and choices in their toys.

Most children will want to be independent and choose what they wear, what they eat, and what toy they want to play with at the time. Those who are not given this choice, instead of through neglect, abuse, or control, will be left with feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy throughout their life (Cherry 2021). If the child is forced to learn shame and doubt, they will start thinking they cannot make choices, cannot do everyday tasks, and start to even see themselves as ‘stupid.’ (Oswalt 2021).

Preschool Child

The preschool child is from age three to age six — this is the initiative versus guilt stage in development (Kalat 2014, p. 163). Children continue to develop their self-concept; they gain a desire to learn new things and learn that they are responsible for their actions to an extent. If given the room to experiment and the materials they want to learn, they will continue to seek and find their purpose. But if this initiative nature is not nurtured, children will learn to feel guilt over not completing the tasks assigned to them to perfection (Oswalt 2021).

By allowing a child to have power over themselves, make their own choices, and explore their abilities, they can develop ambition and the drive to achieve this ambition. In this stage, children assert control and power by taking the initiative to plan an activity, complete a task, or even face age-appropriate chores. The caregivers should give encouragement to make choices and learn, but if they fail to do so or are dismissive, the child may feel shame and develop a habit of being dependent upon others to help them. Yes, the child must have boundaries and help make good choices, but the important part is allowing the child to learn and make their own choices. They typically start to bring in imagination and role-play at this stage, such as playing house or dressing up. If this is discouraged by the caregivers, the child may believe these activities are a source of embarrassment and destroy their self-image. Also, if the child is not allowed to make these choices and explore, they may grow up to fear trying different things, or when they try something new, they may constantly fear they are making mistakes and doing something wrong (Cherry 2021).

Mistakes happen, but they need to be encouraged to try again and grow. If bombarded with abuse, such as verbal or mental abuse, being told they are doing everything wrong, they will instead develop guilt and a sense they are bad, which will follow them for the rest of their lives (Cherry 2021).

Preadolescent

Preadolescent is from age six to age twelve. This is the stage of industry versus inferiority, or how worthy they feel in their life (Kalat 2014, p. 163). In this stage, the child’s world tends to grow; they will have more social interactions as they are now of school age. They will gain new friendships, and they will start to take pride in their talents. They will do this through learning, creating, and experimenting. But again, if there is negativity towards their talents, they will feel inferior among their peers and feel inadequate; this will follow them through the rest of the stages. This stage moves from family and their caregivers as their primary form of contact to peers and society. Some of the most significant factors in this stage will be the friends and classmates of the child and how they treat the child. If allowed to develop their talents and to learn with no negative feedback, they will gain pride and competence, which will lead to a solid self-concept. However, if they experience bullying and feel as if they are not good enough, they will feel inadequate and quit going after their dream of building their talents. Most children participate in events and activities in this stage because they enjoy them and receive that feedback and attention. And when in school, they are encouraged to pay attention to the quality of their work, especially as they are given more complex tasks and many more new skills to discover. If not encourage, they will doubt themselves and may not think they can ever become successful, but if given that encouragement, they will continue to strive towards their best. Struggling with school may cause them to feel inferior, but given the right encouragement and support, they can overcome this feeling of inadequacy (Cherry, 2021).

There needs to be a balance, of course. Constructive criticism, not overpraising a child, and encouraging the efforts rather than the outcome. This balance will create a growth mindset in the child and continue to help them in their accomplishments through the years (Cherry, 2021).

Adolescent

The adolescent would be early teen years. This stage is identity versus role confusion. This stage is where people start to question exactly who they are in this life (Kalat 2014, p.163).

In this stage, puberty starts, and with puberty, sexual interests and maturity begin to grow. Most teens will enter peer relationships, and they will be the relationships that are critical for development during these years (Kalat 2014, p. 165). This age is also a time of risk-taking behavior. They know the dangers as well as any adult, so why take risks? Most of the time, they will not take the risk, but at this age, people are more impulsive, and that may be because the prefrontal cortex, which helps inhibit us from making impulsive choices, is slow to mature (Kalat 2014, p. 166).

Adolescence is, as described by Erikson, a time to find yourself. People go through an identity crisis at this age because it is an emotional and stressful time for people. Those who have not given thought to their sense of self are said to have identity diffusion; this is common among those with low self-esteem and a low sense of worth. If the teen is thinking about their identity but has made no choices, they are in an identity moratorium. Then those who have been told their life path, for example, a teen that was told they are going into the family business and have resigned themselves to that fact with no thought, is said to be in identity foreclosure. Those who explore and come up with their identity are in identity achievement, that does not mean everything is final; they may have said they would be a lawyer but change their minds when they go off to college (Kalat 2014, p. 166).

The search for identity is where if the previous stages were unsuccessful, they might not find their identity. If they cannot explore as children, they may be in identity foreclosure because their parents groomed them to take over the business. Suppose they are not allowed to explore and find themselves in this stage. In that case, they may always feel confused about who they are and end up going from one job to another or one relationship to another and feeling confused and disappointed about their place in life (Cherry 2021).

To be successful in this stage, teens need to commit to their identity or setting goals like a career path, style, or sexuality. They need to have self-confidence, a sense of independence, and fidelity. In short, they need encouragement, they need genuine relationships, and they need to be able to make their own choices and be themselves without fear of repercussions. And the people who play the most significant roles in making sure they develop their identity are their family and friends. Still, social groups, society, and even pop culture all play vital roles in forming their identity or causing role confusion (Cherry 2021).

With role confusion, there can be significant consequences to the teen’s life in the future from commitment issues, issues with health, both mental and physical, a weak sense of self, and no confidence to stand up and make the changes needed in their lives. To overcome these, they need to play to their strengths, develop their talent, try new things, make goals and keep them, participate in activities, join clubs, and get out into society (Cherry 2021).

Then there is the personal fable, which states, “I am special- what is true for everyone else is not true for me (Kalat 2014, p.167).” This fable is not unique to teenagers and will typically follow into adult life.

Young Adult

From late teens to early twenties, this stage is considered the young adult stage, some sources state this stage can go even to the time the person is forty (Cherry 2021). Or this is the stage of intimacy versus isolation (Kalat 2014, p. 163).

Intimacy is essential to the emotional well-being of people. Intimacy is often associated with sex, but it is more than that; it is closeness, honestly, and love. Yes, romantic relationships are meaningful during this time, but so are close friendships with people outside the immediate family. Being successful in this stage will allow a person to have successful romantic relationships, meaningful friendships, connections with people, and positive relationships with family and friends. Allowing intimacy will build a solid social network, which is needed for support and physical and mental health (Cherry 2021).

To gain this level of intimacy, a person must share parts of themselves with people and then reciprocate, allowing others to share pieces of their lives with them. Connecting with other people does not always go quickly, a person can be rejected and cause them to withdraw, and if they had problems in other stages of life, it could cause them to go into isolation. That rejection may harm their self-image and cause them to put up walls against future attempts of connection (Cherry 2021).

Isolation would have many factors, including abuse or neglect as a child, divorce, or death of a partner, just a fear of intimacy, and past relationships that did not work out. It does not matter the factor that caused the isolation, and it can hurt life and cause loneliness and depression. Those who struggle with isolation have almost no friendships, no intimacy, and a weak social support system, which is very important in life. And this can lead to physical illness such as substance abuse, heart disease, stress, and even cause self-harm. Everything in life leads up to how a person is later in life and making the best choices for the person early on can help prevent heartache in the future (Cherry 2021).

Middle Adult

This stage is the rest of the years from the exciting young adult stage to their retirement age, at this time considered between ages sixty-two and sixty-seven, based upon multiple criteria (SSA 2021). This stage is generativity versus stagnation, where the main concern is what will one achieve or contribute to the world and if they will be successful (Kalat 2014, p. 167). During this time, the years start to blend, where teens and children know exactly how to hold them; adults have to stop and think about the answer. There are changes during this time, but they are all self-initiated, for example, getting married, starting a career, or even buying a house (Kalat 2014, p. 167). People go through a midlife transition or reassessing their life and where they want it to go. People who go through a midlife transition reevaluate their goals made in early adulthood, and some find themselves changing paths, such as going back to school, changing career paths, and moving to a new state (Kalat 2014, p. 167).

Generativity has vital characteristics that include committing to others, having a good relationship with family, mentoring others, and contributing to society (Cherry 2021). Where stagnation is the opposite, these people tend to be egocentric, fear commitment, are not productive. They take no steps to improve themselves — being successful in this stage results in having healthier habits, having a positive social network, including being more active in the community, being more productive, and finding more fulfillment in life. Those who fall into stagnation tend to have worse health, unhealthy relationships, and discontent with life (Cherry 2021).

The difference between this stage and earlier stages is that critical events in this stage are not age-specific; they can happen at any time, from the start of the stage to the end of the stage (Kalat 2014 p. 167). The difference between generativity versus stagnation depends upon one’s pride in their family and children or career as an adult. Also, it depends upon the feeling of being included, being a part of a community, contributing to the next generation, helping where one can make the world a better place, and having a productive social network.

As with any stage before this, if something was missing in a previous stage, it will affect this stage. A lot of it comes back down to the trust versus mistrust stage of childhood, where if one does not learn the balance of trust and mistrust, they may end up not being able to maintain the family relationships they desire. Adults must take responsibility for their choices, and if they do not learn to make good choices in the preschool stage of life, this will follow into their adult life of being dependent upon others to help make choices. (Cherry 2021).

To be successful in the stage, people tend to be part of a community, take responsibility for their own choices, share their knowledge, and volunteer in their community-building their social network. If someone suffers from stagnation, they can get involved in something new, take up a new hobby, or even take a new path that will challenge them and provide them with a new source of motivation (Cherry 2021).

Older Adult

Older adult is the stage after retirement, again which can vary based upon the individual. The last stage is ego integrity versus despair or the difference between feeling satisfied and not satisfied with their life. Older people tend to focus more on their family as they reach this stage in life, and their satisfaction level in life depends on how well they were successful in the other stages of life. Even if a person has lost some control of their life, for example, someone now lives in a nursing home after running a business for fifty years, making sure that they have some choices and responsibilities, lead to them being healthier, more satisfied, and having a better memory (Kalat 2014, p. 168).

When thinking of satisfaction with their life, they accept that life is coming to an end; they feel accomplished, do not have many regrets, and are at peace. But if they are unsatisfied with their life, they are bitter the end is coming, fear death, have many regrets, and keep reminiscing on those regrets. They feel their life was wasted and fall into a sense of hopelessness and depression. Rather than dealing with integrity or despair, the person is coming face to face with their mortality. It is generally triggered by retirement, loss of family and friends, or even falling ill with a terminal illness (Cherry 2021).

The benefits of having a successful life at this stage are a sense of peace, acceptance, and fulfillment. People who gain ego integrity tend not to fear death as they feel peace and are satisfied with the life they have lived. They had a social support system, fulfilling relationships, family, achieving their goals with their professional life, and feel they have contributed to society. Whereas those who fall into despair tend to fall into depression, fear death, focus on their regrets and feel no satisfaction in the life they have lived. People who start to feel despair in their life can look at improving their life by reaching out to others, start to look at the positive events in their life, try something new, perhaps even look into exploring their spirituality, and, of course, as with anybody with depressive feelings, seek help, through a social network or professional help (Cherry 2021).

In conclusion, the stages of life all have opportunities to affect the person’s life either positively or negatively. It all goes back to that first, most crucial stage, where we build trust or mistrust of the people in our life. If we do not learn the balance of trust and mistrust, we will not allow the person to have a healthy sense of gaining independence. If a person does not gain a sense of independence going into the third stage, they will not be able to gain a sense of self or make healthy choices. If they do not learn to make healthy choices in the third stage, they will not find their worth during stage four. With no self-worth gained in stage four, going into the fifth stage, they may not find their own identity. Without a solid self-identity going into stage six, they may not form close intimate relationships with other people. With the fear of commitment going into stage seven, they may not contribute to society and find fulfillment in the family, leading to the last stage of feeling unsatisfied with their lives. And it all goes back to the most critical stage, of trust versus mistrust as an infant.

References

Cherry, K. (2021, July 18). Understanding Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development.

Verywell Mind. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from

Kalat, James W. (2014). Introduction to Psychology.: Cengage Learning 337–410

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