Erikson 8 Stages 1

Alex Spasov
Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development
According to Eric Erikson, there are eight different convivial stages a person must go through as they mature. Each stage has a positive characteristic and a negative characteristic. If positive characteristics are consummated then their future will look good. So to what extent can the lack of reinforcement to the positive characteristics of Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development effect you? The effects can be quite horrifying. Especially if all of the stages the only characteristics consummated are the negative aspects. (Myers)
Erikson’s first stage was trust verses mistrust and it occurred from zero to 18 months of age. “Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust” (About.com). Erikson believed this was the most paramount period in a person’s life. Since a baby depends entirely on his/her parents, the care giving plays a consequential role in the shaping of this stage. If the child prosperously develops trust then the child will feel safe and secure in the world, but the lack can lead to mental conceptions of an inconsistently erratic and capricious world. In the business world, the lack of trust can engender a whole incipient quandary. (Myers) The second stage is autonomy verses shame and doubt. This occurs from about 18 months of age to 3 years old. The rudimentary virtue of this stage is will; can they do things on their own or do they require the avail of others? Erikson believed that children around this age wanted to develop a more preponderant sense of self-control. It is paramount so gain personal control, and it’s vital to this stage. Toilet training is the key in this role because it gives the sense of control over the body and a feeling of independence. If one was to achieve autonomy then they would have a feeling of confidence, but if those that don’t achieve autonomy doubt their own abilities and have a sense of inadequacy. The effects of autonomy can withal come back and haunt a person an adult, even if they achieved it as a child. One of the most mundane scenarios would be when someone works for a company and their authoritative figure does not sanction them to take pride in their work or make decision by themselves. This lack in autonomy that is coerced upon them is one of the most mundane reasons why a person leaves their job. (Myers)
Initiative versus guilt is the third stage of psychosocial development. It’s around three to six years of age when this role must be established. The goal is to establish purport and it’s achieved through exploration and play. Children commence to affirm their puissance over the world through interaction between people and play. They assert control over their environment and they endeavor to take control of their lives by orchestrating activities, doing different assignments and taking on different challenges. Imagination plays a paramount role because it emboldens the liberation to do what they opiate and take the initiative of their lives. When the child is not given the chance to play or explore, or is ceased while playing or taking the initiative, they interpret their actions as a point of mortification and in turn don’t act upon their imagination. (Myers)
In Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, industry versus inferiority is the fourth one. Around the ages of six to eleven a person will be asking them self, How can I be good? The child must accomplish pride in themselves and their abilities and so they do this through gregarious interaction, mainly school. It is at this stage that children do increasingly perplexed tasks and as a result they endeavor to master incipient skills, harder skills. This is why parental support is so consequential in this stage. When parents or peers approve of what they’re doing then they believe in themselves. If there is no fortification then the child will commence to doubt his ability to be prosperous. Erikson verbally expressed that this stage is vital to the development of aplomb. Prosperity in this stage will give the child a feeling of competence. If reinforcement to the positive aspects lacks then they will believe that they are inferior to everyone else and that they don’t matter. (Myers)
In the fifth stage of psychosocial development, identity versus discombobulating is the main conflict. One is supposed to achieve their identity from the ages of twelve to eight-teen. Afore this stage, a person was exploring and discovering their independence and sense of self. It is at this stage where they must develop a sense of self and personal identity. As a teenager matures, they must establish themselves in society. In this quest to find them, they may become confounded on how they fit into society. This is why many teenagers go through phases. They’re experimenting to endeavor and ascertain where they fit into society. Erikson verbalized this is consequential because it composes a vigorous identity and develops a sense of direction in life. It establishes the path for the rest of your life. If all goes well, then a person will have a very vigorous sense of self and be independent and in control of the situation. It there is a lack of reinforcement then the person will be insecure and will be confounded about them in the future. (Myers)
From the ages of nine-teen to forty one will in the intimacy versus isolation stage. “The most important events are love relationships. No matter how successful you are with your work, said Erikson, you are not developmentally complete until you are capable of intimacy” (PCCUA). This is accentuated through romantic relationships. To be prosperous in this stage, it is highly consequential that you achieved your identity. Research shows people that had a low sense of self were less committed in a relationship. It withal showed that they were more liable to suffer from emotional isolation, solitude, and isolation. . Erikson believed that close, intimate relationships were vital to a person. If you achieve intimacy then you will have vigorous relationships while failure will lead to isolation and the lack of relationships. (Myers)
Generatively versus stagnation is the next stage. It occurs from forty years old to sixty-five years old. The question for this stage would be how can I contribute to the world? It’s characterized by virtue and is reinforced through parenthood and work. Adult strive to engender or nurture things that will outlast them, denoting that they opiate children or want to do things that will avail the world or something that they’ll be recollected by. Stagnation betokens that the person failed in finding a way to contribute or avail society. These individuals may feel disconnected or uninvolved with their community and with society holistically. If a person is prosperity full in this stage then they will feel they are active in their community and that they’re contributing to the world. If someone fails, then they will feel unproductive and uninvolved in the world. (Myers)
The final stage in Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development would be integrity versus despair, or in other words, did I live a consequential life? A person will be in this stage from sixty-five years old to their death. Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will be proud and will optically canvass their past with little or no regrets and will be gratified overall. If a person is unsuccessful in this phase they will feel that they wasted their life and they will only cerebrate of regrets. They will feel despair. (Myers)
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development were intricate, but simple. It is something everyone will go through and experiences will always be different. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his stages can lead to quite a disaster. Surprisingly, precedent stages are highly influential to the proceeding stage. The lack of reinforcement to the positive aspects of his psychosocial stages can have a very devastating effect on a person. This is because the effects built up rather than taking the place of one another. The effects are quite horrifying, but with the right environment, experiences and notions, everything can go well.
Myers, D. (2013). Exploring p`sychology in modules ninth edition. New York: Worth Custom Publishing. http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm http://www.pccua.edu/keough/erikson%27s_stages_of_development.htm