Erikson and Personal Psychosocial Stage

Renowned psychologist Erik Erikson is best known for his theory of psychosocial stages of personality development. Unlike Freud, Erikson’s theory spans a person’s entire lifespan, from childhood to old age. One of the main elements of Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory is the development of ego identity (Cherry, 2013). Ego Identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction (Cherry, 2013). Erikson believed that our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experiences and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others (Cherry, 2013). The stages of Erikson’s theory are concerned with becoming competent in an area of life (Cherry, 2013). Erikson believed that if a stage is handled well the person will feel a sense of mastery or is often referred to as ego strength or ego quality (Cherry, 2013). He also believed that if a stage is handled poorly the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy (Cherry, 2013). The eight stages as taken from my module 3 discussion board post where I put forth that I believed personality is developed in stages and used Erikson’s stages for my example are:
Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust - Occurs between birth and 18 months of age. Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliable care and affection. Erikson believed that a lack of caregiver’s attention will lead to mistrust (Cherry, 2013).
Stage 2 Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - Occurs during early childhood, 2-3 years of age. A major event during this period is toilet training and the ability to control one's physical skills. Erikson believed that success during this stage of development leads to feelings of autonomy, while failure leads to shame and doubt (Cherry, 2013).
Stage 3 Initiative vs. Guilt – Occurs during preschool, 3-5 years of age. According to Erikson during this stage children need to learn to assert control and power over their environment. In Erikson’s view children may try to

References: Cherry, K. (2013). Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development. http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory. (2013) retrieved July 28th, 2013, from http://www.businessballs.com/erik_erikson_psychosocial_theory.htm McLeod, S. (2013). Erik Erikson. http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html * Staff, Psych Central. (2013) . Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Symptoms. http://psychcentral.com/disorders/obsessive-compulsive-personality-disorder-symptoms/