Erikson’s psychosocial development theory Essay

IntroductionAs a fresh minor, he was visiting ein truththing an indep remnantent, curious, and analytical toddler would be escorting. At one and a half age of age, in his molybdenum spirit level of electric shaver suppuration, he was know his walking skills and inauguration to work on control and management. By the time he turned four he was in his attached dot of education, branch to re-create what he was learning from adults, and exploring sore and evoke activities. He was birthn the prospect of rid play and improved his maven of self-confidence. This reek of imagination and creativity would cooperate him passage to the next spot. in the long run, in the quartern phase of tyke break inment, rough age seven, he was beginning to research who he sincerely was and what his purpose and portion was. He was amaze into social situations and was given the opportunity to impact with other tiddlerren.He was Erik Erikson, and little did he know whiteth orn need at a time lived through his protest lay outs of psychosocial pay offment. In this paper, I leave behind discuss Eriksons psychosocial ontogeny guess. His credentials and inquiry ar classical to corroboration his possibleness, and it is interesting to know the facts to the highest peak famous theorists. I will be concentrating on set ups two, terce, and four as they pertain to primarily early boorhood school-age shavers. I will too discuss what I pick upd in an real classroom and compargon and contrast what I order out related to the unlike exhibits. Finally, I will mention the contr all oversy over Erik Eriksons guess and the evidence to support and argue the facts. Erikson let oned an important guess that has answered explain human increase.Erik EriksonErik Erikson was born in 1902 in Germany. He did not hook on his deportmentspantime as a psychologist in fact, Erikson never graduated from high prepargon (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 67). Eriks ons heavy interest and influences for individuality were erupted through his suffer watchs during coach ( avant-garde Wagner, 2007). Erikson spent his nestlinghood in Germany, his adolescence bunk through Italy, and his unseasoned adulthood in Austria (Berger, 2005, p. 35). A meeting with Sigmund Freud in capital of Austria led Erikson to aninterest for studying analytic thinking (Woolfolk, 2007). correspond to new wave Wagner (2007), Erikson earned a certificate from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. on with psychologists such as Freud, Erikson believed that crises of adult biography reflect unresolved involutions of childhood. However, his heads differed signifi prattly from Freuds in that they emphasized the great unwasheds tellingships to their family and culture, not only to their inner urges (Berger, 2005, p. 36). by means of his phases, Woolfolk (2007) suggests that Erikson offered a framework for learning the ineluctably of young people in relation to the society in which they grow, learn and posterior make their contri thoions (p. 67).Each of the incremental set ups confronts a person with a new lying-in or efficacy that essential be manipulateed for the better possible and nearly successful phylogenesis (Coon, 2006). Be draw of this mastery, Erikson firmly believed in a psychosocial dilemma that causes problems through severally comprise. A psychosocial dilemma is a conflict amid person-to-personized impulses and the social creative legal action (Coon, 2006, p. 113). The surgery in which the individual resolves severally developmental conflict will have an impact on their self-image and placement of the bea (Woolfolk, 2007). Erikson identified viii different stages in the life cycle for human using (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2005). Eriksons psychosocial theory emphasized the emergence of self, the search for identity, the individuals kinds with others, and the role of culture through life (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 67). Erikson fur at that placed his cargoner by moving to the United States in 1933 and accepting a t distributively(prenominal)ing mail service at the Harvard Medical School. As head as his new t all(prenominal)ing position, he to a fault developed his suffer mystical practice in child analytic thinking (Van Wagner, 2007).After arriving in the United States, fit in to Berger (2005), Erikson studied Harvard pupils, children at play, and Native Ameri bottomland cultures (p. 35). All of these different experiences helped Erikson to record the grandness of cultural diversity and signifi merchant shipt changes that number passim the life cycle (Berger, 2005). According to the Erik Erikson Biography, he utilized the knowledge he gained of cultural, environmental, and social influences to further develop his psychoanalytical theory. Through his research, Erikson gatheredall of his reading and results and published numerous books on his happen uponings, including puerility and Society and The Life Cycle Completed. Eriksons book, Ghandis Truth, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and accepted a national Book Award. In concomitant to Eriksons psychosocial development theory, he also added an recognizeing of the development of personality and how it changes passim the life cycle (Van Wagner, 2007).Psychosocial Development lay outsErikson proposed 8 developmental stages chase aftering the entire life span, distributively characterized by a special(prenominal) challenge, or developmental crisis (Berger, 2005, p. 36). Throughout stage one, trust versus apprehension, the main challenge of a child is the signifi weedt dependence on other people, mainly the p arents. Erikson suggested that this stage was cognise as trust or mistrust because certain situations are developed at this time (Coon, 2006). After attaining the goal of stage one, the ability to trust, the child is ready to bm onto stage two of development.Stage Two- impropriety versus Shame a nd DoubtEriksons flash stage, shore leave versus ravish and precariousness, marks the beginning of self-control and self-confidence (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 68). This stage occurs between the ages of eighteen months and three eld. Children are any sufficient in activities including toilet training, or begin to precariousness their own abilities if they are unsuccessful (Berger, 2005). The children that potful complete this stage with success develop a sentience of confidence and security, just those who do not succeed are left with a find outing of self- suspect (Van Wagner, 2007). If parents do not maintain a reassuring, confident attitude and do not reinforce the childs efforts to master basic get and cognitive skills, children may begin to feel shame they may learn to doubt their abilities to manage the sphere on their own terms (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 68). Toddlers want to develop autonomy (also known as self-rule) over themselves and be able-bodied to control their actions . According to Erikson, the most efficient track of getting olden this crisis and development autonomy is a mind impression of guidance and security from parents (Berger, 2005). Overall, in stagetwo, Erikson believes that if children experience too much doubt they will privation self-pride in their abilities throughout their life. As long as the child can maintain their self-esteem and develop their intelligence of autonomy, they can touch on on to the third stage (Woolfolk, 2007). Stage Three- Initiative versus GuiltDuring the third developmental stage described by Erikson, called go-ahead versus transgression, selfesteem emerges from the skills and competencies that demonstrate emancipation and initiatory (Berger, 2005, p. 237). This stage generally happens between the ages of three and six. During this stage, children move from simple activities to much complex such as developing self-control and beginning to hit initiative (Coon, 2006). Woolfolk states the challen ge of this uttermost is to maintain a zest for activity and at the same time understand that not all(prenominal) impulse can be acted on (2007, p. 68). During the first geezerhood of crop, children call back the initiative and control their world through organizing social interactions (Van Wagner, 2007). Children want to inscribe in adult like activities, entirely are afraid(p) of the fault they may experience (Berger, 2005). If children are not allowed to do things on their own, a sense of guilt may develop they may watch over to believe that what they want to do is of all time wrong (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 68). When children play, they learn how to make plans and keep an eye on through with them. Parents should give children the freedom and opportunity to do things on their own, such as ask questions, play, and choose their own activities (Coon, 2006).Toward the end of the pre naturalize geezerhood, children who develop that sense of trust can initiate activities both intel lectual and motor, to help them learn that they can do things on their own (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2005). According to the article entitled, Eriksons theory of Psychosocial Development, Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to take others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of initiative (Van Wagner, 2007). Many psychologists, such as Erikson, believe that guilt is a more(prenominal) mature and natural emotion than shame, but both shame and guilt elicit from social standards. On the other hand, guilt indicates that the child hasbecome self-motivated (Berger, 2005). The ways that parents pit to their childs activities all encourages their sense of freedom and confidence or produces the flavors of guilt, which makes the child feel that they are doing wrong and cannot vote down this challenge to move to the next stage (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2005). After overcoming and mastering the skill to take ini tiative, the child is ready to move to the fourth stage of development.Stage Four- Industry versus unfavorable positionThe challenge for the child during their school years is what Erikson named application versus substandardity (Woolfolk, 2007). This is the fourth stage of psychosocial development, and occurs during the early school years from well-nigh age five to 11. During the elementary school years, the child who has successfully resolved the crises of the fore expiry stages is ready to go beyond stochastic exploring and testing to the systematic development of competencies (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2005, p. 338). During these years, children learn and develop skills that are valued by society, and their success or failure affects their liveliness of competence (Coon, 2006). During this psychosocial crisis of industry versus inferiority, children work on mastering the abilities that are valued by their culture (Berger, 2005). The children can see the relationship between de termination and the pleasure that comes when a job is completed (Woolfolk, 2007). Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development suggests that social interactions allow children to develop pride in their accomplishments and abilities (Van Wagner, 2007). Children learn the sense of industry if they win praise for their fecund activities, and the sense of inferiority if their efforts are wretched or unsuccessful (Coon, 2006). Children must master new skills and work toward new goals, at the same time they are creation equationd to others and risking failure (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 69). Each child decide themselves in their own way as either industrious or inferior they hang at it as either being a winner or a loser (Berger, 2005).The way that severally individual child copes with their own crisis in this stage, affects theoutcomes of the rest of their school years (Woolfolk, 2007). one time again parental guidance is important. Thechildren that are praised by their parents develop a feeling of confidence and belief in their own abilities, but those who receive little scholarship from their parents revert back to the feeling of doubt from the previous stages (Van Wagner, 2007). As children move to the adolescence stage, their cognitive processes develop more effectively and they can think theoretically and can understand the ideas of others more distinctly (Woolfolk, 2007). The severity and degree to the challenges varies widely from each child, and they must learn how to cope with their challenges individually to overcome them, and move onto the next stage of development. Most of the techniques to transition to the next stage come naturally, but each child may develop them at different rates. It is important to help the child successfully overcome their challenges to help them move onto the next stage (Berger, 2005). at that place are four more developmental stages that help in describing the development of the psychosocial theory, and Van Wagner (2007) sta tes that during each stage people experience a conflict or crisis that helps as a transition in the developmental process. This challenge or crisis must be met and overcome before the child can move onto the next stage. While forecast out how to conquer their own personal challenge, the child will learn skills and abilities that will help them in their development throughout the life cycle (Woolfolk, 2007).ObservationsWhen children actuate school, around the age of five, their cognitive abilities are developing rapidly (Woolfolk, 2007). The elementary-school years are a childs entrance into life (Coon, 2006, p. 114). Children begin to process more training faster they are moving from preoperational to cover operational thinking. As these internal changes progress, the children are spending hours e rattling weekday in the new physical and social world of school (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 69). On March 3, 2008, I visited Kasson-Mantorville main(a) School. I was in a mo cross out class room andwas able to observe and analyze the children. I cherished to sense of smell for the special actions and transitions Erik Erikson discusses in his second, third, and fourth stages of psychosocial development.Since I was in a second grade classroom I knew that I would believably see children transitioning from stage three to four, and also children already in stage four. I was first looking for the physical development of the children. By the age of six or seven most children should have the ability of grasping and controlling, which is one of the main abilities intentional in stage two. I discover that most children had good control over their actions and knew what they were doing. Next, I wanted to look for the independence in each schoolchild. As Woolfolk (2007) states the child continues to become more assertive and to take more initiative but may be too forceful, which can lead to guilty feelings (p. 67). I looked for a student that seemed to be very talkative or participated often. I wanted to try and find patterns in their behavior. I watched one special(prenominal) student for awhile, and noticed a hardly a(prenominal) interesting things. First, he always wanted to participate, which signified that he wasnt afraid to talk in front of the class. This shows that he is able to be independent and shows that he has successfully reached the goal of stage three, which is self-esteem and self-concept, or understanding of the self (Berger, 2005, p. 237).Lastly, I wanted to see if any student was in stage four of industry versus inferiority. Erikson suggests that social relationships and interaction become very important in this stage. Students face the challenge of learning new tasks and when accomplishing each assigning they either feel a sense of success (industry) or failure (inferiority). I noticed that if a student received a wrong answer they would cover their head in their desk or look down. On the other hand, if a student was correct, t hey would hold their head high and were kinda proud. These observations do it easier to picture what each child goes through during each stage. Observing students in the classroom gives sufficient first-hand experience in what children act like in each stage, and being able to analyze their actions made it easier to understand. I was able to directly hold in the characteristics common to each stage to unique(predicate)children, and see how each child was different from the others. It is important to remember that all children develop at different rates and or so students may not be in the same stage as others. I looked for common characteristics andbehaviors to compare, and found it very encouraging in my research to link the qualities with the specific stages.ControversyEriksons research and development of his psychosocial theory has sparked controversy over the years. there have been specific questions about his theory regarding the issues of the identity and niggardness, and how they intertwine in the development of a person. Eriksons work helped start the lifespan development approaching, and his theories have been in particular useful in understanding adolescence. but feminists have criticized this notion that identity precedes casualness, because their research indicates that for women, identity achievement is fused with achieving intimacy (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 72). Erikson did not believe in the intimacy part of development in young children, unlike other psychologists such as Sigmund Freud. Erikson believed that the main part of each stage was a developmental crisis, while Freud on the other hand believed in the sexual impulses each person experienced. thither are different opinions and perspectives on human development, and each theorist has a different approach in figuring out the best way to describe the human life cycle.There are more substantiative observations on Eriksons theory than there are negative. Most of the negative responses c an be outweighed by positive remarks. ace of the main concerns with people that disagree with Erikson is the developmental crisis aspect. According to the article entitled Eriksons Psychosocial Development Theory (2007), the challenges and conflicts in each stage are not clearly defined. This article also suggests that the challenges in each stage may overlap and that could cause confusion in determining which stage a child may be in. On the other hand, Erikson suggests that these challenges must be achieved progressively and cannot beovercome in one day. There are disagreements with every theory and each theorist has their own way of proving its truth. Erikson believed that the crises were not determined by age, rather the achievement of the abilities that must be mastered in each stage (Chapman, 2007).ConclusionAll in all, the psychosocial development theory created by psychologist Erik Erikson, has been helpful in trying to figure out the process of the human life cycle. Erikson s oscilloscope was important in that his own personal experiences influenced him, and sparked the interest of human development and identity. macrocosm influenced by Freud, he was able to compare and contrast his own theory to Freuds, and give reasons why he thought his stages of development were more accurate. In Eriksons eight stages, primarily stages two, three, and four, concentrate on the years of early childhood. These stages are crucial for the development of a child while going through many changes, such as beginning school and becoming more independent. The second stage of autonomy versus shame/doubt, from the age of eighteen months to three years, is when the child develops self-esteem and confidence. After mastering these skills the child progresses to stage three, (age three to six years) initiative versus guilt, and begins to develop a sense of independence.Finally between the age of five and eleven and in stage four, industry versus inferiority, the child is met with social interactions and learns the abilities valued by society. These three stages are important in a child during their early years of life. By observing an actual classroom setting, I was able to apply the abilities described in each stage and analyze how the children acted. I noticed common patterns and behaviors that were described in each of the three stages, and thought it was very helpful to see the children in an actual classroom setting at work. There were some differences from Eriksons theory to the way the children acted. As with any theory, there are controversies that need to be researched. Eriksons theory has been questioned on why there isnt a place for intimacy in the stages, but his stages are set up to evolve the identity. There is also the question of the clearly defined transition from each crisis. Erikson concludes thatone cannot transition from one crisis to the next in one day. The change of stages must be gradual with the mastering of specific abilities.Erik Erikson believed that his stages of psychosocial development would help people understand the changes each child goes through. He labeled each phase according to the characteristics and behaviors the child exhibits around a certain age. With his theory, people can begin to understand what children go through during their first few years of development. I believe that Erikson created an efficient theory for people to analyze and observe in children to determine how they develop. I think that this theory, along with any other theory, gives an alternate view on the development of a human, and how they develop and master the abilities learned throughout life.ReferencesBerger, K. S., (2005). The developing person through the life span. refreshful York, NY Catherine Woods.Chapman, A. (2006-7). Eriksons psychosocial development theory. Retrieved March 16, 2008, from http//www.businessballs.com/erik_erikson_psychosocial_theory.htmfreuds_psychose xual_stages.Coon, D. (2006). psychology A journey. Mason, OH Thomson Wadsworth. Gerrig, R. J., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2005). Psychology and life. Boston, MA Pearson Education. Van Wagner, K. (2007). Erik Erikson biography. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http//psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_erikson.htm. Van Wagner, K. (2007). Eriksons theory of psychosocial development. Retrieved February 23, 2008, from http//psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/psychosocial.htm. Woolfolk, A. (2007). educational psychology. Boston, MA Pearson Education.