This is really important to me. It has changed my life.
Erik Erikson was interested in deciphering between the different stages that people go through during their lifespan, and he came up with eight stages that all people supposedly go through during their life cycle. These stages change depending on your age, and your physiological state. Our textbook states “In each of Erikson’s stages of development, a different psychological issue presents a new crisis for the person to resolve.” The idea is that the person focuses their attention on this issue, and when they overcome the issue, that are able to move onto the next stage of development.
The first stage generally occurs during the first year of a child’s life, and is labeled “trust vs. mistrust”. I see this stage quite often in my nephew, Dylan. Dylan is only 5 months old, but I can see that he’s learning to trust that his needs are going to be met by the people around him. One example of this would be that he no longer cries every time he’s hungry. When he didn’t know that his needs were going to be met, he would cry and cry until someone brought him his bottle, but now that he’s beginning to realize that he doesn’t need to cry for his bottle to be brought to him, he will wait patiently, and then when you give him his bottle, you can tell that he was hungry.
The second stage in Erikson’s theory is the Autonomy versus shame and doubt stage. This generally occurs in the second year of life. During this state children learn to do things for themselves, and do what they want to do. The third stage occurs when children are between three and five years old, and is labeled initiative versus guilt. During this stage, children are learning to start things by themselves, without the assistance of others.
The next stage I see very much in my summer job. This fourth stage is called industry vs. inferiority, and usually occurs when children are between six years old and goes right to when they hit puberty. In this stage children are curious, and eager to learn, but it’s also at this stage when they realize that other people may be better than them at things. An example of this would be a student at the school I worked at who was named Charlie. Charlie was one of the most curious kids at work, and he was always the first one to raise his hand or ask a question. The problem was that Charlie was also very easily angered, and so if he got something wrong, he would immediately deal inferior to everyone else, and would get incredibly angry, lashing out at all of his classmates.
The fifth stage in Erikson’s theory is adolescence. He labeled this stage identity vs. role confusion. In this stage, adolescents realize that they are individuals, and try to find a place to fit into the world. The next stage is intimacy versus isolation and usually occurs during early adulthood. In this stage people find they are either able to commit themselves to another person (a spouse) or they want to dedicate their world to themselves. The seventh stage of Erikson’s theory occurs during the middle-aged years and is called generativity versus stagnation. During this stage adults are mostly focused on taking care of their children, and doing all that they can to make sure that the next generation is provided for.
The final stage in Erikson’s theory occurs after middle age, in the old age years. This stage is labeled integrity versus despair, and it’s at this point when older people either are happy and reflecting on their meaningful life, or they become depressed because of their failures and unfulfilling life. I think that my grandmother is in this stage, because she is the coldest bitterest woman I have ever met. It’s obvious to me that she takes out her dissatisfaction with life on her children and grandchildren and everyone she meets. She doesn’t want anyone else to be happy, and she makes that very clear with her lack of sympathy and compassion.
I think that Eriksons stages are very accurate, and he did a great job of breaking down the different psychological stages that humans go through throughout their years. Growth is a process that can be clearly defined, and Erikson seemed to do a good job of defining those stages.
The first stage generally occurs during the first year of a child’s life, and is labeled “trust vs. mistrust”. I see this stage quite often in my nephew, Dylan. Dylan is only 5 months old, but I can see that he’s learning to trust that his needs are going to be met by the people around him. One example of this would be that he no longer cries every time he’s hungry. When he didn’t know that his needs were going to be met, he would cry and cry until someone brought him his bottle, but now that he’s beginning to realize that he doesn’t need to cry for his bottle to be brought to him, he will wait patiently, and then when you give him his bottle, you can tell that he was hungry.
The second stage in Erikson’s theory is the Autonomy versus shame and doubt stage. This generally occurs in the second year of life. During this state children learn to do things for themselves, and do what they want to do. The third stage occurs when children are between three and five years old, and is labeled initiative versus guilt. During this stage, children are learning to start things by themselves, without the assistance of others.
The next stage I see very much in my summer job. This fourth stage is called industry vs. inferiority, and usually occurs when children are between six years old and goes right to when they hit puberty. In this stage children are curious, and eager to learn, but it’s also at this stage when they realize that other people may be better than them at things. An example of this would be a student at the school I worked at who was named Charlie. Charlie was one of the most curious kids at work, and he was always the first one to raise his hand or ask a question. The problem was that Charlie was also very easily angered, and so if he got something wrong, he would immediately deal inferior to everyone else, and would get incredibly angry, lashing out at all of his classmates.
The fifth stage in Erikson’s theory is adolescence. He labeled this stage identity vs. role confusion. In this stage, adolescents realize that they are individuals, and try to find a place to fit into the world. The next stage is intimacy versus isolation and usually occurs during early adulthood. In this stage people find they are either able to commit themselves to another person (a spouse) or they want to dedicate their world to themselves. The seventh stage of Erikson’s theory occurs during the middle-aged years and is called generativity versus stagnation. During this stage adults are mostly focused on taking care of their children, and doing all that they can to make sure that the next generation is provided for.
The final stage in Erikson’s theory occurs after middle age, in the old age years. This stage is labeled integrity versus despair, and it’s at this point when older people either are happy and reflecting on their meaningful life, or they become depressed because of their failures and unfulfilling life. I think that my grandmother is in this stage, because she is the coldest bitterest woman I have ever met. It’s obvious to me that she takes out her dissatisfaction with life on her children and grandchildren and everyone she meets. She doesn’t want anyone else to be happy, and she makes that very clear with her lack of sympathy and compassion.
I think that Eriksons stages are very accurate, and he did a great job of breaking down the different psychological stages that humans go through throughout their years. Growth is a process that can be clearly defined, and Erikson seemed to do a good job of defining those stages.