Erikson's eight psychosocial stages of human development

Human Development

Erikson's "Eight Stages of Man"

Erik Erikson was a student of Sigmund Freud's who developed a theory of personality development. According to Erikson, there are eight psychosocial stages in which the individual faces a crisis or developmental task (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010). If the individual successfully completes the developmental task, there is a positive outcome; if not, there is a negative outcome. The first stage, which is called trust vs. mistrust, occurs from birth to age 1 year. During this stage as a result of sensitive caregiving, the child develops a sense that the world is a safe and reliable place. The positive outcome of this stage is hope, while the negative outcomes are fear and mistrust of others. The second stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt, which occurs from age 1 to 3. During this stage, the child uses his new mental and motor skills to develop a sense of independence. If successful in this stage, the child will develop willpower, if not he will develop self-doubt. The task for Erikson's third psychosocial stage is initiative vs. guild. During this stage, which occurs between the ages of 3 and 6, the child tries to experiment with grown up roles. If successful the child will develop a sense of purpose; if not, the child will develop guilt over thought and action. Between the ages of 6 and 12, the child goes through the stage of industry vs. inferiority. During this stage, the child learns academic skills and develops relationships with peers. Successful completion of this stage results in competence, but if unsuccessful the child will lack competence. Between adolescence and young adulthood, the individual completes the crisis of identity vs. role confusion. If the adolescent makes appropriate choices about values and vocational goals, he will experience fidelity; otherwise, he will be unable to establish a sense of self. As a young adult, the individual experiences the crisis of intimacy vs. isolation. If the individual is successful at establishing relationships, he will experience love. If not, he will develop a fear of intimacy. In middle adulthood, the individual faces the crisis of generativity vs. despair. In this stage, the adult wishes to make an impact on the next generation. Successful completion of this stage results in care, while failure results in self-absorption. During the final stage, which occurs in late adulthood, the individual faces the task of integrity vs. despair. The individual must come to terms with life's successes, failures, and missed opportunities. The results are either wisdom or regret (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010).

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget is another theorist who organized human development into stages. Piaget's theory is based on the idea that the developing child builds cognitive structures, or mental maps, schemas, or networked concepts for understanding and responding to physical experiences. Broderick & Blewitt (2010) outline Piaget's stages of cognitive development. The first stage is the sensorimotor stage, occurring during the first two years of an infant's life. During this period, infants discover relationships between their bodies and the environment. Manifestations of intelligence appear from sensory perceptions and motor activities. An important concept during this period is "object permanence," the understanding that an object continues to exist even though the child can no longer see it. Piaget's second stage is the preoperational stage, which occurs between the ages of 2 and 7. During this stage vocabulary develops rapidly and imaginative play is important. The child's thinking is egocentric. This is also the stage that marks the transition to symbolic thought. Piaget's second stage of cognitive development is the concrete operations stage. During this stage, which occurs between ages 7 and 12, the child begins to reason logically and organize thoughts coherently. However, these developments must still occur within the context of concrete situations as the child is not yet ready to think abstractly. Children also began to realize that their perspective is only one of many. Piaget's final stage is formal operations, which occurs from age 11 to adulthood. During this stage, children are able to think about abstract concepts; engage in logical, abstract, or hypothetical thought; and engage in both deductive and inductive reasoning.

Nature vs. Nurture

One area in which all theorists agree is the interplay between heredity and environment. For example, a child is born with genetic characteristics that he inherits from his parents. However, the child's development is influence by environmental factors. For example, exposure to teratogens such as drugs and alcohol may affect the child's physical, cognitive and emotional development. Lazinski (2008) explains that maternal prenatal stress can result in low birth weight, smaller head circumference, and preterm birth. These outcomes can impact the child negatively later in life. Even seemingly obvious genetic characteristics such as height may be influenced by environmental factors such as malnutrition.

References:

Broderick, P.C. & Blewitt, P. (2010). The life span: Human development for helping professionals. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Hernandez, C. (2008). Lifespan perspective on human development. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/950617/lifespan_perspective_on_human_development.html

Lazinski, M.J., Shea, A.K., & Steiner, M. (2008). Effects of maternal prenatal stress on offspring development: A commentary Springer Science & Business Media. doi:10.1007/s00737-008-0035-4