Erik Erikson: The Eight Stages of Development
Biography

Although not as famous as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson was no less influential in the development of 20th century psychology. Like Freud, Erikson viewed human beings as developing through a series of 'stages,' but he broke with Freud in terms of his emphasis on social development, versus sexual development. Erikson was the first major theorist to question Freud's emphasis on the Oedipus Complex and the Electra Complex in respectively influencing a boy's or a girl's development, Erikson conceived of what he called eight 'psychosocial stages,' or conflicts based not solely upon the relationship between parent and child but upon the child and the larger community. The conflicts inherent to the stages were based upon social dynamics of which sexuality was but one factor.

The reason for this different orientation may lie in the fact that Erikson's background was also different from Freud's: he was not….

Erik Erikson
a summary of biographical information about the psychologist Erik Erikson

The work of Erik Erikson is like that of Freud it touches upon the individual growth but while Freud analyzed himself, and stated the growth in terms of the very infant, after which he assumed that the mind does not adapt or grow, in the sense of the personality, except ego, though himself an ego psychologist, Erik's works are different because unlike Freud he did not stop at the formative years. Freud did not have an identity crisis which Erik had, and which seems to have dogged him all through his childhood and adolescence. This can be noticed from his "career, his theories, and his impact on psychoanalysis, psychology, history, and the broader culture." (Douvan, 1997)

There are major elements in his theories that are threaded together. One is the growth during adolescence, and creation of internal values, building tastes, and….

I had to learn that I couldn't be good at everything naturally. I learned that if I wanted to be better at a skill, there were things at which I had to work.
Identity v. ole Confusion

Erikson's fifth stage of psychosocial development, Identity v. ole Confusion, is one I remember very clearly. As a typical teenager, I struggled to "find myself." There were so many identities out there to choose from, and it seemed like what was "cool" changed from week-to-week. Peer pressure also factored into what I thought was the type of person I should be. I'm sure my parents were worried about my ever-changing modes of dress, hairstyles, even the music I was listening to throughout my teenage years. However, eventually, I developed a sense of who I was (which was nothing like the stereotypes of people I and my friends had been trying to be) and this….

Franz and hite (1985) argue that while Erikson's stages are generally sound, they could be made stronger by a discussion of the underlying process of interpersonal attachment. They argue that the tension of intimacy vs. isolation do not adequately account for how males and females form interpersonal attachments.

The writers are clear, however, that these shortcomings do not invalidate Erikson's theory.

Instead, they are looking for ways in which his theory could be made stronger and more nuanced.

In conclusion, Erikson's models remain quite relevant, as can be seen in the illustrations of these stages and in the body of research that his work has spawned. Erikson is among the first theorists who theorized continued psychosocial development past adolescence. For this reason alone, Erikson's work will continue to occupy an important space in estern psychology.

orks Cited

Asbury K, Dunn JF, Pike A, Plomin R. 2003. "Nonshared environmental influences on individual differences in early behavioral….

Erik Erikson has emerged as one of the most highly regarded contemporary psychoanalytic theorists and his psychosocial stages of development have attracted attention from many personality researchers who seek to explain personality development across the entire span of a person's life (Crain, 2011). Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development are still taught in college psychology courses, human development courses, and are referred to in developmental research. Nonetheless, there have been some major criticisms of Erikson's work. First, Erikson may have been overly optimistic regarding the potential outcomes of the conflicts of his stages (Crain, 2011). Second, some researchers/theorists have charged Erikson was supporting the status quo in suggesting that an individual must adjust to the norms/mores/rules of the society in which they grow up in a motor to develop properly (Crain, 2011; Sokol, 2009). For example Black and ubinstein (2009) note how influences of long-standing societal structures/norms actually result in….

Erikson Development
Characters in Development

Erik Erikson's theory of development divides psychological/social development into eight stages, identified by specific virtues and certain conflicts. These stages are typically associated with specific ages in physical development, as well, but it is possible to identify certain adults experiencing these various stages, too. This can be easier using characters from television programs, which tend to be more extreme and more two-dimensional.

Stage One

The first stage in Erikson's development theory is defined by the virtue of hope and the conflict of trust vs. mistrust. Typically seen in infants, the character of Phoebe from the show Friends can be seen as exemplifying this stage. She interacts with the world on a completely naive basis, and is still learning how people can either help or hurt her.

Stage Two

From about 18 months to three years of age, Erikson believes that the virtue of will and the conflict of autonomy vs. shame….

guilt stage, that occurs in the preschool years, where the child is about 31/2 to 51/2 years old. During this stage the child learns: (1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow (Wagner, 2007). Immobilized by guilt, he is: (1) fearful (2) hangs on the fringes of groups (3) continues to depend unduly on adults and (4) is restricted both in the development of play skills and in imagination (Wagner, 2007). During these years, the preschool aged child begins to assert his power and control over the world. Children that are successful at this stage feel capable and are able to lead others. In this stage exploration is very important, and the well-adjusted and treated child begins to explore his surroundings without any feelings of fear or uncertainty. This….

Personality a Comparison
Erik Erikson has a very detailed and thorough picture of the developmental stages that we each go through throughout our lives. There are eight major stages within the context of Erikson's psychosocial development. Each individual goes through each predetermined stage and develops either positively or negatively based on his or her relationships with others and the external world. These stages last from an individual's first breath to their last, with several stages in adulthood. The first stage set out by Erikson is that of Trust vs. Mistrust, which occurs from birth to a year old. This stage is where infants gain a sense of basic trust for their caregivers and environment, or fail to trust, therefore leading to a general sense of mistrust. The infant learns to trust some aspects, while not trusting others which are a basic survival mechanism and the foundation of future psychosocial development.….

Unlike Freud, Erikson believed that sexual impulses were not the only conflicts within the child's developing psyche: a desire for autonomy, for example, was equally important at most stages of development.
Freud's most famous contribution to the study of development is his theory of the Oedipus Complex, which suggests that after a period of polymorphous perversity, or the ability to be sexually stimulated by a number of undifferentiated means, the child begins to desire the mother as its first love object. In the case of a boy, he begins to despise and feel murderously towards his father as a rival for the mother's affection, while the young girl begins to resent the mother for making her 'incomplete' (without a penis) and tries to 'have' her father as a way of 'having' what she lacks. Eventually, the girl tries to resemble her mother to win her father -- and other males'….

" (Harder 2002) This stage depends on the ability to help others and care for others in order to find strength, as one's family is usually grown and new goals must be developed. This ability Erikson calls "generativity." Success during this stage means not feeling inactivity and meaninglessness. (Myers. Stages)
The article discusses the father's success at generativity, or ability to find meaning in life and the ability to transmit values of culture through the family. The results of the research studied in the article is surprising because it found that just caring for their children did not predict the fathers' ability to achieve generativity, as one would think it would

eferences

Harder, a. (2002). The Developmental Stages of Erik Erikson Learning Place Online.com etrieved October 10, 2006 at http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm

Myers, obert (Editor).Stages of Social-Emotional Development in Children and Teenagers. (1998- 2006). Child Development Institute, LLC etrieved October 10, 2006 at http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erickson.shtml

A. (2006) Erik….

Child abuse no doubt hampers the victim's personality growth and development, as backed out by various publications, studies and research. During these formative years, we are delicate and breakable. Our environment and our relationships either make or break us. The aggressive, apathetic or withdrawn behavior can be traced to feelings that they hardly anyone can be trusted, or that they are inferior to others. All these are residual effects that linger on even long after they were abused or maltreated in the past (Oates, 1984).

ut it is also important to note that while most child abuse victims succumb to maladaptive personality development patterns, there are also a remarkable few who manage turn their lives around and take the 'other path,' as Erikson would have put it. In a study on the personality development of victims of child abuse by Oates (1984), it was noted that because they were often left….

Erik Erikson Social Development Stage Activity ( points)Erik Erikson\\\'s Psychosocial Stages ActivityEach of the situations below represents a negative outcome of one of Erik Erikson\\\'s Psychosocial Stages. Determine which psychosocial stage resulted in the problems/issues they are currently facing. (1 point each=8)1) Jason is a student who moved to Saint Cloud this summer from another state. He has recently been referred to the school psychologist because of concerns about both his academic performance and school behavior. A review of his school records shows that Jason repeated kindergarten and third grade. His elementary school grades were primarilyS\\\'s (\\\"Satisfactory\\\") and N\\\'s (\\\"Needs Improvement\\\"). His current teachers state that they are unsure of Jason\\\'s academic skills because he typically does not turn in assignments and appears to \\\"clown around\\\" and not take exams and assignments seriously.Stage: Latency stage (industry vs. inferiority)2) Brenda is a 5th-year undergraduate student at the College of Saint Benedict.….

Erikson's Theory Of Identity Development
Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development was meant to provide society with a better understanding of the stages that an individual experiences across his or her life. Even with the fact that the first four stages described by Erikson are essential in a person's upbringing, it is only after these stages that he or she actually comes to understand society as a whole and starts to express interest in getting actively involved in the social order. It is actually probable that the first four stages are meant to prepare an individual to accumulate the experience needed for him or her to become a part of society.

The fifth stage provides the individual with the task of achieving "a sense of identity -- both who he or she is and what he or she will be" (Theories of personal development 254). While the individual was accustomed to simply….

How will my career and life goals fit in with the life of another person, whether a loved one, a close friend, or even my family? "Erikson describes intimacy as finding oneself yet losing oneself in another," in friendships and in love relationships ("Erik Erikson and psychosocial development," E-ssortment, 2007). Finding the right balance of intimacy and isolation from others, meeting my own goals but still caring about the needs others still feels like a challenge. I know who I am, but I sometimes find it difficult to make that 'I' fit into the worlds of others I care about, whether it is to strike a good balance between studying and going out with friends, or to show love and caring without putting myself last around loved ones and relatives.
orks Cited

Erik Erikson and psychosocial development." E-ssortment. Retrieved 2 Aug 2007 at t http://www.azaz.essortment.com/psychosocialdev_rijk.htm.

Erikson also states that the development of personality continued through the entire life cycle, rather than just during childhood as Freud has postulated. Finally, Erikson believed that each stage of development had both positive and negative elements.
Erikson's departure from the Freudian school was not readily accepted, even by those who were close to him and admired his work. In each of Erikson's developmental stages there is conflict with bipolar outcomes, as previously described. In Erikson's belief, each individual must experience both sides of the conflict in order to incorporate them into life and to synthesize these into a higher level of functioning. This differs from Freud's theory in that each stage has a name, rather than relation to pleasure from a body zone (oral, anal, etc.). According to Erikson, when the conflict is worked through in a constructive manner, this positive experience then becomes the more dominant part of….

The first step in writing about non-nursing theory as applied to nursing practice is deciding what theories you are going to use.  Non-nursing theory refers to any theory that is not nursing-specific, which means that there are countless options you could choose to write your paper.  These different theories can be applied, with varying degrees of success, to nursing. The theories we would choose include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development theory, and Bandura’s social learning theory.  We picked these three because they are the three psychosocial theories....

1. Piaget and Vygotsky: A Comparative Analysis of Child Development Theories

2. The Impact of Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory on Understanding Children's Behavior

3. Erikson's Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development: How Children Form Their Identity

4. Bandura's Social Learning Theory: Exploring the Role of Observational Learning in Child Development

5. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory: Understanding Children's Development within their Environmental Context

6. The Contribution of Gesell's Maturation Theory to Understanding Physical Development in Children

7. Attachment Theory: Bowlby's Perspective on Emotional Bonding and its Effect on Child Development

8. Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development: Analyzing Children's Ethical Reasoning and Decision-making

9. Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory: Examining the Role....

Erik Erikson's Groundbreaking Insights into Child Development in 'Childhood and Society'

Erik Erikson's seminal work, 'Childhood and Society', published in 1950, revolutionized the field of child development. His theory of psychosocial development, which emphasizes the interplay between social and psychological factors, has had a profound impact on our understanding of human growth and development.

Erikson proposed that children progress through a series of eight stages, each characterized by a particular conflict that must be resolved in order for healthy development to occur. These stages are:

1. Infancy (Birth to 18 months): Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson believed that infants develop a sense of trust or....