Erikson’s psychosocial development theory Essay

IntroductionAs a offspring barbarian, he was leading everything an independent, curious, and analytical toddler would be cultivation. At cardinal and a half days of geezerhood, in his secant breaker point of minor go upment, he was get the hang his walking skills and beginning to diddle on control and man get on withment. By the measure he turned quaternion he was in his next item of dominate in to itmind onment, beginning to copy what he was learning from adults, and exploring newborn and interesting activities. He was given the luck of innocuous play and improved his thought of self-esteem. This star of imagination and creativity would guerrillament him revolution to the next constitute. Fin eithery, in the fourth microscope dot of pip-squeak ontogeny, just just about age seven, he was beginning to perplexity who he really was and what his invention and role was. He was put into social situations and was given the opportunity to interact with opposite children.He was Erik Erikson, and little did he know may work once lived by dint of his cause stages of psychosocial t distri plainlyivelying. In this paper, I will demonstrate Eriksons psychosocial developing theory. His credentials and look ar classic to last his theory, and it is interesting to know the facts ab appear famous theorists. I will be concentrating on stages two, three, and four as they pertain to primarily early childishness savants. I will in addition discuss what I observed in an actual classroom and compare and contrast what I found out related to the unlike stages. Finally, I will mention the contr all oversy over Erik Eriksons theory and the evidence to support and argue the facts. Erikson developed an important theory that has helped explain man teaching.Erik EriksonErik Erikson was born in 1902 in Germ all. He did non start his career as a psychologist in fact, Erikson neer graduated from high aim (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 67). Eriksons heavy interest and influences for identity operator were developed through his let d give births during school (Van Wagner, 2007). Erikson spent his childhood in Germany, his adolescence wandering through Italy, and his young adulthood in Austria (Berger, 2005, p. 35). A get together with Sigmund Freud in Vienna led Erikson to aninterest for studying psychoanalysis (Woolfolk, 2007). jibe to Van Wagner (2007), Erikson earned a certificate from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.along with psychologists such as Freud, Erikson thinkd that crises of adult tang reflect unresolved actions of childhood. However, his stages differed importantly from Freuds in that they emphasized good deals human relationships to their family and culture, not simply to their intimate urges (Berger, 2005, p. 36). Through his stages, Woolfolk (2007) suggests that Erikson offered a framework for agniseing the needs of young people in relation to the society in which they grow, learn and later make their contri howeverions (p. 67).Each of the developmental stages confronts a person with a new task or ability that mustiness be mastered for the better(p) possible and most successful development (Coon, 2006). Because of this mastery, Erikson firmly believed in a psychosocial dilemma that causes problems through all(prenominal) stage. A psychosocial dilemma is a conflict amidst personal impulses and the social world (Coon, 2006, p. 113). The process in which the individual resolves each developmental conflict will have an impact on their self-image and charm of the world (Woolfolk, 2007). Erikson identified eight contrastive stages in the bearing make pass for human development (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2005). Eriksons psychosocial theory emphasized the offshoot of self, the search for identity, the individuals relationships with another(prenominal)s, and the role of culture through breeding (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 67). Erikson furthitherd his career by miser qualified to th e coupled States in 1933 and accepting a teaching position at the Harvard Medical School. As well as his new teaching position, he also developed his get undercover practice in child psychoanalysis (Van Wagner, 2007). afterward arriving in the United States, according to Berger (2005), Erikson studied Harvard students, children at play, and Native American cultures (p. 35). on the whole of these dissimilar experiences helped Erikson to understand the importance of cultural diversity and significant changes that occur 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 psychoanalytic theory. Through his research, Erikson gathitherdall of his information and results and published numerous books on his rallyings, including Childhood and Society and The invigoration Cycle Completed. Eriksons book, Ghandis Truth, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and received a subject field Book Award. In addition to Eriksons psychosocial development theory, he also added an understanding of the development of personality and how it changes throughout the life cycle (Van Wagner, 2007).Psychosocial instruction representsErikson proposed eight developmental stages covering the entire life span, each characterized by a particular contest, or developmental crisis (Berger, 2005, p. 36). Throughout stage unity, devote versus mistrust, the main challenge of a child is the significant dependence on other people, mainly the parents. Erikson suggested that this stage was kn knowledge as trust or mistrust because certain attitudes are developed at this time (Coon, 2006). After attaining the goal of stage nonpareil, the ability to trust, the child is ready to roleplay onto stage two of development.Stage Two- Autonomy versus Shame and DoubtEriksons second stage, autonomy versus shame and doubt, marks the beginning of self-control and self- impudenc e (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 68). This stage occurs between the ages of eighteen months and three years. Children are either sufficient in activities including toilet training, or begin to doubt their avouch abilities if they are sunk (Berger, 2005). The children that can complete this stage with success develop a sentience of reliance and security, but those who do not succeed are go forth with a touching of self-doubt (Van Wagner, 2007). If parents do not maintain a reassuring, confident attitude and do not reinforce the childs efforts to master basic motor and cognitive skills, children may begin to feel shame they may learn to doubt their abilities to manage the world on their own terms (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 68). Toddlers want to develop autonomy (also known as self-rule) over themselves and be adapted to control their actions. According to Erikson, the most economic way of getting past this crisis and developing autonomy is a mavin of guidance and security from parents (Berger, 2005). Overall, in stagetwo, Erikson believes that if children experience too more than doubt they will lack self-esteem in their abilities throughout their life. As long as the child can maintain their self-esteem and develop their sensation of autonomy, they can apparent come toment on to the third stage (Woolfolk, 2007). Stage Three- Initiative versus GuiltDuring the third developmental stage draw by Erikson, called initiative versus guilt, selfesteem emerges from the skills and competencies that demonstrate freedom and initiative (Berger, 2005, p. 237). This stage generally happens between the ages of three and hexad. During this stage, children move from simple activities to more complex such as developing self-control and beginning to take initiative (Coon, 2006). Woolfolk states the challenge of this degree is to maintain a zest for activity and at the same time understand that not every impulse can be acted on (2007, p. 68). During the first years of school, child ren take the initiative and control their world through organizing social fundamental interactions (Van Wagner, 2007). Children want to participate in adult like activities, but are afraid of the guilt they may experience (Berger, 2005). If children are not allowed to do things on their own, a sense of guilt may develop they may acclaim to believe that what they want to do is al ways victimize (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 68). When children play, they learn how to make plans and follow 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 preschool years, children who develop that sense of trust can initiate activities some(prenominal) intellectual and motor, to help them learn that they can do things on their own (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2005). According to the condition entitled, Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development, Children who are succe ssful at this stage feel capable and able to lead others. Those who fail to secure these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of initiative (Van Wagner, 2007). more psychologists, such as Erikson, believe that guilt is a more get along and natural emotion than shame, but both shame and guilt deduce from social standards. On the other hand, guilt indicates that the child hasbecome self-motivated (Berger, 2005). The ways that parents react to their childs activities either encourages their sense of freedom and confidence or produces the feelings of guilt, which makes the child feel that they are doing wrong and cannot smite this challenge to move to the next stage (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2005). After overcoming and mastering the skill to take initiative, the child is ready to move to the fourth stage of development.Stage Four- intentness versus InferiorityThe challenge for the child during their school years is what Erikson named industry versus unfavorable position (Woolfolk, 2007). This is the fourth stage of psychosocial development, and occurs during the early school years from approximately age five to eleven. During the elementary school years, the child who has successfully resolved the crises of the preliminary stages is ready to go beyond random 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 feeling 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 determination 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 abi lities (Van Wagner, 2007). Children learn the sense of industry if they win praise for their productive activities, and the sense of inferiority if their efforts are inadequate or unsuccessful (Coon, 2006). Children must master new skills and work toward new goals, at the same time they are being compared to others and risking failure (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 69). Each child judges themselves in their own way as either industrious or inferior they look at it as either being a winner or a loser (Berger, 2005).The way that each individual child copes with their own crisis in this stage, affects theoutcomes of the rest of their school years (Woolfolk, 2007). Once again enate 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 knowledge from their parents revert back to the feeling of doubt from the previous stages (Van Wagner, 2007). As children move to the adolescence stage, t heir cognitive processes develop more effectively and they can think theoretically and can understand the ideas of others more clearly (Woolfolk, 2007). The severity and degree to the challenges varies wide 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 grade. It is important to help the child successfully overcome their challenges to help them move onto the next stage (Berger, 2005). thither are four more developmental stages that help in describing the development of the psychosocial theory, and Van Wagner (2007) states 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 estimate out how to conquer t heir 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 start school, around the age of five, their cognitive abilities are developing quickly (Woolfolk, 2007). The elementary-school years are a childs entrance into life (Coon, 2006, p. 114). Children begin to process more information faster they are moving from preoperational to concrete operational thinking. As these internal changes progress, the children are spending hours every weekday in the new physical and social world of school (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 69). On March 3, 2008, I visited Kasson-Mantorville Elementary School. I was in a second grade classroom andwas able to observe and analyze the children. I cherished to look for the specific 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 probably 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 learned in stage two. I observed 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 student. As Woolfolk (2007) states the child continues to become more cocky 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 specific student for a magical spell, and noticed a few interesting things. First, he always wanted to participate, which signified that he wasnt afraid to talk in front of the class. This shows that h e 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 assignment 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, they would hold their head high and were quite proud. These observations made 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 apply the characteristics jet to each stage to specificchildren, and see how each child was different from the others. It is important to remember that all children develop at different rates and some students may not be in the same stage as others. I looked for commons characteristics andbehaviors to compare, and found it very laborsaving 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. thither have been specific questions about his theory regarding the issues of the identity and intimacy, and how they intertwine in the development of a person. Eriksons work helped start the lifespan development approach, and his theories have been especially effective in understanding adolescence. But feminists have criticized this notion that identity precedes intimacy, because their research indicates that for women, identi ty 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. There are different opinions and perspectives on human development, and each theorist has a different approach in count out the best way to describe the human life cycle.There are more imperative observations on Eriksons theory than there are negative. Most of the negative responses can be outweighed by positive remarks. One 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 patch up 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 nerve-wracking to figure out the process of the human life cycle. Eriksons screen background was important in that his own personal experiences influenced him, and sparked the interest of human development and identity. Being influenced by Freud, he was able to compare and contrast his own theory to Freuds, and give reasons wherefore he thought his stages of development were more accurate. In Eriksons eig ht 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 d escribed 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. New 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.