Psychology

Erik H. Erickson lived from 1902 to 1994 and was best known for social development theory of human beings. He coined the phrase of identity crisis which described the various stages that a human being must undergo throughout his life development cycle. Eric was a well known German American psychologist and psychoanalyst who made strides in child development and came up with eight stages of development (Richard, 24).

In his theory of childhood development, he focused on how the society has influenced an individuals growing sense of identity and self ego. Every human being is raised up in a given society and according to Eric society is considered as a positive force that helps an individual to develop his or self positively. The eight stages as a re theorized by Eric represent crucial moments in ones life that are faced by certain problems.  Each stage of development is associated with specific problems that should be resolved to allow the individual gain maturity.

The theory of psychological development by Erickson maintains that development of children is in a predetermined order. The outcomes of the development theory have two possible outcomes (Aage, et al, 9). First outcome is related to resolving of crisis in each stage of development. A second possible outcome is accumulation of problems from one stage to the next that results from failure of certain provisions in each stage of development.

Resolving developmental crisis in ones life in a satisfactory manner makes an individual to pass comfortably from one stage of development to another. This helps to build self ego that fosters a strong feeling of competence and confidence. Self ego is the conscious sense of self identity that is developed through interaction with other people. Competence in individual results to motivation of behaviors and actions and this leads to ego equality.

Failure to resolve conflicts associated with human development hinders individual ego and prevents an individual from growing in a health manner. This results to problems in mental health and other body complications. The person in such circumstances emerges with a sense of inadequacy (Fiscalini, 74).  Erickson is a good example who went through an identity crisis because his parents split up before he was born. While he was three years old his mother re-married a pediatrician in Germany. His life was miserable and he performed poorly in college. Being a Jew he was teased by other children and he experienced hard life while he was young.

Eric was granted American citizenship in 1939 and this was the turning point of his life. Erickson was influenced by five theories of Sigmund Freud and worked to improve some of the ideas. He believed that culture and society are two important aspects in an individuals development life cycle. However, he deviated from Freuds assumptions in four particular ways.

Firstly, his development theory was based on ego which he described as an autonomous system. The autonomous system related to reality in the aspect of thought, perception and attention. A second way in which Erickson differed with his mentor Freud is that he stressed on the historical and cultural setting upon which a persons ego is formed (Palkovitz, 23). Erickson compared influence of different times and culture on ego development.

Thirdly, Erickson in his theory covered the entire lifespan of an individual and his major concern was the development an individual undergoes from infancy to old age. The fourth and final way in which Erickson deviated from the provisions of Freuds theory was that he emphasized on the possibility of triumph over crises in life. All these concepts were different from the basics of Freud who concentrated mostly on the ill effects of early crises.

Accordingly, Ericksons stages of life development were based on eight principles that is hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, caring and wisdom. The eight stages covered these principles and each stage is characterized by certain life crises. Erickson believed that people in each stage experience conflicts that act as the turning point in development of an individual.

The conflicts experienced in each stage are centered towards development of quality or failure of quality. The society and culture are therefore considered to balance the strengths and weaknesses of the theory. The eight psychological  stages as per Erickson include trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus role confusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and ego integrity versus despair (Paular, 23).

Stage 1 Trust versus Mistrust
This is the first stage of psychological development according to Erickson and he refers it as the infant stage or oral sensory stage. He bases this stage of infant development with hope. According to Erickson, this stage of development occurs between birth of a child and one year of age. It is considered as one of the most fundamental stages in an individuals life.
The psychological crisis in this stage of development is trust and mistrust. The infant depends entirely on its caretakers and begins to learn the ability to trust other people depending on the consistency of the caregivers. When the child develops trust in a successful manner, he or she gains confidence and security in the surrounding area of growth. The purpose of this stage is to develop trust without doing away with the capacity for mistrust in the life of the growing child (Miner  Mertz, 231).

The parents or caregivers of the child are supposed to be close to the infant and any thing that can harm the child should be avoided. Mistrust in this stage is developed when the parents turn away from the infant, are unreliable or inadequate and when the parents do not provide for the needs of the child. The parents are supposed to provide all needs to the infant so as to develop trust. Once the infant develops a sense of mistrust, he or she will have fear and believe that the future or world is unpredictable or inconsistent. All these consequences of mistrust are carried with the child the next stage and life of the infant becomes complicated.

Stage 2 Autonomy versus shame and doubt
This is the second stage of psychological development according to Erickson which he refers it as toddler stage. Erickson bases this stage on will because the child is in a position to explore the world through interaction with objects around him or her. The age at this stage is usually from two to three years. The early childhood development stage focuses on the ability of a child to develop a sense of personal control. The purpose of this stage is to develop a sense of body control such as discharge of waste. The parents are supposed to build a strong bond so as to develop a sense of independence.

The  child at this stage of development include gaining more control over toy preferences, selecting clothes and making choices on which particular food they are supposed to take (Aage, et al, 12). The child starts to asset for their independence by walking away from their mother to explore the world.  When parents provide full support in relation to a childs independence, they become more secure and confident in the ability to survive on their own.

On the other hand, when the child is controlled or denied the opportunity to assert themselves they feel inadequate and often become dependent on others. In addition, the child lacks self-esteem and develops a feeling of shame or doubt. It is a very critical stage in an individual life cycle development because once the child losses focus in this stage he or she becomes a problem to the entire society (Richard, 32).

Stage 3 Initiative versus guilt
A third stage in psychological development according to Erickson that occurs around age three to six years. This stage is based on purpose and is also known as preschooler or kindergarten. The child in this stage is in a position to do things on his own such as dressing. The children start to plan for their own activities, initiate activities with others and make up their own games. The success of this stage ensures that the child develops a sense of initiative, makes their own decisions and feels secure to lead others. It is a genital-locomotor stage which involves a child learning initiative without too much guilt (Aage, et al, 16).

The child develops a strong mechanism for responding to challenges in life. In addition the child learns how to take responsibilities learns new skills and feels purposeful. Parents in this case are supposed to develop the child to successfully undergo this stage by encouraging them to try out their own ideas. The concept of fantasy, curiosity and imagination should be encouraged at this stage. The child is considered at developing his or her own skills so as to achieve certain goals in life. According to Erickson too much initiative and too little guilt leads to a maladaptive tendency he calls ruthlessness (Palkovitz, 29). Parents are responsible for initiating self initiative among children because unsuccessful development in this stage makes the child to feel guilty about his or her feelings.

Stage 4 Industry versus inferiority
This stage of psychological development covers early school years from age five to eleven. It is the latency stage that aims at developing capacity for industry while an excessive sense of inferiority is avoided.  The child starts to develop a sense of social interactions with other children and he or she becomes pride in their accomplishments and abilities. The children initiates projects, sees the projects go through to completion and feels good of their achievements. Teachers in this stage are the most important aspects in the life of the children (Pauler, 67). The teachers are supposed to encourage the children through reinforcement of their efforts.

The children in this aspect develop a sense of being industrious and feel confident to achieve their own goals. A good way in which a teacher or parent can differentiate a child in stage three and stage four is by looking at the way they play games with others. The teacher is supposed to be friendly to the child because he or she sends more time with the child than the parents (Richard, 41). Harsh teachers who control children from engaging with their peers makes the child to be develop a sense of inferiority and incompetence. Successful children from this stage are supposed to have a sense of competence and belief in their own skills.

Stage 5 identity versus confusion
This is the adolescence stage between ages 18 and 20 whereby a child in this stage aims at achieving ego identity and avoids confusion. The individual at this stage is considered as an adult who is in a position to make concrete decisions. Ego identity according to Erickson means exploring an individual to know who he or she is and how such an individual fits in the society (Jeannie, 114). This stage encourages individuals to engage in society activities because most of them are usually through with high school education.

The stage according to Erickson involves taking all that an individual has learned in the various stages about life. The individual is supposed to mould a collection of learned experiences and then mould them into unified self-image that is acceptable by the society (Fiscalini, 76). The person at this stage is usually preparing to venture into adult life and he or she should be well versed with requirements of being an adult. A successful individual from this stage should be aware of what he or she should be in future.

Stage 6 Intimacy versus isolation
This is a stage of young adults at the age of early and late twenties when individuals start to engage in intimate relationships. The principle that shapes this stage is of love where individuals in work place, schools or family start to engage in intimate relationships (Jeannie, 112). Erickson had a strong feeling that it is important that people engage in close and committed relationships.
The young adults are concerned with the type or character of a person they want to engage in relationship. A strong sense of personal identity is necessary to develop long lasting intimate relationships. Studies show that individuals with poor sense of self have less committed relationships. Such individuals are likely to suffer loneliness, depression and emotional isolation (Paular, 28). It is the role of parents, teachers and guardians to ensure that a child goes successfully through this stage for better family life.

Stage 7 Generativity versus stagnation
This stage is concerned with the principle of caring in relation to adulthood life that builds individuals life focusing on career and family. During this stage of middle adulthood, an individual establishes careers of their dream, settle down within relationship, begin family and develops a sense of being in a group of the entire society. People in this group are considered to be parents whose main role is to raise children, concentrate on their work and become involved in community activities and organizations.

Stage 8 ego integrity versus despair
This is the final stage according to Erickson based on the principle of wisdom and occurs during old age. It reflects back to how life has been in the past especially in the aspect of development.

Individuals who were not successful in the previous stages feel that their life has been wasted and experience many regret (Aage, et al, 19). Those who have accomplished their life mission will be proud and have a sense of integrity.