Erickson stages of development

Running head : ERICKSON STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Erickson Stages of Development

Abstract

This is about the eight stages of development in the life of an individual , according to the neoanalytic theorist Eric Erikson . At each stage of development , one passes through , one has to successfully overcome the hurdles that may cross his path , and this would make him a positive individual , while on the other hand , if for some reason the individual is not able to triumph over the difficulties in his way , he would eventually become a negative thinking individual , with

no self confidence and poise . The also talks about an imaginary woman who is in the seventh stage of her life , and faces it with success , perhaps because of the self assurance that she gained when she was a young child and being nurtured by her parents

Erikson Stages of Development

Eric Erikson was primarily a neoanalytic theorist , and in his contention , one 's ego interacts constantly with other individuals within the society , and can be affected by them , as also by the prevalent culture of his society , and `Ego , in this case , refers to an individual 's sense of his own self and his core personality . One must remember that it was Sigmund Freud who initially conceived of the theory of the five developmental stages that an individual goes through during the course of his life , extending from his early childhood to his adolescence , while it was Eric Erikson who expanded and refined Freud 's theory , and extended it to last from early childhood to old age , and stated that an individual passes through eight stages and not a mere five

Erikson conceived of the `epigenetic principle ' according to which an individual develops through the eight stages of his life by a predetermined unfolding of his personality , and by accomplishing each one of the tasks that he is expected to complete at each stage . Also referred to as `developmental tasks , unless one is able to accomplish these tasks , one would have to face the negative outcome of not having completed the tasks in a given stage . One example is that of a child in grammar school , who has to be an industrious learner at this stage in his life . If he fails to become so , he may develop an inferiority complex , states Erikson . Furthermore , an individual has to contend with the interaction of opposites that occurs at each stage of his life , and also with the psychosocial conflict that may arise as a result . If the child is able to resolve the crisis at grammar school , he would in all probability remain an extremely confident individual , ready to face challenges , through his life . On the other hand , if he were unable to resolve the conflict , he may feel guilty all his life . Therefore , this can mean that developmental tasks can be psychosocial in nature , and although one 's ego may be inborn , it would be shaped in later stages through the society that one lives in...