Analyzing Erikson's Eight Stages Of Development

Erikson outlined eight stages of development that identified the important periods of development that occurred throughout a lifespan. Each stage identifies the significance of personality growth that occurs and underlines the specific developmental crisis that needs to be resolved in each stage. The first stage is trust vs. mistrust, which occurs during the first year of existence. The sense of trust of an infant is formed by the quality of the caregiver. The caregiver plays a major role in this stage since a sense of trust is developed accordingly to their quality of caregiving. Therefore, it highlights the trust the infant will develop regarding future relationships. If the child is appropriately cared and given the attention necessary, the child will develop a sense of trust for others. However, if the child is neglected then the child may develop a lifelong pattern of trusting issues towards others. The second stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. This stage occurs during the first three years of life and primarily regulates the development of self-confidence and independence. During this stage, a child develops a sense
of control and mastery over things, thus, it allows the child to act on their curiosity. If the parent is overprotective and punishes the child for acting upon their curiosity, the child may develop a sense of shame and question its capacity of accomplishing tasks on their own. The third stage is the initiative vs. guilt. In this stage, children express eagerness towards trying new things and a development of self-concept is exhibited. If the child is allowed to explore their sense of purpose, they can gain a sense of ambition and desire to accomplish goals. However, if the parent demands too much self-control and consistently shamed upon their failures, the child may resign to pursue their goals. The fourth stage appears between the ages of 6 to 11, it is known as the industry vs. inferiority stage. The experience of success is important during this stage because it allows the children to develop a sense of competence and achievement. Therefore, the child believes in their strength and develop a sense of thinking that lead children into becoming productive members of society. Consequently, some children experience enough failures that they develop a lack of confidence on how to get ahead in life. The fifth stage is the identity vs. role confusion, which refers to the development of one’s identity. According to Erikson. Identity is seen as the major personality achievement of adolescence. During this stage, many people do a lot of self-exploration and constantly trying new identities. After so much experimentation. The adolescence develops a level of self-understanding concerning elements important to us. Though most people pass through a period of identity confusion, some people fail to accomplish a level of self- understanding, therefore, enter adulthood with no clue on what is important to them. these people tend to bounce around jobs and generally unstable in their relationships. As one enters early adulthood, they transition into the intimacy vs. isolation stage. During this stage, young adults are connecting with others, both in terms of friendships and intimate relationships. A sense of needing to belong occurs here, therefore, it allows them to intimately engage with others and making a permanent commitment with one another. Yet if individuals experience early relationship disappointments, it may harm the possibility of forming close bonds with others and therefore, remain isolated. The next stage occurs during middle adulthood; it is known as the generativity vs. stagnation stage. Throughout this stage, adults have settled and been able t accomplish goals they desired to achieve. Yet people tend to question distresses in regards to having accomplished things they cared and were able to give. Therefore, adults tend to question their potentiality and if they feel that they going on in life with no sense of fulfillment then it may lead to the belief their life doesn’t matter since nothing meaningful has been accomplished. Lastly, the final stage occurs during late adulthood, which is known as the integrity vs. despair stage. During this stage, adults tend to look back and reflect on their lives, if the adult is satisfied with their accomplishments to have no regrets, then the adults live their life till the end with integrity. Except for the concept of integrity isn’t experienced by everyone, therefore, adults dissatisfied with their lives and are full of regrets tend to live in fear and in the past wishing they had enough time to change certain aspects of their life. These people tend to bitter old people and are unhappy about their life. According to Erikson’s stages of development, I fall into the early adulthood period referred to as the intimacy versus isolation stage.
In this stage, the urge to develop relationships is the primary goal. In regards to my personal life, I have been in a serious relationship for three years. I have grown so much as a person, which is all thanks to my boyfriend because of earlier disappointments I went through, it was difficult for me to develop close bonds with others. I grew up believing that being isolated from others protected me from getting hurt therefore, I didn’t really try to connect with others and kept to myself. Although I felt alone and isolated, I was terrified to let others in and build close bonds with them. As I mention thankfully to my boyfriend, I have learned to connect well with others and build strong
relationships.