Erik Eriksons psychosocial developmental theory and personality

Erik Erikson’s ideas about psychosocial development are highly regarded and are a spin on Sigmund Freud’s stages of development. While Freud mainly thought the ego was something the id controlled, Erikson saw it as a positive force that creates a sense of self. Our ego is what helps us adapt to different situations because no one person reacts the same to a situation in the same manner; it shapes our personality. Erikson, unlike Freud, emphasized social influence in the development of personality along with expanding his stages over a lifetime.

Erikson felt that the order of stages is predetermined and you must complete each stage to fully function in the next stage when conflict occurs. Erikson stressed 8 stages that each comes with their own conflict in which basic strength emerges unless the conflict wasn’t handled properly then you will have core pathology. Core pathology is the opposite of basic strength and occurs when someone doesn’t fulfill or master a stage adequately. Focusing on stage one and two of Erikson’s stages we see how the basic strengths of hope and will are extremely important in personality development.

The first stage in Erik Erikson’s psychosocial developmental theory is Infancy, which is from birth up until one year old, and is similar to Freud’s Oral stage. Erikson believed infants are taking their environment in with their senses and with this they learn to either trust or mistrust the world around them. They are completely dependent on others therefore learn to trust based on how reliable their parents or guardians are. Infants must develop both trust and mistrust by being given the necessities without over doing it by over protecting, overindulging or not getting enough food, attention, etc. If they are overindulged they can have a false sense of hope and reality later in life or a lack of care or necessities the child will learn to mistrust.

The importance of the development of hope from the crisis of basic trust vs. mistrust is key to having a realistic view of the world and yourself. Too much trust can result in a gullible person and someone who doesn’t have a real grasp on reality. Trust and mistrust must really be balanced out in order to have a real image of the world and the ability to adapt to it. Erik Erikson said “when we enter a situation, we must be able to differentiate how much we can trust and how much we can mistrust, and I use mistrust in the sense of a readiness for danger and an anticipation of discomfort”. We need the balance between the two to acquire hope and to know that although a situation may be stressful, no matter the outcome we will be okay.

This stage is sets the tone for many other stages because a lack of hope or balance of trust vs. mistrust can make other stages hard to build upon. A child must have their needs met to an extent in order for them to develop into a person with a positive attitude on the world. Hope is what pushes people to try harder, work harder especially through all the hardships that life throws at us. Without hope we would give up on things easily and fail to reach our true potential as human beings. Hope teaches us that we can get through anything that we set our mind to and anything that life throws at us. A balance of trust and mistrust within someone’s personality is essential to taking on the world as we grow.

The second stage of Erikson’s developmental theory is early childhood, ages one through around three, which focuses on autonomy vs. shame and doubt. Learning to control bowel movements and successfully potty training are huge steps towards independence in this time of a child’s life. The parent’s patience and encouragement are crucial to the child’s self esteem and mastering of this stage. If an accident occurs and the parent over reacts or criticizes the child, then the child could feel shame and doubt in their ability to complete this on their own. They also cannot be pushed into potty training too early because if they aren’t ready and do have an accident or have a parent react negatively this too could cause shame or doubt.

The second stage also includes many other aspects of the child’s life at the time. Children learn to pick out their own clothes, pick out their own toys, run away from a parent, talk and walk for themselves. Around this time children are separating from their parents and wanting to do any and everything on their own. A child needs encouragement and reassurance to help develop their independence and their ability to survive in the world as they are. They build their independence and self esteem from their guardians by learning to do things on their own and thus developing the basic strength of will.

Willpower of children especially during this period, which includes the “terrible twos”, is built upon the basic strength of hope during the infancy period. If the child didn’t receive adequate care and develops mistrust then learning autonomy can be difficult and result in shame and doubt. Even if the child does develop trust it is important that they have a balance between doing things themselves and having a parent do it for them. If the parent overdoes things or criticizes the child, the child might feel doubt that they can do things and this can reflect in their personality later in life. Without will the child will grow up unsure of their abilities and become more dependent on others and lack self esteem.

Will and willpower are huge roles in personality development especially at this time in a child’s life because it is only the beginning of personality development. Also, without the proper development of will the child is more likely to fail to reach their goals and have a lack of determination. Willpower is what motivates a person to complete their goals and set out for more. People with stronger willpower go further in life because they are able to avoid momentary temptations or endure hard situations in order to reach their goal or get what they want. A person’s personality is greatly affected by will or lack of will; people with will have more self discipline therefore will work harder to achieve what they want. Also, having willpower greatly affects your self-esteem; whether it’s a child learning to potty train or someone trying to lose weight having strong willpower is what gets you motivated to complete these tasks.

Erik Erikson’s stressed stages over a lifetime and although his stages are broad they clearly show without completing one, in the case of stages one and two, a person will not have the ability to trust the world and realize things will be okay when conflict occurs. They will also feel a sense of shame and doubt if they do not develop an equal sense of autonomy from the support of their guardian. Developing a sense of independence and will is important because they help you to handle conflict and develop self-confidence. As mentioned before Erikson stressed that each stage is built upon the next and without fulfillment of autonomy and hope of the world a person’s personality will be greatly effected and very insecure. A person without hope for things to be okay can turn a small situation into something more catastrophic and a person without a balanced sense of independence vs. shame/doubt will be insecure along with hindering development from other stages.
References
Feist, Jess, Gregory J. Feist, and Tomi-Ann Roberts. Theories of Personality. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.

HARDER, A. F., MA., & MFT. (n.d.). Erik Erikson 's Developmental Stages. Support4Change. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.support4change.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=108

McLeod, S. (n.d.). Erik Erikson | Psychosocial Stages - Simply Psychology. Simply Psychology - Articles for Students. Retrieved June 12, 2013, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

Article:
Erik Erikson: Critical Times, Critical Theory
Author:
Douvan, Elizabeth
Journal:
Child psychiatry and human development
ISSN:
0009-398X
Date:
1997
Volume:
28
Issue:
1
Page:
15
DOI:
10.1023/A:1025188901554

Article:
Cross-cultural investigation of the validity of Erikson 's theory of personality development.
Author:
Ochse, Rhona
Journal:
Journal of personality and social psychology
ISSN:
0022-3514
Date:
1986
Volume:
50
Issue:
6
Page:
1240
DOI:
10.1037/0022-3514.50.6.1240

References: Feist, Jess, Gregory J. Feist, and Tomi-Ann Roberts. Theories of Personality. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print. HARDER, A. F., MA., & MFT. (n.d.). Erik Erikson 's Developmental Stages. Support4Change. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.support4change.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=108 McLeod, S