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Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development

Kayla Chow
PSYCH 130­245
Mr. Stark
November 29, 2014

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Each human being has a reason as to who you are and why you are that way. Each and every day that you grow older you face experiences whether it’s good or bad, and the way it impacts you and the way you react to it, is how you form your identity. Erik Erikson, was a psychologist who developed one of the most popular and influential theories of development.
Erikson’s theory describes how social experiences impact your whole life span. One of the main components of Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory is the development of “ego identity”, which is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction. He claims that our ego identity is constantly changing throughout our lives as we come across new experiences and information that we obtain in our daily interactions with people. As we face each stage of development, we also face new challenges that may help our development grow farther, or cause difficulties and even delays to it. For instance if you are trying really hard at work to be promoted to a higher job position, and you come across some difficult times in your life that make it harder for you to accomplish your establishment, that could be called a delay.
When on the other hand everything’s working out great for you and smoothly and you reach your goals faster.
The way your identity is formed, is something that starts off when you were a child, and becomes important in particular during adolescence, but Erikson believes that it is a process that continues throughout your whole life. Our own personal identity gives us a complete and connected sense of self that remains and continues to grow as we age. Erikson also believes that any competition may motivate your behavior and actions. In Erikson’s theory each stage has some sort of concern having to do with being competitive in an area of life. If your competency is successful, you may gain a feeling of mastery which is referred to as “ego strength” or “ego

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equality”. Erikson believed that in each stage people experience a conflict that performs as a turning point in development. These conflicts are mainly either developing a psychological quality or failure to develop it. As a girl, puberty and hormones was the first thing to pop up in my head when I learned about that.
The first stage of Erikson’s theory is “trust vs. mistrust” (Cherry, K.), the most fundamental stage in life, and that occurs from birth until about 1 year old. Since a baby is so vulnerable they have no other choice but to trust their parents or caregiver. At this age, the baby must depend on the adult for everything, to feed, for love, to bathe, safety. If any caregiver fails to show the affection for their child, the child will feel some sort of untrust, and cannot depend on the adults in their life. A caregiver is the first person to be so close to the child in their first year, they depend on that person for everything. If the caregiver develops trust from the child, they will feel safe and secure. Caregivers who fail, will end up leaving that child in fear of them.
The second stage is “autonomy vs. shame and doubt” (Cherry, K.), it happens during early childhood and is mainly focused on children developing personal control. At this point in life children are starting to become independent and want to do everything on their own. If the caregiver gives the child a time to make a decision of their own choice, they will feel autonomy.
Toilet training, picking what food to eat, toy and clothes preferences and mainly learning to control you own bodily functions is a sense of independence. Children feel confident in themselves if they reach this stage with success. The third stage “initiative vs. guilt” (Cherry, K.) happens during preschool years, this is the part they start to play with more children their age, more social interactions, and learning how to share toys. Successful children in this stage feel they have the ability to lead other children. Those who fail will feel guilt, and doubt themselves.

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I was about 5 or 6 years old, and me and my cousin who is a year younger than me would always race to tie our shoelaces before soccer practice, and she would always win no matter what even if
I got a head start. I felt very insecure for a very long time I didn’t even want to race her anymore.
So I can relate and actually remember going through this stage. The fourth stage happens during the ages 5 to 11, and is called the “industry vs. inferiority” (Cherry, K.). At this stage, each child will feel very confident and proud with everything they do and accomplish. As parents and teachers motivate these children to do well on their actions, they will feel some sort of competence and believe in themselves. Then we have those children who barely get any influences or encouragement and they will eventually doubt their own abilities to succeed. The fifth stage “identity vs. confusion” (Cherry, K.) happens during adolescence, when children want to go out and explore. Anyone at this stage who has encouragement through personal exploration will move on up from this stage with a powerful sense of self, independence, and control. Those who are unsure about themselves will leave them with no clue on what to do in the future. Those who complete this stage leads to fidelity, or an ability to live by society’s standards and expectations. As we approach early adulthood, we reach the sixth stage of “intimacy vs. isolation” (Cherry, K.). This is the stage where people start to look for a relationship or maybe even their soulmate. Erikson believed that this is the part where people feel the want to commit to a close relationship with other people. The seventh stage happens during adulthood
“generativity and stagnation” (Cherry, K.). This is the stage where people start to get serious, with their careers, and making a family. Those who are successful in this stage will feel in the loop, those who fail will feel uninvolved in this world. Care is the benefits you receive when you succeed in this stage. You become proud of your own accomplishments, you watch your children

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grow older, and develop unity with your partner. The last stage of Erikson’s psychosocial theory is “integrity vs. despair” (Cherry, K.). This is the stage of old age and when you start to look back at your own life. Those who are unsuccessful at this stage will look back at their life and feel they wasted such a short time that they had on this planet earth. Those who are successful at this age with feel integrity, and are going to pass away knowing they spent their life well and feel proud of their accomplishments. “They will attain wisdom, even when confronting death”
(Cherry, K).
Learning about Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development was very life changing for me. I got to learn about what I already had experienced and what stages I already have went through up until now. Right now I am at the 6th stage, and It made me realize that I am still very young, there are 2 more stages after where I am right now, but i’ve made it through 5 stages already. In all honesty, I feel like the first 5 stages are the most difficult social stages. Thats when you are fresh into this world and you have no clue as to what to say to anyone, how to approach someone and reply to them also. Social stages of Development is very important in everyone’s lives. The way you communicate and interact with other human beings is so important in life. If you actually think about it people are the reasons for your feelings. When you’re a child you have parents, who encourage you or scold you for something you did wrong, either way you feel some type of emotion from that. As a teen or young adult you are looking for love, you gain or lose major feelings for someone as you are trying to settle down. And as an adult, I’m not too sure yet but I’m sure their spouse, and children have them feeling some type of way. 6 Chow

Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development is connected to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. They both have to do with the way you develop and grow into this world. The guidelines on how to not only survive but succeed in life. It’s not a to­do list, it’s actually just something to live by. In other words, never rush into anything in life, take your time, as long as you come out successful. I’ve learned a lot of social culture, thanks to Erik Erikson. Socializing is very important in life. Resources:
Cherry, K. (2014, January 1). The Five Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved
November 30, 2014, from http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/hierarchyneeds.htm