Erikson's Psychosocial Analysis Paper
Introduction
Erikson’s psycho-social stages of development provides great insight on the process of child development. It is composed of eight stages that range from infancy to adulthood. However, the first four stages are what will be discussed in this analysis paper. The first four stages are Infancy, Early Childhood, Preschool, and Middle childhood. The infancy stage discusses the conflict of trust vs mistrust with infants (0 to 18 months). During the early childhood stage (2 to 3 years) Erikson discusses autonomy vs shame and doubt. In preschool (3 to 5 years) this is where the initiative vs guilt stage begins. Lastly, the middle childhood also known as school age (6 to 11), is where competency vs inferiority takes place. There are very …show more content…
If a child has a learning disability or has trouble understanding in comparison to other children this can lead to a sense of inferiority. In addition to that because peer groups are so important during this stage it can also result in bullying. Causing the child to questions their own ability, procrastinate, or even withdraw (Erikson handout, 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Erikson considers a lot of factors that contribute to child growth. The social stages that were mentioned includes multiple factors that are crucial in the first few years. It is a guide on what children development should look like and what is crucial at each stage. Even today, Erikson’s theory can still be applied to child development.
Although Erikson points out many important factors and is an excellent guide, Erikson’s theory cannot be applied to a lot of cultures. For example, some cultures toilet train their children at later ages. That completely disregards the importance of independence in the early childhood stage per Erikson’s theory. In addition, Erikson also doesn’t consider experiences such as gender bias, poverty, cultural differences, race, cognitive differences, etc. Each of these must be considered when analyzing child development. While there are many strengths of Erikson’s theory, the weaknesses must be considered as
Erikson’s psycho-social stages of development provides great insight on the process of child development. It is composed of eight stages that range from infancy to adulthood. However, the first four stages are what will be discussed in this analysis paper. The first four stages are Infancy, Early Childhood, Preschool, and Middle childhood. The infancy stage discusses the conflict of trust vs mistrust with infants (0 to 18 months). During the early childhood stage (2 to 3 years) Erikson discusses autonomy vs shame and doubt. In preschool (3 to 5 years) this is where the initiative vs guilt stage begins. Lastly, the middle childhood also known as school age (6 to 11), is where competency vs inferiority takes place. There are very …show more content…
If a child has a learning disability or has trouble understanding in comparison to other children this can lead to a sense of inferiority. In addition to that because peer groups are so important during this stage it can also result in bullying. Causing the child to questions their own ability, procrastinate, or even withdraw (Erikson handout, 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Erikson considers a lot of factors that contribute to child growth. The social stages that were mentioned includes multiple factors that are crucial in the first few years. It is a guide on what children development should look like and what is crucial at each stage. Even today, Erikson’s theory can still be applied to child development.
Although Erikson points out many important factors and is an excellent guide, Erikson’s theory cannot be applied to a lot of cultures. For example, some cultures toilet train their children at later ages. That completely disregards the importance of independence in the early childhood stage per Erikson’s theory. In addition, Erikson also doesn’t consider experiences such as gender bias, poverty, cultural differences, race, cognitive differences, etc. Each of these must be considered when analyzing child development. While there are many strengths of Erikson’s theory, the weaknesses must be considered as