Erikson's Psychosocial Stage Theory

Erikson’s Psychosocial stage theory was exemplified multiple times in Lab 2. The example I am providing focuses on stage 2: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt. B., 3 years 5 months, was playing outside on the playground. She spent a lot of her time on the foam playground slide. When she was first using it, she would bear crawl up to the top, using her hands as guides. When she got to the top, she would sit and slide down on her bottom. When she got to the bottom, she looked at the teacher who was out there for encouragement or reinforcement that she did it the right way. She did this about 5 or 6 times, in the same manner. She went and played in another area for a while. When she came back, she was more confident and determined. She
walked up the side of the slide, using her hands for balance only a few times. When she got to the top she didn’t sit down and slide down. She remained standing and jumped all the way down the slide. This relates to Erikson’s stage of autonomy versus shame and doubt because over a span of 30 minutes, B. became more and more independent and confident in her actions. L., age 2 years 4 months, provides a perfect example of Piaget’s preoperational stage of development. L. was playing with the food in the kitchen without any purpose. Then she saw D. across the room and it was evident that she decided to make food for him. Her movements were very deliberate after this. She picked up a pot and some pieces of food and cooked them on the stove. She moved the food to a plate and took it to D. Then she went back to the kitchen, grabbed a fork and a spoon, and took them over to D. She was using the toys in the kitchen for their intended purpose, make-believe. Food represented food, and dishes represented dishes. Thinking about the purpose of toys is a major component of the preoperational stage of development. Behaviorism is displayed through operant conditioning in the labs in multiple ways.
It is present in the everyday routines of the classroom. Operant conditioning is a system of rewards and punishments of actions of children. Although this conditioning applies to all of the children in the classroom, I am going to provide a specific example of one student. E., age 1 year 8 months was playing in the classroom when he saw the lunch cart being brought in. He proceeded to stop what he was doing and move toward the sink. These two sentences alone represent classical conditioning, but it changes into operant conditioning in the next sentences. E. stood at the sink and waited semi-patiently for a teacher to make it over to the sink. Once the teacher got there, he washed his hands in the correct way that he was taught. He knew that he had to wash his hands correctly, using soap and scrubbing for ‘a long time’, before he could eat his
lunch. I., age 9 months, was pretty obviously in Freud’s oral phase. Every toy that she would play with found its way to her mouth. She was using her mouth to explore her surroundings. I. picked up a book and put the edge into her mouth and began chewing it. After a while, she began to play with the book again, but she explored it using her mouth. In Lab 1, it is every easy to see a teacher adapt their activity to fit the developmental needs of children because the different levels of development are more apparent at younger ages.
K. is 13 months old. He was exploring the different toys in the classroom. He chose to use a hippo crawler. The hippo crawler is a toy that moves along the floor if you push it. It is set up at the height for children who are learning to crawl. The teacher approached K. and let him play with the hippo crawler for a little bit. Then she presented him with a walker. She knew that K. had mastered crawling and was working on learning how to walk. The teacher adapted what K. was playing with to fit his developmental needs. She wanted to see him practicing a new strategy instead of staying at the same
level.
E. age 1 year 8 months did not want to wash his hands when he was done eating his lunch. He left the table and went to another area of the room and began playing with toys. One of the assistants held his hand and walked him over towards the sink. He was pretty compliant at this part. When he got over to the sink, he threw himself on the floor to avoid doing what he was supposed to. The assistant said, “E., this is not okay”. She tried to stand him up multiple times. He refused to stand up and went limp noodle. She proceeded to grab him and hold him up to the sink. “You need to wash your hands. This is not okay.” He wanted a different teacher to help him. She did. He stopped fussing when she helped him. I did not find this reaction by the teacher to be appropriate. She gave in to what E. wanted, instead of following protocol. This is teaching E. that if he throws a fit for long enough he can get what he wants.
O., age 3 years 1 month, does not like to talk. She struggles to find the right words to say and it takes her longer to respond than most children her age. To make up for this she gestures and uses sounds. At the lunch table, O. was pointing at what she wanted and she tapped on the container of what she wanted seconds of. The teacher recognized what O was trying to communicated and coaxed O. to use her words. “Would you like more of something?” O. responded with a nod. “What would you like more of?” She would point at the container that held what she wanted seconds of. “What is that called?” Then O. finally used her words to say what she wanted. The steps that the teacher used in getting O. to talk were appropriate. She knew that O. would not verbally respond right away if she was told to use her words. The teacher made O. feel like she was in a safe place to talk and communicate.