Psych Paper
Are You More Intimate or Isolated?
Andrea Sleeman
7/28/14
Introduction Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is composed of stages (building blocks) for the development of a mature personality and a comfortable identity. Each stage has an element of social experiences, which impacts a person’s development, competence and confidence. The timeline consists of stages spread across a person’s whole lifespan. The stage of Erikson’s theory that I chose to examine was Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation. This stage involves early adulthood when people are exploring personal relationships (between the ages of 19-40 years old). Since I am 21 years old and currently personally involved with this stage of psychosocial development, I had a strong interest in exploring this area further. I felt that I could relate closer to the feelings explored in this stage, as they would involve social experiences I am involved in now every day. Each stage has two conflicting emotions. During this phase, the major conflict is forming intimate, loving relationships with other people while having a strong sense of self. The literature points out that having a fully formed sense of self is essential to being able to form intimate relationships. The literature also states that those individuals with a poor sense of self have less committed relationships than others and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness and depression. A better understanding of this stage will help me understand my own self worth, my personality and identity. By exploring where other people stand in their personal and emotional life, I might understand and form a stronger self identity and commitment with my personal relationships as well as improvement in components needed to develop stronger loving and intimate relationships. There are many types of relationships. All relationships require communication, adaption, sharing of feelings and thoughts and commitment. It also
Andrea Sleeman
7/28/14
Introduction Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is composed of stages (building blocks) for the development of a mature personality and a comfortable identity. Each stage has an element of social experiences, which impacts a person’s development, competence and confidence. The timeline consists of stages spread across a person’s whole lifespan. The stage of Erikson’s theory that I chose to examine was Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation. This stage involves early adulthood when people are exploring personal relationships (between the ages of 19-40 years old). Since I am 21 years old and currently personally involved with this stage of psychosocial development, I had a strong interest in exploring this area further. I felt that I could relate closer to the feelings explored in this stage, as they would involve social experiences I am involved in now every day. Each stage has two conflicting emotions. During this phase, the major conflict is forming intimate, loving relationships with other people while having a strong sense of self. The literature points out that having a fully formed sense of self is essential to being able to form intimate relationships. The literature also states that those individuals with a poor sense of self have less committed relationships than others and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness and depression. A better understanding of this stage will help me understand my own self worth, my personality and identity. By exploring where other people stand in their personal and emotional life, I might understand and form a stronger self identity and commitment with my personal relationships as well as improvement in components needed to develop stronger loving and intimate relationships. There are many types of relationships. All relationships require communication, adaption, sharing of feelings and thoughts and commitment. It also