Erikson's Theory Essay Example

A Review of Erikson’s Theory Erikson’s theory is probably one of the most recognized stages of development theories. Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. Unlike Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan. One of Erikson’s theories points is ego identity. Ego Identity is the sense of oneself as a distinct continuous entity. (medicaldictionary.com) According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experience and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others. This means that Erikson feels that you are not necessarily born the way you are; you area born one way but things, and situations change who you are. In addition to ego identity, Erikson also believed that a sense of competence also motivates behaviors and actions. Each stage in Erikson’s theory is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life. If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery, which he sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality and if the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy. There are different stages in Erikson theory. Here I will explain a little bit of researched information. The first psychosocial stage is called mistrust vs. trust. This stage occurs between birth and one year of age. This is the stage Erikson believed established trust. The way a child is taken care of establishes the way they trust. The next stage is called autonomy vs. shame and doubt. First of all autonomy is defined by dictionary.com as independence or freedom, as of the will or one's actions. This stage happens in early childhood. This stage focuses on self control. Children who successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident, while those who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy and self-doubt. The character that is an example of this stage is baby Dill of the cartoon