The theory of psychosocial stages

Psychosocial Stages of Development

Erik Erikson, an American developmental psychologist, developed the notion of psychosocial phases of development. This psychoanalytic theory established the eight developmental stages that every healthy human being should go through from birth to adulthood. According to Erikson, all of the stages are there at birth, but they only begin to reveal themselves after they are triggered by the child’s innate structure as well as his or her ecological and cultural upbringing (Cherry, 2014). The purpose of this research is to examine the psychosocial stages of development and assess their relevance in the present world. To achieve this, the paper will be divided into several sections that will encompass a summary of the major principles of the theory. Second segment will include an analysis of how the theory addresses differences in gender and culture. Thirdly, an evaluation on the development of personalities and the fourth section will cover the changes in personality over the lifespan. The final section will incorporate my personal opinions of the theory.

The Major Principles of the Theory

As earlier mentioned, the theory of psychosocial stages of development encompasses eight stages that every healthy human being should go through while developing from infancy to adulthood. Each phase comes with new challenges that the person must confront and master in order to move on to other stages; this is because each level is built from the experiences of prior stages. Erikson developed the epigenetic principle which essentially provides that the stages of development occur in a predetermined manner (Cherry, 2014). This can further be deduced to mean that each level of development is characterized with a conflict between biological forces as well as social and cultural influences. Further down is a summary of the eight stages of development as brought out in the theory of psychosocial development.

Trust v Mistrust

An infant completely relies on its parents especially the mother for sustenance; and this brings about the concept of trust which Erikson used as the first stage of development. A child who is exposed to warmth and affection is nurtured with the virtue of hope which is necessary in meeting the challenges ahead of him in the later stages (Fleming, 2004, p. 7). A child who is constantly neglected and not brought up in a secure environment develops a sense of mistrust which later on leads to withdrawal and lack of confidence. A child needs to get the right proportion of both trust and mistrust that is to say that a healthy sense of mistrust is also necessary for successful social interactions (Fleming, 2004). The mother plays a very vital role in the development of the child more so by enabling him to trust himself as well as others.

Autonomy v Shame and Doubt

This stage of development applies to early childhood to be precise children between the ages of two and four years. At this age, children struggle to attain control of bodily functions and motor skills as well as try to explore the world around them. The parents who restrict such self-reliance behavior create doubt in the child’s ability to tackle new challenges. They need more reassurance and patience from their parents in order to achieve a sense of autonomy. Parents, who retort or ridicule their children’s attempt at self-sufficiency, destroy the will power of the children and develop a sense of shame and doubt (Fleming, 2004, p. 9). All in all, care givers should establish rules of proper behavior and as Erikson puts it, ’the learning of law and order’ (Fleming, 2004, p. 9).

Industry v Inferiority

Children at this stage develop the thirst for new skills such as reading and writing. According to Erikson, the school age is critical in the development of a child’s self-confidence. Parents should encourage their children to complete new tasks and praise them for the same. In doing so, the children begin to adjust themselves to the inorganic laws of the tool world (Fleming, 2004, p. 10).

Identity v Role Confusion

This stage of development applies to adolescents as they try to discover their own personal identities. A teenager strives to achieve an identity about his gender roles, social expectations, and sexual interests. At this stage, the child separates and builds his self-character from his parents. According to Erikson, during this level of development adolescents experience identity crisis which means they should be well motivated so as to bring out fidelity and consistency in behavior. There are several mechanisms that a teenager can apply to cope up with identity crisis. They include moratorium or suspension of the search of identity, diffusion, foreclosure, and positive and negative role identity (Fleming, 2004, p.12).

Intimacy v Isolation

Intimacy between two people can only be achieved when they portray separate individual identities. It is impossible for people to mature together and still live peaceful unless they achieved separate personal maturity (Fleming, 2004, p. 13). Young adults are sometimes isolated due to the eagerness to blend their identities and fit in with other people such as friends and partners. Erikson described such isolation as distantiation which relatively means the readiness to destroy people who invade one’s territory of intimacy (Fleming, 2004). People with established identities are capable of maintaining long-term commitments and finding the middle ground whenever necessary.

The View of the Theory on the Differences in Gender and Culture

The theory of psychosocial stages of development relies on the fact that personality is largely shaped throughout the lifetime. This in entirety means that the environment around the child as he grows has a huge impact on the kind of character the child will portray. Erikson further emphasized that the society and the culture has great influence on the life of a person. During the fifth stage, adolescents experience developmental changes such as body changes and sexual maturity. These changes bring forth a lot of confusion on how teenagers should carry themselves no wonder most of them are rebellious.

Identity crisis is a turning point of increased vulnerability and heightened potential for the young adults (Fleming, p.12). The cultural influence around these teenagers plays a part in helping them assume their own identities. For example, at this time adolescents have all sorts of role models from popular pop stars, athletes, fashion moguls and so forth. As Fleming (p. 11) puts it, metallic and gothic appearances are some of the experiments that adolescents practice in the name of being in line with the modern pop culture. The seventh stage brings forth the idea of generativity v stagnation in which Erikson emphasizes on the traditional culture of young men marrying women with the sole purpose of the continuance of generations.

Growth of Personality as Per the Theory

In my opinion, the theory comprehensively elucidates the progression of personality from one stage of development to the last. As previously explicated, every level of personal growth brings forth conflict between biological influences and sociocultural impacts. Each of these phases is dependent on the other, meaning that for example, when an infant enters early childhood with more trust and belief in others; he lives through the other levels of development with the quality of hope. An infant who is constantly neglected by its mother grows up withdrawn from the rest of the world. This antithesis of hope can lead the child not to enjoy every stage of development which results to isolation, despair, role confusion, stagnation, inferiority, guilt, mistrust. All of these are core pathologies of the stages of development.

The personality of an individual changes throughout her natural life for several reasons including biological, social and cultural influences. A young adult for example, who is in the sixth stage of development, is no longer going through identity crisis. In fact at this level, a young man is very comfortable in his skin and personality. He only thinks about his relationship with his partner and the intimacy that comes with it. As he grows older and experiences the fruits of the seventh step of growth, he becomes more interested in productivity and creativity. By this, it means that the adult is going through what Erikson defined as generativity (Santrock, 2006).

Opinion Concerning the Theory

Validity is a matter of cogency as well as authority and in my belief, Erikson’s theory on psychosocial stages of development has achieved just that. Through his ideologies, modern psychologists do not deal with patients merely on the basis of predefined symptoms (Cherry, 2014). Through his focus on the entirety of a person’s life, he recognized and proved that every person is different from another. The theory is still valid and will remain so due to the tremendous impact of the knowledge. Erikson was the first psychologist to come up with the term ’identity crisis’ which is still being used in the diagnosis of an individual’s mental stability. However, on the down side, Erikson’s theory does not touch on all aspects of personality. Although I do agree that the society and cultural background have a huge impact on the type character traits one will portray, I do not believe that all of them are as a result of such biological and sociocultural forces. A perfect example is the psychopathic trait. A person may demonstrate psychopathic behavior from the onset and later be discovered that he was raised in a loving family with no trust issues. This ideally means that all through his life he experienced the basic strengths of each stage of development (Fleming, 2004, p. 7). Critics argue that the theory is vague about the underlying causes of each development crisis and further does not provide adequate information about the accomplishment or failure of a specific stage of development (Cherry, 2014). I suggest that more research is conducted on the underlying causes of each development crisis and the findings included as part of the theory. Further, I recommend that more information is added in each of the stages portraying the different experiences that women go through as well as touch on the impact that ethnicity and economic status have on each of the stages (Cherry, 2014).

Conclusion

The Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial stages of development’s focus on the growth throughout a lifespan marked significant changes in modern psychology. Today many psychologists rely on individual developmental experiences rather than predefined stages. The three main components of the theory include strengthening of the ego which develops when a person successfully masters each developmental stage. Second component is the identification of ego arising from the continuous change of self, due to social interactions. Third element is internal conflict. Every theory attracts criticism and Erikson’s theory is no different. First and foremost, it is vague about the underlying causes of each development crisis. Further it lacks any objectivity about the accomplishment or failure of a specific stage of development (Cherry, 2014).

References

Cherry, K. (2014). Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development. Retrieved from http://www.explorepsychology.com/eriksons-eight-stages-of-psychosocial-development/

Fleming, S. J. (2004). Erikson’s psychosocial developmental stages. Retrieved from http://swppr.org/textbook/ch%209%20erikson.pdf

Santrock, J. W. (2006). Life-Span development. (10th ed). New York: McGraw Hill International.

William, C. (2010). Theories of development: Concepts and applications. (6th ed). UK: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-205-81046-8