Brandon Richardson
Dr. Michael Curry
Midterm Exam
03/12/2011
Eric Erikson’s theory of dev. Psychology
The stages of the theory of dev. Psychology are stage 1 trust vs. mistrust, stage 2 autonomy vs. Shame and doubt, stage 3 initiave vs. guilt, stage 4 industry vs. inferiority, stage 5 identity vs. confusion, stage 6 intimacy vs. isolation, and stage 7 generativity vs. stagnation. Unlike Freud’s theory, in Erikson’s theory if a child becomes fixated in a stage the child will not move to the next.
The first stage begins at birth and last until one year old, most fundamental stage. Seince an infant is completely dependent dev. of trust is based on dependability and quality of childs parents. If the child successfully dev. trust they will feel safe in the world. If the parents are not consistent, dependable emotionally unavailable, or rejecting the child will dev. feelings of mistrust for their parents. If the child doesn’t develop trust they could become fearful and believe the world is unpredictable.
The second stage, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, begins in early childhood and the center of this stage revolves around the child developing a better sense of personal control. Like Freud Erikson believed that potty training was an important part if this process. Erikson’s theory was different than Freud’s on this subject. Erikson believed that learning control of your body’s functions lead to feeling in control and a sense of independence, a few more events would be having more control over food choices, toy preference, or clothing selections. Children that successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident, those who aren’t successful whith this stage feel inadequate and self-doubtful.
In stage 3, initiative vs. guilt, children’s social interactions and play would be the assertion of their power and control over their environment. The successful completion of this stage leaves the child feeling capable and able to lead others, but the children who fail to complete this stage are left with feelings of guilt, self-doubt and lack of imitative. This stage takes placed during preschool years.
During about years 5 to 11 the child will go through stage 4, industry vs. inferiority, children dev. a sense of pride from their accomplishments and abilities done through social interaction. Feelings of competence and belief of their skills are brought on by parents and teachers that encourage children. Children who receive very little encouragement from parents, teachers, or even peers could doubt their abilities to be successful.
Stage 5, identity vs. confusion, takes place in adolescence, they are dev. a sense of self and independence. They ones who complete this stage will come out feeling independent and in control, those who don’t will remain unsure of their
