Why is erikson psychosocial theory important

The 4 Agreements. Don Miguel Ruiz's Book. The Wheel of Change. Key Stages in Personal Development Planning. The Wheel of Life. OODA Loop. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory. Johns' Reflective Learning Cycle. Reflective Practice. Personal Development Methods. The Model. What is the Model? Implications of the Model. Designing Development Programmes. Career Anchors — Edgar Schein. What are Schein's Career Anchors? Components of a Personal Development Plan. Four Competencies of Leadership — Bennis.

Level 5 Leadership — Collins. Keeping a CPD Log. Personal Development Plan Templates. An Overview of Erikson's Psychosocial Theory of Human Development Erikson's model of psychosocial development is a very significant, highly regarded and meaningful concept.

Life is a series of lessons and challenges which help us to grow. Erikson's wonderful theory helps to tell us why. The theory is helpful for child development, and adults too. Erikson believed that his psychosocial principle is genetically inevitable in shaping human development.

It occurs in all people. He also referred to his theory as 'epigenesis' and the 'epigenetic principle', which signified the concept's relevance to evolution past and future and genetics. Erikson, like Freud, was largely concerned with how personality and behaviour are influenced after birth - not before birth - and especially during childhood. In the 'nature v nurture' genes v experience debate, Erikson was firmly focused on nurture and experience.

Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development Like other seminal concepts, Erikson's model is simple and elegant, yet very sophisticated. The main elements of the theory covered in this explanation are: Erikson theory overview - a diagram and concise explanation of the main features of model. The Freudian stages of psychosexual development , which influenced Erikson's approach to the psychosocial model. Erikson's 'psychosocial crises' or crisis stages - meanings and interpretations.

Erikson terminology - variations and refinements to names and headings, etc. Erik Erikson biography briefly N. Summary Diagram Here's a broad introduction to the main features of Erikson's model. Freudian psychosexual stages - overview Erikson's psychosocial crisis stages age guide 1.

Oral Stage - Feeding, crying, teething, biting, thumb-sucking, weaning - the mouth and the breast are the centre of all experience. The infant's actual experiences and attachments to mum or maternal equivalent through this stage have a fundamental effect on the unconscious mind and thereby on deeply rooted feelings, which along with the next two stages affect all sorts of behaviours and sexually powered drives and aims - Freud's 'libido' - and preferences in later life.

Anal Stage - It's a lot to do with pooh - 'holding on' or 'letting go' - the pleasure and control. Is it dirty? Is it okay? Bodily expulsions are the centre of the world, and the pivot around which early character is formed. Am I pleasing my mum and dad? Are they making me feel good or bad about my bottom? Am I okay or naughty? Again the young child's actual experiences through this stage have a deep effect on the unconscious and behaviours and preferences in later life. Autonomy v Shame and Doubt yrs, toddler, toilet training 3.

Phallic Stage - Phallic is not restricted to boys. This stage is focused on resolving reproductive issues. This is a sort of dry run before the real game starts in adolescence. Where do babies come from? Can I have a baby? Why has dad got a willy and I've not? Why have I got a willy and mum hasn't? Why do they tell me off for touching my bits and pieces down there? Boys I'm going to marry mum and maybe kill dad. Girls I'm in love with my dad. If you want to know more about all this I recommend you read about Freud, not Erikson, and I repeat that understanding Freud's psychosexual theory is not required for understanding and using Erikson's concepts.

Initiative v Guilt yrs, pre-school, nursery 4. Latency Stage - Sexual dormancy or repression. The focus is on learning, skills, schoolwork. This is actually not a psychosexual stage because basically normally nothing formative happens sexually. Experiences, fears and conditioning from the previous stages have already shaped many of the child's feelings and attitudes and these will re-surface in the next stage.

Industry v Inferiority yrs, early school 5. Genital stage - Puberty in other words. Glandular, hormonal, and physical changes in the adolescent child's body cause a resurgence of sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Boys start treating their mothers like woman-servants and challenge their fathers Freud's 'Oedipus'. All become highly agitated if away from a mirror for more than half an hour Freud's Narcissus or Narcissism.

Dating and fondling quickly push schoolwork and sports and anything else encouraged by parents and figures of authority into second place. Basically everyone is in turmoil and it's mostly to do with growing up, which entails more sexual undercurrents than parents would ever believe, even though these same parents went through exactly the same struggles themselves just a few years before.

It's a wonder anyone ever makes it to adulthood, but of course they do, and mostly it's all perfectly normal. This is the final Freudian psychosexual stage. Erikson's model, which from the start offers a different and more socially oriented perspective, continues through to old age, and re-interprets Freudian sexual theory into the adult life stages equating to Erikson's crisis stages.

This incorporation of Freudian sexual stages into the adult crisis stages is not especially significant. Identity v Role Confusion yrs, puberty, teens earlier for girls Arguably no direct equivalent Freudian stage, although as from Identity and the Life Cycle Erikson clearly separated Puberty and Genitality Freud's Genital stage , and related each respectively to Identity v Role Confusion, and Intimacy v Isolation. Intimacy v Isolation , courting, early parenthood No direct equivalent Freudian stage, although Erikson later interpreted this as being a psychosexual stage of 'Procreativity'.

Generativity v Stagnation , middle age, parenting Again no direct equivalent Freudian stage. Erikson later called this the psychosexual stage of 'Generalization of Sensual Modes'.

Psychosocial Crisis Stage Life Stage age range, other descriptions 1. Autonomy v Shame and Doubt Early Childhood yrs, toddler, toilet training 3. Initiative v Guilt Play Age yrs, pre-school, nursery 4. Industry v Inferiority School Age yrs, early school 5. Intimacy v Isolation Young Adult , courting, early parenthood 7. Generativity v Stagnation Adulthood , middle age, parenting 8. Trust v Mistrust 'To get' 'To give in return' To receive and to give in return.

Trust is reciprocal - maybe karma even.. The infant will develop a healthy balance between trust and mistrust if fed and cared for and not over-indulged or over-protected. Abuse or neglect or cruelty will destroy trust and foster mistrust. Mistrust increases a person's resistance to risk-exposure and exploration.

On the other hand, if the infant is insulated from all and any feelings of surprise and normality, or unfailingly indulged, this will create a false sense of trust amounting to sensory distortion, in other words, a failure to appreciate reality. Infants who grow up to trust are more able to hope and have faith that 'things will generally be okay'. This crisis stage incorporates Freud's psychosexual Oral stage, in which the infant's crucial relationships and experiences are defined by oral matters, notably feeding and relationship with mum.

Of course very Freudian Autonomy means self-reliance. This is the independence of thought, and basic confidence to think and act for oneself. Shame and Doubt mean what they say, and obviously inhibit self-expression and developing one's own ideas, opinions and sense of self.

Toilet and potty training is a significant part of this crisis, as in Freud's psychosexual Anal stage, where parental reactions, encouragement and patience play an important role in shaping the young child's experience and successful progression through this period.

The significance of parental reaction is not limited to bottoms and pooh - it concerns all aspects of toddler exploration and discovery while small children struggle to find their feet - almost literally - as little people in their own right. The 'terrible twos' and 'toddler tantrums' are a couple of obvious analogies which represent these internal struggles and parental battles.

The parental balancing act is a challenging one, especially since parents themselves are having to deal with their own particular psychosocial crisis, and of course deal with the influence of their own emotional triggers which were conditioned when they themselves passed through earlier formative crisis stages. What are the odds that whenever a parent berates a child, "That's dirty..

To pursue ideas, plans The initiative is the capability to devise actions or projects, and confidence and belief that it is okay to do so, even with a risk of failure or making mistakes.

Guilt means what it says, and in this context is the feeling that it is wrong or inappropriate to instigate something of one's own design. Guilt results from being admonished or believing that something is wrong or likely to attract disapproval. Initiative flourishes when adventure and game-playing are encouraged, irrespective of how silly it seems to the grown-up in charge. Suppressing adventure and experimentation, or preventing young children doing things for themselves because of time, mess or a bit of risk will inhibit the development of confidence to initiate, replacing it instead with an unhelpful fear of being wrong or unapproved.

McLeod, S. Erik erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Simply Psychology. Erikson, E. Psychological issues. Gross, R. Psychology: The science of mind and behavior. McAdams, D. The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology , 5 2 , McCrae, R. Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52 5 , Toggle navigation. Autonomy vs. Initiative vs. Guilt Purpose 3 - 5 4. Industry vs. Inferiority Competency 5 - 12 5. Identity vs. Role Confusion Fidelity 12 - 18 6.

Intimacy vs. Isolation Love 18 - 40 7. Generativity vs. Stagnation Care 40 - 65 8. Ego Integrity vs. How to reference this article: McLeod, S. Maslow proposed a series of motivational stages, each building on the previous one i. Erikson proposed a series of predetermined stages related to personality development.

The stages are time related. Progression through the stages is based on life circumstances and achievement i. During each stage an individual attains personality traits, either beneficial or pathological. The goal of achievement vary from stage to stage and involve overcoming a psychosocial crisis.

The first four stages are like stepping stones. Successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths used to resolve subsequent crises. Identity: Youth and Crisis. Chapter 3: W. Norton and Company. Licenses and Attributions. CC licensed content, Original. Trust or mistrust that basic needs, such as nourishment and affection, will be met.

Take initiative on some activities, may develop guilt when success not met or boundaries overstepped. Develop self-confidence in abilities when competent or sense of inferiority when not. Experiment with and develop identity and roles. During these times, the potential for personal growth is high but so is the potential for failure. If people successfully deal with the conflict, they emerge from the stage with psychological strengths that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

Erikson also believed that a sense of competence 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 is sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality.

If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy in that aspect of development. The first stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth and 1 year of age and is the most fundamental stage in life. Because an infant is utterly dependent, developing trust is based on the dependability and quality of the child's caregivers. At this point in development, the child is utterly dependent upon adult caregivers for everything they need to survive including food, love, warmth, safety, and nurturing.

If a caregiver fails to provide adequate care and love, the child will come to feel that they cannot trust or depend upon the adults in their life. If a child successfully develops trust, the child will feel safe and secure in the world. Failure to develop trust will result in fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable. During the first stage of psychosocial development, children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection.

A lack of this will lead to mistrust. Erikson believed that successful development was all about striking a balance between the two opposing sides. When this happens, children acquire hope, which Erikson described as an openness to experience tempered by some wariness that danger may be present. Subsequent work by researchers including John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth demonstrated the importance of trust in forming healthy attachments during childhood and adulthood.

The second stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development takes place during early childhood and is focused on children developing a greater sense of personal control.

At this point in development, children are just starting to gain a little independence. They are starting to perform basic actions on their own and making simple decisions about what they prefer. By allowing kids to make choices and gain control, parents and caregivers can help children develop a sense of autonomy.

The essential theme of this stage is that children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Potty training plays an important role in helping children develop this sense of autonomy. Like Freud, Erikson believed that toilet training was a vital part of this process.

However, Erikson's reasoning was quite different than that of Freud's. Erikson believed that learning to control one's bodily functions leads to a feeling of control and a sense of independence.

Other important events include gaining more control over food choices, toy preferences, and clothing selection. Children who struggle and who are shamed for their accidents may be left without a sense of personal control.

Success during this stage of psychosocial development leads to feelings of autonomy; failure results in feelings of shame and doubt. 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. Erikson believed that achieving a balance between autonomy and shame and doubt would lead to will, which is the belief that children can act with intention, within reason and limits.

The third stage of psychosocial development takes place during the preschool years. At this point in psychosocial development, children begin to assert their power and control over the world through directing play and other social interactions. Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to lead others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of initiative. The major theme of the third stage of psychosocial development is that children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment.

Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. When an ideal balance of individual initiative and a willingness to work with others is achieved, the ego quality known as purpose emerges. The fourth psychosocial stage takes place during the early school years from approximately ages 5 to Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and abilities.

Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.

Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence and belief in their skills. Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their abilities to be successful.