Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development
Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development are a series of eight stages that individuals go through from infancy to old age. Each stage is characterized by a specific psychosocial crisis that must be resolved for healthy development to occur. These stages encompass the challenges and conflicts individuals face as they navigate through different life phases, ultimately shaping their personality and identity.
7 Key excerpts on "Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development"
- Bruce B. Frey(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...Cynthia S. Darling-Fisher Cynthia S. Darling-Fisher Darling-Fisher, Cynthia S. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development 598 601 Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Erik Erikson’s theory of the stages of psychosocial development, first presented in the 1950s and refined over the course of his life, is fundamental to the understanding of an individual’s personality development over the course of the life span. Erikson proposed that personality development was a process that evolved through the interaction between biological, psychological, social/cultural, and historical factors. Erikson described eight psychosocial “crises” (or conflicts) that individuals face over the life span as they interact with their environment. Erikson proposed that each crisis must be resolved before individuals are prepared to move to the next stage and that unresolved conflicts at one stage influence development at later stages. According to Erikson, the sequence of the stages represents successive development of the component parts of the psychosocial personality and is invariant across cultures. However, the ways in which different cultural groups meet the stage conflicts may vary. Erikson’s theory has provided the foundation for studies by researchers from multiple fields interested in the study of personality development, the interaction between environment and personal development, and how individuals adapt to or cope with a variety of life issues over the course of the life span. This entry describes each of the eight stages of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and then examines the relevance of Erikson’s theory to research. Basic Principles: The EightStages of Psychosocial Development Each stage is characterized by a central conflict arising from the interaction between personality, developmental, and social processes...
- (Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
...Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Yael Gross Lehigh University Background Theory Development The early stages of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development correspond with the Freudian psychosexual stages of development. More specifically, Erikson’s first stage corresponds with the Freudian oral stage, the second stage corresponds with the anal stage, Erikson’s third stage corresponds with the phallic stage, the fourth stage corresponds with latency, and Erikson’s fifth through eighth stages map onto Freud’s genital stage (Franz & Erikson, 1993, 1950; White, 1985). While Freud’s theory evaluates an individual’s growth and development from infancy through adolescence, Erikson’s theory assesses development across the lifespan, from infancy through late adulthood, and also considers cultural factors that may impact advancement through the stages (Erikson, 1993, 1950; Slater, 2003). Furthermore, Erikson focuses on the growth of the ego while Freud focused on the role of the id (Erikson, 1993 /1950). Lifespan Development Evaluating early child development may offer greater context for assessing later adult psychopathology. Erikson’s theory of development explores elements of child development and the psychosocial crises that arise through eight life stages. Erikson’s theory takes into account individual readiness for development and societal influences. As such, the stages refer to a developmental phase rather than specific age ranges (Erikson & Erikson, 1998). The eight psychosocial crises are also referred to as tensions between one’s syntonic and dystonic tendencies...
eBook - ePubHuman Behavior Theory
A Diversity Framework
- Roberta R. Greene, Nancy Kropf(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...As each stage emerges, a psychosocial crisis fosters change within the person and in his or her expanding interconnections between self and environment. Crises offer the opportunity for new experiences and demand a “radical change in perspective” or a new orientation toward oneself and the world (Erikson, 1963, p. 212). The result is an “ever-new configuration that is the growing personality” (Erikson, 1959, p. 57). Erikson emphasized that one stage of development builds on the successes of previous stages. Difficulties in resolving earlier psychosocial issues may foreshadow further difficulties in later stages. Each stage of development is distinguished by particular characteristics that differentiate it from preceding and succeeding stages (Newman & Newman, 2005). The notion that development occurs in unique stages, each building on the previous one and having its own emphasis or underlying structural organization, is called stage theory (see Figure 4.1). Erikson argued that personality is a function of the outcome of each life stage. The psychological outcome of a crisis is a blend of ego qualities resting between two contradictory extremes or polarities. This means an individual’s personality reflects a blend of ego qualities such as trust or mistrust. Social workers and other human services professionals refer to several theories of personality development that are based upon assumptions of sequential, universal stages. In addition to Erikson, other well-known stage theorists include Sigmund Freud, Heinz Hartmann, Margaret Mahler, Jean Piaget, and Lawrence Kohlberg (Germain, 1991). Although stage theories continue to be used by practitioners, their utility and universality are increasingly being questioned. As stated in Chapter 3, social work assessment is used to explore needs and resources as a process to select interventions and treatment modalities for a client...
eBook - ePubAdult Personality Development
Volume 1: Theories and Concepts
- Lawrence S. Wrightsman(Author)
- 1994(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...4 Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development Anything that grows has a ground plan, and out of this ground plan the parts arise, each part having its time of special ascendancy, until all parts have risen to form a functioning whole. Erik H. Erikson That type of approach that sees personality developing through a series of stages dominates this and the next three chapters. After evaluating Erik Erikson’s conception in this chapter, we examine in Chapter 5 the utility of psychobiography as an explanation of personality, and in Chapters 6 and 7 other major explanations that rely on psychosocial stages. Although different stage theorists highlight different qualities, they possess a similarity in basic perspective. In general these conceptions view each stage or period as qualitatively different, with relatively abrupt shifts from stage to stage. Each of these stages is assumed to build on the earlier ones, and a successful reaction to the crisis or major task of each stage, in effect, gives the person the capabilities necessary to attack the conflicts of the next stages. Thus each new stage provides a wholly new level of structural integration. But an unsuccessful or inadequate resolution of one “crisis” hinders the growth preferred at each subsequent stage unless some special intervention occurs (Dacey, 1982). Erikson’s Background and Intellectual Development Erik Erikson’s life is so illustrative of Chapter 3 ’s conclusion that theorists’ concepts derive from their own experiences, it is worth detailed review. Erikson’s Life The man who is now named Erik Homburger Erikson was born in 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany. He grew up in Karlsruhe, in southern Germany, as the son of a pediatrician, Dr. Theodor Homburger, and his wife, Karla, formerly named Abrahamsen. Erikson’s mother was a native of Copenhagen, Denmark. The circumstances of Erikson’s birth are not clear; Wright (1982) states that Erikson’s Danish father abandoned his mother...
eBook - ePubHuman Behavior Theory
A Diversity Framework
- Roberta Greene(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...He cautioned that practitioners can misconstrue closeness between family members, particularly mother and child, among many Latinos or Asian-American families. Similarly, among many minority adolescents, autonomy is not determined solely by moving out of the home. Rather, it is expected that family members will continue to live in extended households. Critique of Life Stage Models of Development Erikson’s (1959) most important and best known contribution to personality theory is his model of eight stages of ego development. In this life cycle approach, he proposed that development is determined by shifts in instinctual or biological energy, occurs in stages, and centers around a series of eight psychosocial crises. As each stage emerges, a psychosocial crisis fosters change within the person and in his or her expanding interconnections between self and environment. Crises offer the opportunity for new experiences and demand a “radical change in perspective,” or a new orientation toward oneself and the world (Erikson, 1963, p. 212). The result is an “ever-new configuration that is the growing personality” (Erikson, 1959, p. 57). Erikson emphasized that one stage of development builds on the successes of previous stages. Difficulties in resolving earlier psychosocial issues may foreshadow further difficulties in later stages. Each stage of development is distinguished by particular characteristics that differentiate it from preceding and succeeding stages (Newman and Newman, 1987). The notion that development occurs in unique stages, each building on the previous one and having its own emphasis or underlying structural organization, is called stage theory (Figure 5.1). Erikson argued that personality is a function of the outcome of each life stage. The psychological outcome of a crisis is a blend of ego qualities resting between two contradictory extremes or polarities...
eBook - ePubPsychology for Actors
Theories and Practices for the Acting Process
- Kevin Page(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...While many have grouped him with the neo-Freudians, Erikson himself preferred the more neutral title of post-Freudian (Frager & Fadiman, 2005, p. 175). As with many of the early psychoanalysts who followed Freud, Erikson both accepted and criticized Freud’s theories, and ultimately expanded them into areas far beyond Freud’s original limited vision. Erikson’s three major innovations to Freud’s theories included the idea that along with stages of psychosexual development, individuals also go through simultaneous psychosocial and ego-development stages; personality development continues throughout a person’s life span, and is not wholly fixed after early childhood; and that each stage of development can have either a positive (healthy) or negative (neurotic) outcome that affects all following stages. In Erikson’s model, each stage of development culminates in a crisis between two potential extremes that must be successfully solved in order to move on to the next stage. In solving this developmental crisis, the individual gains a particular competence or virtue that is useful (in its healthy versions) during all later stages of growth. In addition to his life span developmental model, Erikson introduced the notions of identity and identity crisis into psychology and other social sciences. Identity, for Erikson, was a broad and inclusive term that included the ego as a central agency or organizing principle for the personality, the sense of individuality and continuity of experience, as well as the process of identifying and internalizing the rules and ideals of social groups with which the individual might be affiliated. An identity crisis is a mental state where the individual, even if only on a temporary basis, has lost or is in between a solid sense of identity and appropriate social affiliation. Erikson first identified these concepts when working with World War II veterans in a rehabilitation clinic in San Francisco...
eBook - ePubTheories of Development
Concepts and Applications
- William Crain(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...CHAPTER 12 Erikson and the Eight Stages of Life BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION Among the advances in the psychoanalytic theory of development, none has been more substantial than that made by Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994). Erikson has given us a new, enlarged picture of the child’s tasks at each of Freud’s stages. Beyond this, he has added three new stages—those of the adult years—so the theory now encompasses the entire life cycle. Erikson was born to Danish parents in Frankfurt, Germany, the child of an extramarital union he and his mother kept secret (“Erik Erikson,” 1994). Erikson was raised by his mother alone until he was 3 years old, when she married again, this time to a local pediatrician, Dr. Homburger. His mother and Dr. Homburger were Jewish, but Erikson looked different—more like a tall, blond, blue-eyed Dane. He was even nicknamed “the goy” (non-Jew) by the Jewish boys (Coles, 1970, p. 180). Young Erikson was not a particularly good student. Although he excelled in certain subjects—especially ancient history and art—he disliked the formal school atmosphere. When he graduated from high school, he felt lost and uncertain about his future place in life. Instead of going to college, he wandered throughout Europe for a year, returned home to study art for a while, and then set out on his travels once again. He was going through what he would later call a moratorium, a period during which young people take time out to try to find themselves. Such behavior was acceptable for many German youth at the time. As Erikson’s biographer, Robert Coles (1970), says, Erikson “was not seen by his family or friends as odd or ‘sick,’ but as a wandering artist who was trying to come to grips with himself” (p. 15). Erikson finally began to find his calling when, at the age of 25, he accepted an invitation to teach children in a new Viennese school founded by Anna Freud and Dorothy Burlingham...
