Deepak Sharma Educator: Erickson’s Theory of Psycho-Social Development

Prof. Deepak Sharma

Erik Erickson (1902 – 1994): Theory of Psycho-Social Development

He was an artist and a teacher in the late 1920s when he met Anna Freud, an Austrian psychoanalyst. With Anna’s encouragement, he began to study child psychoanalysis at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute.
He immigrated to the US in 1933 and taught at Yale and Harvard University.

It was at this point in his life that he became interested in the influence of society and culture on child development. To satisfy his curiosity, he studied groups of American Indian Children to help formulate his theories. Studying these children enabled him to correlate personality growth with parental and societal values.
He studied groups of Aboriginal children to learn about the influence of society and culture on child development. From this, he developed a number of theories, the most famous being his psycho-social development.

He believed that humans have to resolve different conflicts as they progress through each stage of development in the life cycle.

Erickson’s theory consists of eight stages of development. Each stage is characterized by a different conflict that must be resolved by the individual. If a person is unable to resolve a conflict at a particular stage, they will be confront and struggle with it later in life.

Psycho-social Development

According to Erikson – Each part of the personality has a particular time in the life span when it must develop, if it is going to develop at all. If it failed to developed on schedule, the rest of the development is unfavorably altered. The individual is then hindered from dealing effectively with reality.

Stage 1: Infancy -Trust vs. Mistrust

Age- Birth to 18 months
Conflict – Trust vs. Mistrust
Relationship – Mother
Strength – Hope
Question- Can I trust the world?
Key Event- Feeding
Children are completely dependent on others
Trust: Established when babies given adequate warmth, touching, love, and physical care-Dependable & Reliable.
Mistrust: Caused by inadequate or unpredictable care and by cold, indifferent, and rejecting parents-Undependable, Unpredictable & Dangerous.

Stage 2- Early Childhood – Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

Age- 18 month to 3 years
Conflict- Autonomy vs. Shame
Relationship- Parents
Strength- Will
Question- Is it ok to be me?
Key Event- Toilet Training
Autonomy: Doing things for themselves such as body control & making choices. – Secure and confident self.
Shame: Overprotective or ridiculing parents may cause children to doubt abilities and feel shameful about their actions- Inadequacy & self doubt.

Stage 3- Preschool – Initiative vs. Guilt

Age- 3 years to 6 years
Conflict- Initiative vs. Guilt
Relationship- Family
Strength- Purpose
Question- Is it okay for me to do, move & act?
Key Event- Independence
Initiative: Parents reinforce via giving children freedom to play, use imagination, and ask questions- Creative, Constructive.
Guilt: May occur if parents criticize, prevent play, or discourage a child’s questions- Always being wrong, Failed to explore world.
Initiative and Guilt should be balanced in order to have moral judgment.

Stage 4- School Age – Industry vs. Inferiority

Age- 6 years to 12 years
Conflict- Industry vs. Inferiority
Relationship- Neighbors, School
Strength- Competence
Question- Can I make it in the world of people and things?
Key Event- School
Children’s have to cope with new social and academic demands
Industry: Occurs when child is praised for productive activities, such as painting and building- Sense of competence
Inferiority: Occurs if child’s efforts are regarded as messy or inadequate- Weak sense of self, Incapable to take responsibility

Stage 5- Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion

Age- 12 years to 18 years
Conflict- Identity vs. Role Confusion
Relationship- Peers, Role Model
Strength- Fidelity
Question- Who am I? What can I be?
Key Event- Peer relationships
Children learn a number of different roles.
Identity: One’s organization of individual drives, abilities, beliefs, and experience into consistent image of self. Who we are.
Role Confusion: Failure to establish an individual identity separate from the family and having no peer relationships and plans for an occupation- Ego diffusion

Stage 6- Young Adulthood: Intimacy vs. Isolation

Age- 19 years to 40 years
Conflict- Intimacy vs. Isolation
Relationship- Friends, Partners
Strength- Love
Question- Can I love?
Key Event- Love relationships
Start of families
Intimacy: Ability to care about others and to share experiences with them- Strong relationship
Isolation: Feeling alone and uncared for in life- Loneliness

Stage 7- Middle Adulthood: Generativity vs. Stagnation

Age- 40 years to 65 years
Conflict- Generativity vs. Stagnation
Relationship- Household, Workmates
Strength- Care
Question- Can I make my life count?
Key Event- Parenting
Primary developmental task is one of contributing to society and helping to guide future generation.
Generativity: Interest in guiding the next generation- Social involvement, Parenting
Stagnation: When one is only concerned with one’s own needs and comforts- Material possession, Physical well being, Non productive

Stage 8- Maturity: Integrity vs. Despair

Age- 65 years to Death
Conflict- Integrity vs. Despair
Relationship- Mankind, My kind
Strength- Wisdom
Question- Is it ok to have been me?
Key Event-Reflecting on and acceptance of one’s life
In the last stages of life individuals look back over their lives and judge them.
Integrity: Self-respect; developed when people have lived richly and responsibly- Feeling of wisdom and meaning
Despair: Occurs when previous life events are viewed with regret; experiences heartache and remorse- Regret, Bitterness

Erickson’s Contribution

He made major contributions in the area of child development by studying groups of Native American children and developed the concept of identity crisis.
He was concerned with the relationship between society/culture and child development, which he termed “psychosocial development”.
This interest led him to develop the Eight Stages of Development.
In each stage, the individual encounters a developmental crisis.
In order to move on to the next stage, the individual must resolve the crisis.

Criticism of Erickson

Deepak Sharma Educator