Massively influenced by Sigmund Freud, Erick Erikson is a German psychoanalyst who focused on the developmental aspect of human beings with much emphasis on their identity and psychosocial development. According to Erikson, a human being’s development goes through a psychosocial development as he morphs from infancy to adulthood. During this period, an individual goes through eight stages. These stages of development present a psychosocial crisis to an individual, which can either be positive or detrimental to the general well-being of the personality of the individual. This discourse, therefore, focuses on the eight stages as presented by Erikson’s theory by reflecting on their impacts on my developmental life.
The Major Components of the Theory
Erikson’s theory of identity and psychosocial development has got eight major components. One is referred to as the trust versus mistrust component. This component manifests among infants, whereby he or she can develop mistrust or trust depending on their relationship with the caregivers. It is a stage from birth to 18 months, and the infant majorly depends on the caregiver since they have no ability to execute anything. Therefore, if they find a caregiver who develops trust, they associate with it, and on the contrary, when they find a poor caregiver, they tend to build mistrust (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004).
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The second component of Erikson’s theory is autonomy versus shame and doubt. At this stage of infant development, the child starts to move using their limbs. They try to walk and capture some items near them (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004). This stage can either cause a child to be bold or shy, depending on how a caregiver handles them. When they move around, they may want to be lauded to make them brave. On the other hand, lack of compliments may cause shame to them.
The third component is the initiative and guilt stage of child development. Here, the child is extremely aggressive. Besides, the rate of their development is very rapid. In addition, children at this stage often assert themselves, and they want much attention. This is a stage when children begin to initiate activities, and they make up games to play with their peers. If the peers approve their activities, the child develops a sense of initiative, and they feel secure. If their actions do not get the recognition of their peers, the child develops guilt (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004).
The fourth component occurs when a child is at the age ranging from five years to twelve years. It is referred to as the industry versus inferiority stage of development (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004). This level entails a child learning to read and write, do mathematical exercises, and interact with the peers in various aspects. This component is where a child wants to be applauded by teachers and peers for the accomplishments made. When such things happen, the child’s self-esteem rises. If they do not occur, the esteem lowers to usher in inferiority complex.
Identity versus role confusion is a component of Erikson’s theory, which takes place in a teenager. The physical changes start to take place to a teenager’s body, and they try to seek identity. They want to associate with some people, culture, and beliefs (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004). Children look forward to a bright future in terms of families, career, and life in general. An adolescent who goes through this stage successfully achieves fidelity. Failure to ascertain their identity leads to confusion.
The sixth component is known as intimacy versus isolation, which occurs to persons between eighteen years and forty years of age. This stage is where persons aspire to form an intimate and long-lasting relationship with others (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004). Successful completion of this stage leads to the love virtue where one embraces others by caring for them and offering a sense of security. Failure at this stage results in an individual isolating themselves from the rest of society.
Generativity versus stagnation is the seventh component of Erikson’s theory. This stage occurs at the age between forty and sixty-five years whereby a person has matured and is at their active moment in life. They aspire to make a mark in life by taking over roles of nurturing others in life. Parents try to school their children, and business people establish commercial empires. Such activities amount to generativity. On the other hand, stagnation occurs where people in this stage have nothing to do with regards to making a mark in the society (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004).
Ego integrity versus despair is the final stage, as presented by Erikson. This component encapsulates persons who are above 65 years old (Bee & Bjorklund, 2004). The stage involves the contemplation of the general life of an individual. If the person has achieved in life, they tend to develop an ego of accomplishment. One would look back at their life and question whether or not they see life as it had to be. If life is contrary to their expectations, they plunge into despair.
The Model Juxtaposed with My Life
My focus is on the fourth, fifth, and sixth components. The first to third components are difficult to reflect upon them since I did not majorly understand what was taking place in my life. I have not yet attained the last two stages, hence cannot state anything, as far as my experience with them is concerned. This section focuses on how the model fits my life and how it does not fit my life. With regards to fitting my life, when I was between five and twelve years, I interacted with my friends, and I managed to take control of everything that we did. I was able to influence them to partake in my activities. This trend developed by self-esteem. When I was an adolescent, I realized the changes in my physical and psychological aspects, which I embraced. I developed an identity, which bolstered my life as a teenager. Lastly, the theory fits my life in that as a teenager, I learned so many things in school, and teachers gave me noble advice on how to lead a life as an adult. I strived in school to remain at the top to expand my chances of leading a successful life.
However, there are some situations where I would say that the theory did not fit my life. Challenges marred my early years as a teenager. I did not understand why there were spontaneous changes in my body. I developed shyness since I thought that I was a social misfit. Another aspect where the theory did not fit my life is when I reached intimacy versus isolation stage. The early years in this stage were also challenging. Having been in a school where I was taught that sexual relationships are wrong until we clear school and marry, I found it difficult to associate with members of the opposite sex. I perceived such an association as immoral, and I assumed that engaging with members of the opposite sex would lead me into failure in life. Lastly, the theory did not fit me during the early stages of industry versus inferiority stage as I could meet some peers who seemed to know more than I did, especially on current affairs. Whenever they engaged in the discussion of current issues, I remained mum, and this feeling gave me a hard time.
Changes in My Life
Despite the above-mentioned challenges in the three stages of development, I admit that I finally made a breakthrough following a few important life changes. Regarding my worry over the physical and psychological changes during the early years of identity versus role confusion component, I surmounted it by reading books on the bodily changes on a developing human being. I finally understood that the changes were normal for any human being. During the intimacy versus isolation stage of my life, I did not want to associate with members of the opposite sex. I, however, received counseling in school and from my parents, who advised me on the need to interact with members of the opposite sex. The advice was of massive value since they slowly changed me from leading an isolated life to develop intimate feelings towards members of the opposite sex. Ultimately, I got a lover whom we are coexisting well. The last hurdle in life occurred when I was undergoing the industry versus inferiority stage. This stage saw me exhibit inferiority, especially when in the company of peers who were knowledgeable about current affairs. Luckily, I spoke to my parents, who exposed me to news channels and newspapers, which kept me updated. I was able to restore the confidence when interacting with my peers. It is, nevertheless, worth noting that adapting to the standard of my peers was extremely difficult since I was not keen on reading papers and watching the news. Therefore, it took a substantial time to adapt to my new assignment. Despite the difficulties, I was determined to be like some of my peers at school since I admired their mastery of current affairs.
Conclusion
Erikson’s theory of identity and psychosocial development mirrors the general lifestyle of an individual from childhood to adulthood. I associate with the eight stages of life since they will ultimately play a part in my life. Even though the theory was a misfit in some situations of my life, I admit that a huge section of the theory played a positive role in making me who I am. It is my hope and desire that I will go through all the developmental stages so that, in future, when I look back, I will have a sense of accomplishment.
Reference
Bee, H. L., & Bjorklund, B. R. (2004). The Journey of Adulthood . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
