Assignment # 5
Erikson’s psychosocial theory of human development
#1. Erikson’s early life most likely had profound influence upon his model for human
development. What are some significant occurrences in his life up to and including the
first few years when he immigrated to the United States?
Life occurrences
Born in Germany in 1902
Erickson learned his parents had never been married
He experience prejudice (raised as a Jew)
He only acquired his high school diploma (had an identity crisis and role confusion)
Introduced to Freud’s theory
-Erickson became Anna Freud’s student and began psychoanalytic training
1st few years when he immigrated
He immigrated to Boston due to the threat of the Nazi’s back home
Erickson became the 1st psychoanalyst
He began working in prestigious Universities such as Yale, Harvard and Berkeley
Erickson completed his career in Harvard
Erickson began his writings but were not accepted
#2. Erikson was described as an “ego psychologist.” What does that expression mean and
how is it a break from his training as a Freudian psychologist?
Ego pshychologist is the importance of developing ego in controlling internal conflicts
and in developing real-life problem solving skills and rational behavior. (Malcolm
Watson, 2002)
Freudian psychologist focus on internal conflicts and the importance of the sex drive to a
focus on social influences and adaptation to reality. (Malcolm Watson, 2002)
#3. What are the eight stages of Erikson’s model of development? (Do not describe
these stages at this point. You will elaborate on the attributes of these stages in this
assignment and in #6.) How does this model follow his concept of a “series of
crises”?
Trust v. Mistrust
Autonomy v. Shame and doubt
Initiative v. Guilt
Industry v. Isolation
Identity v. Role Confusion
Intimacy v. Isolation
Generativity v. Stagnation
Ego integrity v. Despair
The model follows the concept because an individual goes through each
challenge and must master it before he can resolve the next challenge. We must be
able to master a crisis in order to be able to proceed and resolve the next.
#4. In Erikson’s model, how does one progress from one stage to the next? Are these
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stages hierarchical or independent of one another? If one “fails” at a level, but does
somehow manage to move onto later levels of development, does Erikson’s model allow
for that person to successfully revisit or try again to address the issues of that previously
unsuccessful earlier stage of development?
Erikson’s stages are hierarchical. He believes that it would be extremely difficult to
resolve conflict without having resolved any issues in the previous stages. But, in
Erikson’s model you can revisit levels of development in any point of your life and still
be successful.
#5. In Erikson’s model, we come across the concepts of “sense of connectedness” and
“sense of independence.” What are these concepts and how do they work in developing
the “coherent self”?
Self connectedness- Self Connectedness is having a connection with someone, a
relationship.
Sense of Independence- Sense of independence is when you are able to do things on
your own.
If you are able to create a relationship with an individual, these will give you the
security, to be able give you the confidence to do anything on your own.
#6. In the first stage -- trust versus mistrust – why is success at this stage critical to the
child’s successful cognitive development?
If the individual is able to create the sense of trust they will have a sense of trust
with others. If there is no success the individual will have a lot of issues trusting people.
#7. In the next stage of the model -- autonomy versus shame and doubt – why is success
at this stage critical to the child’s learning abilities in early childhood?
If there is no success during this stage the child may hesitate to try out things on
their own. If the child is put to shame during this stage it may hinder his development of
independence in the future.
#8. Let’s revisit the design and development of our generic instructional system. Based
upon your understanding of Erikson’s model at this point, if you are planning and
developing instructional experiences (including the environment) for early childhood
centers, are there any aspects of Erikson’s model you would want to take into
consideration? Why or why not?
I would take into consideration the sense of autonomy v. shame and doubt. I think
it is very important to provide positive feedback especially when a child is beginning to
learn something new. We need to provide them with a sense of confidence that will
encourage them to gain the self confidence needed to become independent and be
successful.
Bonus question
How well does your observation of a child’s development match up with Erikson’s
model? Specifically, do you see Erikson’s model as being a series of discrete steps and is
that how you view children’s development?
As a mother I have viewed some of the stages Erickson mentions in his model. I’ve
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seen that trust is very important and if a child does not have that sense of trust it can lead
to separation issues. In stage two autonomy vs. Shame and doubt, I think a child should
have a lot of praise during this stage. This will give them the confidence to continue self
exploration on an independent level. They will have the confidence to learn and try out
new things on their own. Even though a child may have accidents or incorrectly
complete a task we can encourage them by telling them that it was a good try and guide
them in the correct direction.
References
Watson, M.W. (2002). Lecture Eight : Erikson‘s Psycho-Social Theory. Theories of
Human Development (pp. 110-132). Virginia: The Teaching Company.
Watson, M.W. (2002). Lecture Nine: Erikson’s Early Stages. Theories of Human
Development (pp. 133-142). Virginia. The Teaching Company.