Psychosocial Development
Psychosocial development is a psychological theory introduced by Erik Erikson, which posits that individual identity evolves throughout life in response to sociocultural influences. Erikson, influenced by Freud and his observations of diverse cultures, proposed that each stage of psychological development is characterized by a specific conflict that must be resolved for healthy growth. There are eight stages, beginning with trust versus mistrust in infancy and ending with integrity versus despair in old age. Each stage emphasizes the importance of social interactions and personal experiences in shaping identity. For example, during adolescence, individuals grapple with their sense of self and explore various roles, while in young adulthood, the focus shifts to forming intimate relationships. Critics of Erikson's model have pointed out its lack of empirical foundation and the rigidness of its stages, arguing that real-life experiences often do not fit neatly into predefined categories. Despite this, Erikson's framework remains influential in understanding the interplay between personal development and social context throughout the lifespan.
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Psychosocial Development
Psychosocial development is a comprehensive psychological theory first proposed by German-American psychologistErik Erikson, a student of Sigmund Freud, after observing Native American tribes of the Plains and the Pacific Coast. The theory suggests that individual identity (or ego) evolves throughout life in balance with broad sociocultural pressures. This idea contrasts with Freud's belief that identity was shaped through psychological forces experienced largely before the age of twenty.
Overview
Each stage of an individual’s psychological development, Erikson proposed, centers on a critical conflict. When this conflict is resolved, the individual continues their healthy evolution toward self-identity and is ready to handle the crises in the next stage. If an individual fails to resolve the conflict of a particular stage, he or she becomes stymied, lacks a clear sense of identity, and is certain to face additional stress in subsequent stages. Stage One, from birth to age two, centers on trust, which the vulnerable infant must learn from his or her parents. Poor parenting retards that development. Stage Two, from ages two to four, centers on the crisis between independence and shame, that is, between the toddler learning to explore and make choices about food, clothing, toys, and activities, and the toddler being thwarted by smothering parents. Stage Three, roughly around age five, centers on the crisis between initiative and guilt, between parents who encourage and direct the child’s natural curiosity and boundless creative energies and those parents who control the child through intimidation, inflexible rules, and criticism, making the child feel like a burden.
In Stage Four, from ages five to twelve, school and neighborhood are introduced. The evolution now centers on the development of industry, specifically a child taking pride in mastering the basics of education and in their ability to socialize. Failure to develop at this level leads to feelings of inferiority, of teachers and peers being too demanding.
Stage Five, from ages thirteen through nineteen, centers on the evolution of self-identity. Erikson suggested that at this stage adolescents experiment with a number of roles influenced by friends (rebel, nerd, jock, brain, etc). In addition they often experience their first feelings of physical attraction and have questions about sexual identity. They may also begin to consider possible professions. This stage is often quite confusing, but Erikson believed this confusion was healthy and necessary.
In Stage Six, roughly to age twenty-five, an individual develops the capacity to be intimate and the willingness to commit to the dynamic of love—failure at this stage results in isolation. During the broad middle age period, Stage Seven (roughly to age sixty-five), the crisis centers on establishing a home and family, raising children, and becoming part of a community and a workplace. The alternative, Erikson suggests, is stagnation and boredom.
In the final stage, which is everything over the age sixty-five, if the self has evolved successfully, the individual prepares for death by sharing life wisdom with family and friends, particularly the young as a way of building the next generation; if the self has not evolved successfully, death is faced with guilt, despair, and a sense of waste. Although critics question the model because Erikson offered no explanation for why the self develops and because real-life data seldom conforms to such neat stages, Erikson’s model pioneered the investigation of how the self evolves over a lifespan within social networks.
Bibliography
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