Erikson Theory
Erick Erikson was one such person who further developed Freud's theories in such a way as to give their intuitive nature a basis in reality. Erikson's stages of human psychological development, encompassing the entire human life-cycle, have stood up well to the test of time and research and have provided a solid base for researches and theorists alike. In my assignment I would like to explore these stages of psychosocial development which Erikson outlined, focusing particularly on adolescence to middle adulthood - a period that perhaps constitutes the most powerful and creative stage of the human life-span. I will also explain how knowledge of the crises in that particular age group can contribute to a better understanding for dealing with patients of that age in the hospital setting.Erikson's formulation is a stage theory. "A stage is a development period during which characteristic patterns of behaviour are exhibited and certain capacities become established" (Weiten, 1995, p.432). Erikson partitioned the life span into eight stages, each stage consists of a psychosocial crisis or internal crises that must be faced. According to Erikson, this internal crisis is not a catastrophe but a turning point of increased vulnerabil
Trust in infancy sets the stage for a lifelong expectation that the world will be a good and pleasant place to live. As preschool children encounter a widening social world, they are challenged more than when they were infants. True intimacy requires personal commitment. Erikson's fourth stage, Industry versus Inferiority, occurs between six years and puberty (Erikson, 1963, cited in Weiten, 1995). While adolescence is the first time such a crisis will occur, it is not the last. Children are asked to assume responsibility for their bodies, their behaviour, their toys, and their pets. Intimacy versus Isolation is the crisis of young adulthood. They may experiment with alcohol, drugs, sex, minor crimes, new religions, and new hobbies. Through many different routes, the older person may have developed a positive outlook in most of all of the previous stages of development. The patient's experience of wholeness and meaning must be promoted during all care giving activities. In the later year of life, we look back and evaluate what we have done with our lives. Generativity versus stagnation is Erikson's seventh developmental stage (Erikson,1963, cited in Weiten, 1995), which individuals experience during middle adulthood. The identity crisis of adolescence is the first time in which cognitive, physical, and social elements of one's environment enable one to begin to consider and determine a direction for one's behaviour as an adult (Marcia, 1980). They start to assert their sense of independence, or autonomy. The developmental crisis of old age consists of looking back and remembering one's life, accepting and taking responsibility for the past, imagining the future, and living toward death.
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