Erikson's Model Of Cognitive Development

Our definitional model of consciousness states that consciousness cannot be explicitly measured, however is biologically rooted and dependent on the brain. Although consciousness is cognitive and internal, it is developed through social interactions with others as well as social reflections on those interactions. In this way consciousness is a social construction that is rooted in, and dependent on, cultural grounding and context (Lutz 1992, Sandstrom 2010). This ‘awareness of awareness’ is driven by how one internally and externally understands themselves based on how well adjusted they are to the socially and culturally agreed upon understandings of consciousness structures at that given time and place, in this way, consciousness experience …show more content…
There are two potential ways in which an individual’s experiencing consciousness can and do develop. To begin, it is necessary for development of the brain cognitively in order to develop socially. The social development of individuals is absolutely essential, and allows for individuals to learn and eventually prescribe to socially agreed upon ways of behaving in their world (Whitehead, 2011). Development of the brain, is known as “cognitive” development (Mangan 2007, Combs 2009). Within our model we discuss Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development as a reference to one of many cognitive development models. Cognitive development is understood as a process which is controlled by age, and healthy individuals are considered likely to cognitively develop through all those stages (Combs 2009, Erikson 1950). With each stage of life comes basic conflicts and important events. For example, Erikson states that in Adolescence (12-18 yrs) the primary conflict is ‘Identity vs. Role Confusion’ and social relationships are important. “Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to …show more content…
the components of consciousness), respectively, we believe there to be an open ended potential for consciousness itself, the extent of which would be ambitious and a disservice to attempt to identify, as it is constantly evolving and expanding as society’s conception, meaning, and implications for consciousness evolve and expand. Such an expansion is exhibited in the way that third wave feminism has given rise to a new conception of consciousness that begins at the individual before moving outward toward being implemented at the societal level (Sowards and Renegar 2004). We will return to and elaborate this example