Analyzing Erikson's Eight Stages Of Development

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Erikson in Elementary Schools
Erik Erikson was a German developmental theorist in the mid to late 1900’s. His theory of psychosocial development shared some qualities with those of Sigmund Freud. Where Freud believed children’s development stopped around adulthood, Erikson believed people would continue to develop throughout their lifespan. His research suggested that humans develop through eight stages. “The psychosocial stages refer to Erikson’s basic psychological and social tasks, which individuals need to master at intervals from infancy through old age.” (Corey, p. 69) Erikson stated that a person would be provided with a crisis at the end of each stage, depending on their experiences they would prosper or fail. The outcome of each
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Intimacy verses Isolation focuses on people from nineteen to forty years old. The most important event in this stage is creating and maintaining love relationships. Young adults who are unable to face this crisis positively will most likely suffer from feelings of isolation from the people and world around him or her. From the ages forty through sixty-five years middle-aged adults will learn to give back to their community. Generativity verses Stagnation offers the crisis of making a difference in society and feeling worthwhile or putting a halt in development. The last and final stage of Erikson’s stages of development is Integrity verses Despair. In ones later life they will begin to reflect on the choices they made and either accept or deny their life as a whole. Most adults accept their life and feel content or fulfilled and are at peace with meeting death. Others will feel unsettled and question the life they choose to life and could even be fearful of death …show more content…
Those who do not receive encouragement from teachers, parents and peers might doubt their ability to feel successful. These students experience feelings of inferiority. Generally, students who have low self-esteem act out in other ways to compensate for feelings of inferiority. “Self-esteem means being proud of yourself because you’ve done things you’re proud of” (Espeland, Kaufman, and Raphael, p. 95). Many students do not know how to feel proud of themselves because no one around them has expressed satisfaction of their actions. Several times students are confused about what is worthy of pride and could potentially have a false sense of

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