Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
Mario A Garcia
University of Houston
‘
Erikson's psychosocial theory is a series of eight stages that an individual must go through throughout their life. Each stage presents its own crisis/ conflict that a person must successfully resolve for a healthy development. If the crisis is not resolved, it could lead to certain conflicts within the individual's overall development. Erikson believed that everyone had a predetermined plan that places them within each stage. This is what he called the "Epigenetic Principle" (Schroger lecture, 2017) I analyzed two brothers who are 4 years apart in age. The older one is 14 years old and is named Eduardo, while the second is his younger brother Jesus. They …show more content…
He was born on October 2nd, 2003, to a middle-class family and is the oldest of two siblings. His parents have adopted an authoritarian parenting style. He has just started a rebellious phase and is quickly annoyed when asked to do something and is currently causing trouble in his classes. Eduardo is currently in Erikson's 5th stage of psychosocial development "Identity v/s Role Confusion". In this stage the individual is faced with the figuring out their identity. This stage lasts up to early adulthood, and if the individual is successful with overcoming this crisis, will be able to know who they are, what their purpose is, and what they are going to do (Schoger, 2017). If unsuccessful, the person will experience role confusion, and not understand who they are, what they like, and what their purpose …show more content…
For a positive and healthy experience, he will need to gain self-confidence by meeting societal expectations and academic success (Schoger lecture, 2017). Jesus is in 4th grade and brings home good grades, and plays in a little league soccer group. He has been playing soccer since he was about 4 years old, and has gotten to be a better player throughout his six-year experience. His coach and parents constantly praise him for his skill and a number of goals he scores in each game. Along with these praises, he is popular at school and is friends with almost all his classmates. If there were to be a sudden drop in academic achievement or begins to score less and fewer goals in soccer, he could end up in a state where he is not self-confident and is "unwilling to try new things", (Schoger lecture, 2017). If this was the case, he would avoid playing soccer and ultimately drop it as a sport. This could also lead him to feel as if he is not good enough when it comes to certain tasks. Not resolving this crisis can also have lasting effects on future stages. If he is doubtful of his abilities and there is an unwillingness to try new the things, he could also end up in role-confusion, and despair. If he is afraid to put himself out there and experience different things, then how will he learn what he likes and does not like. If both crises in stages 5 and 6 are not resolved, then he will also be unsuccessful in the last stage "Integrity
Mario A Garcia
University of Houston
‘
Erikson's psychosocial theory is a series of eight stages that an individual must go through throughout their life. Each stage presents its own crisis/ conflict that a person must successfully resolve for a healthy development. If the crisis is not resolved, it could lead to certain conflicts within the individual's overall development. Erikson believed that everyone had a predetermined plan that places them within each stage. This is what he called the "Epigenetic Principle" (Schroger lecture, 2017) I analyzed two brothers who are 4 years apart in age. The older one is 14 years old and is named Eduardo, while the second is his younger brother Jesus. They …show more content…
He was born on October 2nd, 2003, to a middle-class family and is the oldest of two siblings. His parents have adopted an authoritarian parenting style. He has just started a rebellious phase and is quickly annoyed when asked to do something and is currently causing trouble in his classes. Eduardo is currently in Erikson's 5th stage of psychosocial development "Identity v/s Role Confusion". In this stage the individual is faced with the figuring out their identity. This stage lasts up to early adulthood, and if the individual is successful with overcoming this crisis, will be able to know who they are, what their purpose is, and what they are going to do (Schoger, 2017). If unsuccessful, the person will experience role confusion, and not understand who they are, what they like, and what their purpose …show more content…
For a positive and healthy experience, he will need to gain self-confidence by meeting societal expectations and academic success (Schoger lecture, 2017). Jesus is in 4th grade and brings home good grades, and plays in a little league soccer group. He has been playing soccer since he was about 4 years old, and has gotten to be a better player throughout his six-year experience. His coach and parents constantly praise him for his skill and a number of goals he scores in each game. Along with these praises, he is popular at school and is friends with almost all his classmates. If there were to be a sudden drop in academic achievement or begins to score less and fewer goals in soccer, he could end up in a state where he is not self-confident and is "unwilling to try new things", (Schoger lecture, 2017). If this was the case, he would avoid playing soccer and ultimately drop it as a sport. This could also lead him to feel as if he is not good enough when it comes to certain tasks. Not resolving this crisis can also have lasting effects on future stages. If he is doubtful of his abilities and there is an unwillingness to try new the things, he could also end up in role-confusion, and despair. If he is afraid to put himself out there and experience different things, then how will he learn what he likes and does not like. If both crises in stages 5 and 6 are not resolved, then he will also be unsuccessful in the last stage "Integrity