Theories of Development
Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development offer a means of helping us understand the typical developmental tasks of the individual. Erikson believed that as an individual passes through life, he or she has specific age-related developmental life tasks to overcome. If the individual successfully masters these developmental milestones, a positive identity is created. On the other hand, if the individual cannot cope with the developmental tasks, then he or she carries these dysfunctions on to the next levels, making it difficult to complete later developmental tasks successfully.
Write a 3-4-page description and analysis of your own psychosocial development. Write at least one paragraph for each psychosocial stage in Erikson’s model. Provide the following for each stage:
- Give a brief description of an individual going through the stages.
- Describe the high points, low points, traumas, major life-changing events, etc., along with the resulting outcomes of virtue and strength or maladaption/malignancy.
- Analyze how your experience could help you in a career as a human services professional.
- Reflect on the theory as a whole. How effective was it as a lens to evaluate your own experiences? Would you continue to use this theory in a professional capacity? Why or why not?
Answer PreviewErickson’s theory of psychosocial development was motivated by Sigmund Freud psychosexual theory. Erickson believed that every individual personality develops in a series of different stages that we encounter in our life. Psychosocial theory also says that an individual effectiveness from one stage to another depends on how successfully he/she encounters…