Revisiting Erik Erikson: Understanding the Stages of Psychosocial Development

Development is something we can’t stall or escape and considering how transient life is for everyone, it is no wonder that Psychologists are fascinated with trying to understand the process of development and how it translates to who we become. Over the years psychologists have realized that development is not just limited to childhood and adolescence- we do so throughout our life. But one psychologist who comes to my mind who truly saw development as a lifelong phenomenon was Erik Erikson.

Who was Erik Erikson?

Erikson was born in Frankfurt and studied and trained in Psychoanalysis under Anna Freud herself. He only moved to Boston in 1933 to work at the Harvard Psychological Unit as a researcher and do his Graduate degree at Harvard. But he discontinued the latter and worked with Yale and Berkeley as a researcher. Erik Erikson followed the psychoanalytic theory but like the psychologists who moved away from Freud’s theory, he too added his own perspective to it.

Note:- I have attached a link to an article talking about his achievements and contributions to Psychology.

What was Erik Erikson’s understanding of development?

Erikson believed that a person continued to develop throughout their life and unlike Freud he saw development because of different existential experiences a person has. He gave 8 stages of development that started from infancy to death. He theorized that the needs people experience is connected to feelings of safety, connection, freedom and identity among many others.

The stages he suggested are mentioned below-

Trust Vs Mistrust- This is the first stage of development that starts from Birth to Infancy. An infant is said to develop trust in their parents or other caregivers when they are provided with a safe and secure environment where their needs for affection and food are also met. This encourages the child to be curious and explore their surroundings as they get older.

But when these needs are not met, infants can become withdrawn and become mistrustful.

Autonomy vs Shame, Doubt- This stage of development spans throughout the early stages of childhood. Children who develop autonomy, usually grow up with people who provide them with a secure environment but also encourage them to be self-sufficient, try new things that would help them to be independent while keeping them safe.

But in case this environment is not provided to children, they may develop compulsive behaviors.

Initiative vs Guilt- This stage of development happens between the ages of three and five and involves children taking the initiative to not only explore their surroundings but to also build interpersonal connections. Taking initiative to socialize take part in different activities helps them build self- confidence, a sense of purpose and a sense of security. But in case, children are criticized or shamed they may start feeling guilty.

Industry vs Inferiority- Children between the ages of 5 to 12 years go through this stage of development. Most children in this stage of development start attending schools, so their social circles expand, and there are more expectations put on them. Children who successfully meet these expectations, achieve realistic goals and receive encouragements, grow up to be competent. But when they overwhelmed with challenges, can’t meet expectations or criticized constantly, they end up becoming passive and with feelings of inferiority.

Identity vs Identity Confusion- Our Adolescence (ages 12-18) are an extremely important time of our life and according to Erikson, this is the time when we focus on building and finding our identity. Adolescents start identifying with different values and expectations, while learning from their social interactions who they might be and what their aspirations are.

Adolescents who can find their identity and their place in social develop the virtue of fidelity, i.e., an ability to align or belong with the social group they want to associate with.

Intimacy vs Isolation- In most countries people become adults once they are 18 years old and the expectations from them also start to reflect that. According to Erikson, most adults between the ages of 18 years and 40 years old go through the developmental stage of Intimacy vs Isolation where adults focus on forming long and fulfilling relationships. These lasting relationships are pertinent to not feel loneliness, isolation or depression.

Generativity vs Stagnation- This stage of development is a crucial stage for adults aged between 40 years and 65 years to focus on having an impact on society through raising children, teaching younger generations, being of value to society. People who successfully move through this stage feel a sense of fulfilment about their contributions to the society, how they have raised their children and how they connect with family and friends. But people who don’t successfully move through this developmental stage feel disconnected, fell a lack of fulfilment or unproductive with regards to their contribution to the society at large.

Integrity vs Despair- According to Erikson, this is the final stage of development that people experience from around 65 years of age till their death. This is the stage when people reflect on the choices they have made in life, the contributions they have made to society and the bonds and relationships they have formed throughout their life. People who reflect on their life and feel fulfilled, do so based on the wisdom they have shared and a sense of satisfaction they feel. Otherwise, they feel despair about their choices or mistakes they made throughout their life.

Erik Erikson’s theory of development was very different from Freud’s theory because he focused on a person’s entire life till their death and not just till someone’s adolescence like the latter did. Despite that, there were criticisms for this theory- you see, The Psychosocial Developmental stages theory was also a product of its time. So, the theory focused on boys/men and the developmental stages they may experience. Not only that, but Erikson was also criticized for using vague descriptors for each developmental stages that made it difficult to rigorously test the theory. Erikson saw his theory as a general description of the general stages of life people experience (later on psychologists noticed that people may not experience these stages sequentially and not sequential stages of development that every person rigidly experienced.

The Psychosocial Development theory has its flaws but understanding this theory puts into perspective the major needs we may have throughout our life and how they may benefit us.

References-

Miller , S.A. et al. (2024) Lifespan development, Lumen Learning. Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/erikson-and-psychosocial-theory/ (Accessed: 24 December 2024).

Orenstein, G.A. and Lewis, L. (2022) Erikson’s stages of Psychosocial Development, StatPearls [Internet]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556096/ (Accessed: 24 December 2024).

Sutton, J. (2024) Erik Erikson’s stages of Psychosocial Development explained, PositivePsychology.com. Available at: https://positivepsychology.com/erikson-stages/ (Accessed: 24 December 2024).