Psychosocial development theory

What is psychosocial development

Psychosocial development is included of changes in children's apparent behavior as well as in their social awareness.

Erikson emphasized that human personality goes through eight stages of psychosocial development starts from childhood till adulthood. During each stage, an individual experiences  mental as well as social problems that can put positive or negative impact on human personality development.

According to psychosocial development theory these problems are psychological as well as social because, they involve the psychological needs of the individual (the mind) in conflict with the social needs. Successful completion of every stage leads to a good character acquisition of essential qualities. Basic beauty is a powerful force that the ego can use to solve the following problems.

Eight stages of psychosocial development

1.Trust vs mistrust.

It is the first stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. This stage starts at birth and stops by 18 months of age. During this stage, the child is unsure about world he lives in and looks to their caregivers for support in care. If he receives consistent and reliable care, he will develop a sense of mutual trust in relationships, he gains the power to feel safe even when admonished or threatened.

If the child does not receive these needs on regular bases, mistrust and anxiety might develop. If care is inconsistent the child starts experiencing mistrust and anxiety and become doubtful in his choices about the world. In this case, the child will not feel confident in his abilities to influence events. 

Not gaining the power of hope will increase fear. This child will carry the basic feeling of mistrust in another relationship. This can lead to anxiety, increased insecurity, and a feeling of insecurity in the world around them.

2.Autonomy vs shame and doubt

According to Eric Erikson's theory the second stage is Independence vs Shame and Doubt . This stage occurs between the ages of 18 months to 3 years. According to psychosocial development theory children of this age begin developing a sense of self-control and independence.

Success at this stage will lead to beauty of will. When children at this stage are encouraged and supported in their independent development, they become more confident and secure in their ability to live.

When we criticize children by not giving them the opportunity to express themselves. They begin to feel inadequately able to live, may become more unconfident, and feel awkward or doubts about their abilities.

3. Initiative vs Guilt

Erik Erikson's third stage of psychosocial theory is initiative vs guilt. During the initial phase children often engage themselves with plays and other social interactions. These are particularly exciting years in the life of a rapidly growing child. During this period the child communicates regularly with other children at school. The game is so important for them at this stage, as it gives children the opportunity to test their personal skills. At this stage the child starts asking questions because his thirst for knowledge grows. 

Success in this stage will lead to better intentions, while failure will lead to feelings of guilt.

4.Industry vs inferiority

This stage occurs during childhood between  five and twelve years of children.

Children go through a stage where they can learn to read, write, do math and do things on their own. Teachers begin to play an important role in a child's life as they teach the child certain skills.

In this stage the child's peer group are so important  for the child and will be a great source of the child's confidence. The child starts feeling the need of permission by displaying valuable skills that are valued in society. He begins feel proud about his accomplishments.

When children are encouraged and strengthened with their steps, they begin to feel motivated and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals. 

If this step is not encouraged, if it is blocked by the parents or the teacher, the child begins to feel inferior, doubt his skills and unable to achieve great success in his future endeavors.

5.Identity vs role confusion 

The fifth stage of Erik Ericson's psychosocial development theory is identity vs role confusion. This stage occurs during adolescence. The children of 12-18 years came under it. During this stage, young people seek to define themselves and their identity, through in-depth exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals.

 Children of this age become more independent. They start to think about their relationships, families and jobs.

During this time, they explore opportunities and begin to create their own based on the results of their experiences. Failure to establish a sense of self-worth in society ("I don't know what I want to be when I grow up") can lead to role confusion.

6.Intimacy vs Isolation 

This stage occurs when a person is between 19 and 40 years old. During this time, major struggles focused on building close, loving relationships with others. Success at this stage helps children to build strong relationships, but failure at this stage might bring loneliness and isolation to them.

At this point, we begin to engage more closely with others. We study relationships that lead to long-term bonds with someone who is not a family member. Successful completion of this stage can lead to a happy relationship and a sense of commitment, security, and care within the relationship.

Avoidance of intimacy and fear of commitment and relationships can lead to feelings of loneliness and sometimes depression. Success in this stage will lead to the beauty of love.

7. Generativity vs stagnation 

This stage occurs in adult's . People fulfill the need for creativity or interest in things that will live in their lives, and they often have mentors or to make positive changes that will benefit others. Success leads to a feeling of help and success, while failure leads to lack of participation in the world.

These people may feel connected to the number of contacts in the community. Success in this stage will lead to beauty.

8.Ego integrity vs despair 

This stage occurs after the age of 66 and involves contemplating one's health, feeling satisfied and happy with one's health, or deep feelings of regret. Success in these stages leads to a sense of wisdom, and failure leads to regret, anger, and despair.

Success at this stage will lead the child towards wisdom. Wisdom enables a person to look at his life with a sense of nearness and perfection, and to accept death without fear. The wise do not seem to have a sense of pride in their self-esteem,but they do experience honesty and despair. Thus, late life is seen as both honest and hopeless as other situations that require balance.

Summary 

Erikson in his theory of psychosocial development says that every one know what  what actually motivates him throughout life and believes that the ego of individuals keep real importance to direct our actions than the ideas we get. We make wise choices in life, and these decisions are based on satisfying specific social and cultural needs rather than the biological needs of living organisms.

For example, people are motivated by the need to feel that this is a safe place, that we are capable of humanity, that we can contribute to society, and that we have lived a meaningful life. All of these are psychological problems. Erikson's theory is based on what he calls the epigenetic system, which includes the idea that we develop by expressing our personality at predetermined stages, and that our environment and culture influence the way we progress through these stages. Erikson described eight stages, each of which has a great deal of psychological and social responsibility to overcome or overcome. These eight stages are:Trust vs mistrust, Autonomy vs shame and doubt, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs inferiority, Identity vs role confusion, Intimacy vs Isolation, Generativity vs stagnation, Ego integrity vs despair. Erikson believed that our character continued to grow throughout our lives as we faced these challenges.

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