Question

Describe what the crisis of identity versus inferiority is and its individual impact. Discuss an example to exemplify this crisis along for males and females.

Answer 1

• Industry versus inferiority is the fourth stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The stage occurs during childhood between the ages of approximately six and eleven.
• School and social interaction play an important role during this time of a child’s life. A child's social world expands considerably as they enter school and gain new friendships with peers. Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and abilities.
• During the earlier stages, a child’s interactions centered primarily on caregivers, family members, and others in their immediate household. As the school years begin, the realm of social influence increases dramatically.
• Friends and classmates play a role in how children progress through the industry versus inferiority stage. Through proficiency at play and schoolwork, children are able to develop a sense of competence and pride in their abilities. By feeling competent and capable, children are able to also form a strong self-concept.
• During social interactions with peers, some children may discover that their abilities are better than those of their friends or that their talents are highly prized by others. This can lead to feelings of confidence. In other cases, kids may discover that they are not quite as capable as the other kids, which can result in feelings of inadequacy.
• During the industry versus inferiority stage, children become capable of performing increasingly complex tasks. As a result, they strive to master new skills. Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence and belief in their abilities.
• Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their ability to be successful. Children who struggle to develop this sense of competence may emerge from this stage with feelings of failure and inferiority.
• This can set the stage for later problems in development. People who don't feel competent in their ability to succeed may be less likely to try new things and more likely to assume that their efforts will not measure up under scrutiny.
• Imagine two children in the same 4th-grade class. One finds science lessons difficult, but her parents are willing to help her each night with her homework. She also asks the teacher for help and starts to receive encouragement and praise for her efforts.
• The other child also struggles with science, but his parents are uninterested in assisting him with his nightly homework. He feels bad about the poor grades he receives on his science assignments but is not sure what to do about the situation.
• His teacher is critical of his work but does not offer any extra assistance or advice. Eventually, he just gives up, and his grades become even worse.
• While both children struggled with this aspect of school, the first one received the support and encouragement she needed to overcome these difficulties and still build a sense of mastery. The second child, however, lacked the social and emotional encouragement he needed. In this area, the first child will likely develop a sense of industry wheres the second child will be left with feelings of inferiority.
• This particular stage is extremely important for the development of self confidence of a child and that is parental and teacher support is required to develop the right kind of abilities and competitiveness.Over praising the child will be deterimental since rewarding him/her for every skilll he/she succeeds at like reading,problem solving,drawing etc. would make the child arrogant.Encouraging efforts rather than outcome, and helping kids develop a growth mindset.
• The overpraising can make a male or a female child more arrogant and engage in unhealthy competition. And underprasing or lack of encouragement can lead to lower self esteem issues in females and impulsivity in males or even lack of respect for the authority later on in life.