Question

1. Describe two individuals from each of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. One individual will have successfully resolved each stage while the other will have not. Explain, in your descriptions, what may have led to each individual's outcome and how this has played a role in his or her personality.

2. Identify your current stage of psychosocial development. Describe how Erikson's theory is or is not relevant to your personal situation. Explain where you are in terms of resolution of this stage.

Answer 1

Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development

• Erik Erikson's developmental theory is based on the belief that development consists of a series of psychosocial crises which individuals must successfully resolve as they mature. Those conflicts involve the person's struggle to achieve individuality and, at the same time, to learn to function in society. The different stages of psychosocial development which Eriksonhas identified are produced by experiences each child has in interaction with his or her world.Of major importance in early life is the interaction between children and the adults who care for them. Play is also important to human development as children work toward reorganizing their inner perceptions to fit the external world in which they must function. According to Erikson, every individual moves through an orderly sequence of stages, each of which is more complex. Maturation occurs as the individual ascends from one stage toanother. At each stage, the individual is faced with a psuchosocial conflict which must be resolved before moving on to the next stage of development. These begin in infancy, with the Crisis Of trust versus mistrust. Erikson's stages two through five are of most interest to students ofchildren's literature. See also the theory of Melanie Klein regarding the development of the psyche of the child. Her theories are not as well known in the United States as are Freud's, but her theories provide the psychoanalytic foundation for studies in England and other parts of Europe, explaining in part our basic quest/need for knowledge, our yearning for creativity, and our revised comprehension of the role of the child in our whole maturation process. Particularly relevant to this theoretical approach is the study of literature: psychoanalytic Kleinian critics apply their theories to literary works.

Early Childhood:Achieving Autonomy

• Erikson's second stage of development, described as Autonomy versus Doubt, generally takes place from about ages 18 months to three years. During this stage, children are involved in a struggle to be an independent self and yetnot to cut this self off from others. There is still a need for support from others, particularly from parents. Play is important for these children because it allows them a means for developing autonomy within their own set of rules.As children progress through this stage, theybecome more aware of adults other than the parents and of older children in the family. In the main, those who serve in the role of parentsare the important "others" and law and order is dominant in terms of the social order that prevails. Children of this age seem to like books that deal with relationships between parent and child, like Frank Asch's Sand Cake, Robert Kraus's Whose Mouse are You?and Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit. In the latter, there is also an lament of law and order which probably reinforces what children are being taught at this stage. That is not to say that we should limit literature for these very young children to family stories that end on an orderly note, but Erikson's concerns about the development of the individual in relationship to society might serve as a guideline in choosing stories to read aloud.

Middle Childhood: Developing Initiative

• The next stage, which takes place at about ages three to six, is that of Initiative versus Guilt. During these years, children are increasingly expected to be responsible for themselves and for their toys and other possessions. As this new independence develops, so too does the realization that one's behavior may be in opposition to the behavior of others. Whenever there is conflict with another individual, a sense of guilt is likely to arise. Children also grow toward the cultural mores as their consciences take onsome of the functions formerly performed by significant adults. During this period, children ask many questions and through the questioning begin to understand things which had previously been mysteries to them. Play takes on two forms: solitary daydreaming and play with other children in which life crises are enacted.Furthermore, imaginative play enables children to think about their future as well as their present roles.
• Erikson's description of children at this stageseems to suggest the importance of acquaintingthem with literature in which story characters, too, experience conflict when their actions throw them into opposition with others. Books will give children a chance to experience alongwith story characters what it is to gradually take more responsibility for their actions. The quality of play is present in many books published for children in the three-to-six-yeargroup. Many are light and humorous but othersare serious attempts to show how children playout their concerns. The child's need to play outsome ideas through daydreaming suggests aneed to be alone at times. A book such as Evan'sCorner might appeal to some children who findit hard to be left in peace. Other books allowchildren to play out their fears and dreams,books such as There's a Nightmare in My Closet, Where the Wild Things Are, and Benjie on His Own. It would seem essential to offer these children a good balance of realistic fiction and fantasy. Folk literature, too, deals inherently with many themes that have to do with the relationship of an individual to others and to society in general and so it, too, should be included in listening experiences.

Late Childhood: Becoming Industrious

• Stage four in Erikson's scheme compares roughly to Piaget's concrete operations stage in terms of the ages involved. This stage, which is reached during ages seven to eleven, Erikson terms "late childhood." It is a stage of Industry versus Inferiority. Children operating atthis stage appear determined to master the tasks that are set for them. They learn to work together with other children toward a common goal and they are almost constantly engaged inactivities that allow them to practice skills the culture requires of them. The conflict of industry versus inferiority is related to a sensethat they are inferior if they cannot show that they are competent and so these children are constantly measuring themselves against their peers. Clearly, a good many of the books published for this age group pose situations in which children strive to be as successful as their peers. Anumber of books particularly recent ones, havealso focused one way in which children perceive their parents. The growing determination of children in this group to master new tasks points to the importance of informational books in their lives. Books that show how to identify birds, how to raise hamsters, how to cook, or how to play baseball all have a potential audience amongmiddle- and upper-elementary age children.Some children may work out the conflict of industry versus inferiority vicariously, reading biographies of people who did succeed or realistic fiction about people who overcome hardships. Colin Thiele's Blue Fin involves readers with a boy's struggle to prove to his father that he is a competent sailor. It is representative of the kinds of books which appeal to children in this stage.

Adolescence: Establishing Identity

• Erikson's stage of adolescence, ages eleven and upwards, is that of Identity versus Role Diffusion.As the name suggests, the focal point now is asearch for identity. The development of identity is linked with skill mastery. On a broader level, we might say that it includes cultural identity as well as personal identity, identity as a member of a community as well as identity as an individual. Inner demands often run counter to outer demands, leading to diffusion andsome instability. Adolescents grapple with the question of who they will become as well as the question of who they are. They often have aclose attachment to their parents, yet at the same time are searching for other associations.
• Inevitably, the question arises of whether the parents still control them and that, of course, creates friction. Play changes so that it is more likely to be arole playing and experimentation with attitudesand behavior of adults in society. Adolescents babysit, they participate in sports, and they also belong to gangs and to in-groups. Literature for this group includes a range of realistic fiction which can give them a chance to interact withsituations in which other teenagers are search-ing for identity. That means stories in which characterization is worked out with enough depth so that characters' fears and joys areevident throughout as they strive to discover themselves and to experience success. WalterDean Myers' The Young Landlords and Jean McCord's Turkeylegs Thompson are two such books.

Conclusion:

I have passed through all the stages of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Now, I am in the of "Adolescence: Establishing Identity." I fit into this stage correctly. I think that I fully accept Erikson's stages of psychosocial development.