Question

Discuss one of the theories of development during middle childhood.

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Answer 1

Erik Erikson developed the Theory of Psychosocial Development in 1959. Erikson’s theory was greatly influenced by Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory. Erikson’s theory attributes the development of an individual’s personality to parental and societal influences from infancy to adulthood.

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development states that all individuals have to pass through eight stages of development. At each of these stages, a person undergoes psychosocial crises that contribute to the shaping of their personality. The resolution of each of these crises results in the attainment of certain virtues.

The eight stages of Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory are:

Crisis	Virtue	Age
Trust vs. Mistrust	Hope	0-1
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt	Will	1-3
Initiative vs. Guilt	Purpose	3-5
Industry vs. Inferiority	Competency	5-12
Ego Identity vs. Role Confusion	Fidelity	12-18
Intimacy vs. Isolation	Love	18-40
Generativity vs. Stagnation	Care	40-65
Ego integrity vs. Despair	Wisdom	65-death

In middle childhood, individuals face the crisis of Industry vs. Inferiority. This stage takes place between the ages of 5 to 12. During this stage, children are at school and are learning to be independent. They begin to take initiative and take pride in their accomplishments. They are able to learn complex tasks and are eager to develop new skills. Their teachers and peers become important influences in their lives as they learn new skills. Since the skills that children acquire at school are evaluated, it contributes to a child’s confidence and sense of competency. A child’s self-esteem is largely tied to how he or she is viewed by his or her friends. When a child notices that he or she is better at certain tasks than his or her peers, it can lead to a higher self-esteem, and when a child feels they fall short on certain skills when compared to their peers, it leads to low self-esteem. If a child is encouraged and reinforced for their actions, they develop a sense of competency and confidence in their abilities to achieve their goals. On the other hand, if their initiatives are discouraged, they begin to feel inferior and doubt their abilities to carry out the goals they have set for themselves. The feelings of inferiority could in turn lead to a child not reaching their full potential.

In the same way, society also plays a role in a child’s self-esteem and sense of competency. If a child does not develop a skill that society believes the child should possess, this could also lead to a sense of inferiority. For instance, if a society expects boys between the ages of 8-12 to be athletic and the boy is not, it could lead to feelings of inferiority.

While failures are important to keeping a child modest, the way in which a child’s teachers, parents, peers and society respond to these failures is a major contributing factor to a child’s feelings of competency.