Essay On Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

Erik Erikson was a famous Psychologist who had a theory about psychosocial stages all humans go through. (book) The first stage spans from birth to the 1 year mark. The stage is trust vs mistrust which should determine whether or not you have faith in people or expect the worst from people. The next stage is autonomy vs shame and doubt (ages 1-3) decides whether or not you will be independent or doubtful of your abilities. Stage 3 is initiative vs guilt (ages 3 to 6) the child will either become anxious or responsible. Stage 4 is industry vs inferiority (ages 6 to puberty) the child either feels accomplished or inferior. Stage 5, which is the stage I will be focusing on, is ego identity vs role confusion which spans from puberty into the twenties. In this stage they either find their own sense of identity or become isolated. Stage 6 is intimacy vs isolation which is from 20s-40s where the person will either create deep and meaningful relationships or become isolated. Stage 7 is generatively vs stagnation ( 40s-mid 60s) where the person will either become useful to the next generation or become bored and lonely. Stage 8 is integrity vs despair (late adulthood +) the person will either be satisfied or regretful. For the purpose of this paper I will focus on stage 5 identity vs role confusion as well as my experiences with this stage and whether this theory proved accurate in my case. Stage Five is the conflict between ego identity and role confusion it focuses on puberty to early twenties. I believe stage five was the most influential in my life so far; I went through many changes and life decisions at this point. Around the age of 18 I made the biggest decision of my life which was to put my daughter up for adoption. I honestly believe that this impacted my development in almost forcing me to find my own identity. After letting people pressure me into giving my daughter up I decided to become my own person and make my own decisions. This decision impacted the rest of my life both in positive and negative ways. “The adoptive situation significantly alters the context at all three levels mentioned above (self, family, and society)” (Brown) This journal points to the conclusion that adoption greatly alters the identity stage in Erikson’s theory. This supports my theory by saying that adoption can alter stage five through the self-reflection process. Another article states …show more content…
Which is when I went through a period of not knowing what to do with myself. I felt aimless and I felt like everyone was against me. After the adoption I did not know what to myself. Also I think that I found my own set of morals and values during thiss time after many thought into the subject. I feel like Erikson’s theory was completely valid in my case. I went through identity diffusion as well as role confusion. I came out with the positive result but overall his theory was pretty valid. I also agree with all of his other stages, I think even though this theory came from the 1960’s it is still very reliable in today’s world. He also has some universal points in the theory except I think we continue to find identity through each stage of our life. Not just puberty to early twenties. I feel like stage five stretches through the entirety of our