Introduction
Life is organized into eight stages that extend from birth to death (Karen, 1998). This organization is best described as a portrait. One can visualize himself from this portrait. You can conduct a self-assessment and verify each stage. Erik Eriksson organized these stages of life in a way that is elaborate enough to understand either of them comprehensively. His sub-division of life covers childhood and adulthood with an emphasis on adulthood. Adulthood is the longest stage and Eriksson explains how humans become independent and responsible.
In his theory, Eriksson projects life from two perspectives. Each perspective is indicative of human perception and reaction to his growth and development. Eriksson makes a case of nature compelling humans to adapt to their growth and development and their latent environment. It is correct to insinuate that, Eriksson projects human physical and mental development as a core process that continues until death. Throughout his life, the human learns consistently. He acquires skills, knowledge, and instincts. These become his tools of survival as he advances in age.
This paper explores the lengthy stages of human growth and development from Erik Eriksson’s perspective. We examine how, as humans, how we grow, learn, adapt to new environments, respond to nature, become responsible, and take charge of our lives. The eventual adulthood and achievements made are indicative of how well we responded to nature and personal development. In Eriksson’s perspective, the world gets bigger as we grow and failure is cumulative, a reason why poverty and laxity are rampant.
Personal Portrait
Erik Eriksson’s theory is a broad subject about how we develop into adults then into old frail humans. Along with development and growth, life is a long spiral cycle, which ends at the same point. A personal portrait is an expose about growth and development. I take it that, from my point of view, the growth and development stages are comprehensively covered though I have not entered old age. At 46 years of age am confident I have achieved a lot in comparison to a man of 50 years.
Throughout my life, I have sought to understand how I managed past my infancy. I was brought up by well-to-do parents. Both were working in the education sector. This called for discipline and industry as compulsory. However, my status is because of how I was influenced by my background. This self-portrait is a clear picture of my infancy to my current age.
Infancy
Infancy is the childhood stage. This is the period between birth and two years. It is a stage where one begins to learn, develop an ego, how to trust and relate with others. It is when the child gains basic strengths, drive, and hope. Eriksson referred to this stage as the oral stage. Parents watch a child put everything that she comes across in her mouth. The child develops a bond with the mother. This bond is developed because the mother is taking care of the child throughout. The child interprets this as care, love, and positive regard.
Communication between the parent and the child is mainly through touch, eye contact, and attitudes. Eriksson argues that, if we pass successfully through this stage, we tend to trust life. We develop a positive attitude towards life and ourselves. Lack of love, care, and positive guidance might result in feelings of frustration and lack of confidence. Parents have to work hard to mentor a child into confidence.
3yrs – 5 yrs Childhood
This stage is very important. During this period, a child copies what the adults around her do. You will identify adult initiatives during children’s play situations. Eriksson downplays sexuality influences on social-cognitive development. He points out that the psychological features between a child and her parent that influences social cognitive abilities. Eriksson draws out how we are engulfed in the oedipal struggle subsequently resolve this struggle through social role identification.
Our development during this stage is determined by our relationship with our family. Based on my personal experience, how I was brought up has played a significant role in making me what I am. I trace my confidence and pride in my father’s behavior and social status. My ambition to become a successful entrepreneur and a man of social status is traced to my family’s social status. We were the only kids in the neighborhood who could afford eggs and bread for breakfast. I have been able to feel special and very important. This has helped me to be ambitious and focused in my endeavors.
School-age 6-12 years
In the latency stage, children are exposed to various social setups. We learn, create, and accomplish many new tasks and skills. We learn and become knowledgeable subsequently develop a sense of industry. Parents start nurturing our industry and help us resolve feelings of inadequacy and inferiority when with our peers. Successful resolve helps us become confident and superior among our peers. Generally, we tend to overcome serious self-consciousness issues like self-esteem and competence.
Our lives are centered in learning environments. These include school, church, and neighborhoods where we pick habits to learn how to talk and what to say. The parent’s role in our social cognitive development at this stage is limited. We are learning from different sources and models. This makes our parent’s role as complete authorities in our lives limited though they are still very important to our lives.
From my experience, I picked my habits from my teacher and my parents. I used to listen to the radio and became an ardent listen of the news. I loved reading newspapers and writing. I aped my father’s proficiency in writing, talking English, and self-esteem. This was the onset of my writing career and entrepreneurship. I read novels, journals, and many magazines. I wanted to be inspired and emulate great people.
These were my early teenage. I learned that I was from a prestigious family. It was a norm that I behave and project myself as a young man from a family of good social standing. This stage formed a strong foundation for my future. To date, I still identify myself with hard-working people and class. My principal objective was to become very successful and have a distinct personality.
Adolescence stage: 12 to 18 years
Ego development and finding social identity happen during this stage. Eriksson argues that development depends on what is done to us and primarily, what we do. Adolescence is neither childhood nor adulthood. This stage is best described as a shell age when one is experiencing an identity crisis. One shapes his adult life during this stage. One develops basic strengths and devotion. Fidelity starts during adolescence. Honest people trace this noble attribute to their adolescence stage.
During this stage, we happen to become more confused rather than focusing on what we want to be In the future. We struggle as we try to interact socially and have difficulties with moral issues. Gradually we discover our sexuality, industry, and social standings. Based on such discoveries, we gradually attempt to find our own identity by separating from our families and become members of society. In this stage, we establish philosophies about the process of life. Lack of experience hence, we easily substitute our ideologies for the experience; this leads to the development of values and objectives, devotion to friends, and personal causes, a reason why we only identify with peers during this age.
My experience was rather constrained. My parents wanted nothing short of perfection. They needed honesty, hard work, and productivity. They managed my social life, choosing friends for me, and warning me against interaction with brats and girls. So many people were unwelcome to our home. Gradually, I became conscious of my inner strengths and I identified with the right people in each social setting I found myself in.
Young Adulthood: 18years to 35
The outcome of the ego developed during adolescence is observed throughout young adulthood. Your social life is surrounded by the outcomes of your teenage characters and associations. Young adulthood initially is a stage of seeking love and compassion. Throughout the initial stages, we seek to establish satisfying mutual relationships. Our desire is to be affiliated and loved; subsequently relationships with the opposite sex mature to marriage. It is the onset of our lives.
I met my first wife during this stage. I hoped to achieve primarily a mutually satisfying relationship with a woman through marriage. However, failures in this stage, especially in relationships often lead to isolation from others and even those we have had good relationships. Subsequent distancing from others will occur because of such failures.
Middle Adulthood: 35 to 55-65
The outcomes of our ego, relationships, marriages, and other affiliations begin materializing. We have now become absorbed in ourselves and subsequently, stagnant. However, we are very producing and responsible during this stage. Many are in parenthood during this stage. Children are in school and we are busy running companies and working in offices. Erik Eriksson projected that we are more positively productive during this stage of life than any other. Our relationships might become rocky and divorce may be consequential. During this stage, we train our children to become morally responsible. We want to see them learn. The objective of this stage in life is to perpetuate culture while imparting cultural values to the children.
I often observe myself in this stage since am now 46. I have had a divorce and remarried. My first wife gave me three children who I visit every weekend though I have not had any with the current wife. I divorced my second wife. The divorce did not go down well with me though but based on Eriksson’s model, it is typical that my young adulthood could have been a factor of influence prompting the divorce (Brannon, 2002). However, my productivity as a career accountant is traced to my industrious teenage. Writing, reading, and arithmetic, all borrowed from my father. Am proud of my achievements and hope to tame my kids into responsible and successful adults.
Comparison between Erik Eriksson’s theories of development Kohlberg’s developmental model of moral development
While both experts were, correct in their way of analyzing human growth and development, each theory has distinct projections. These dissent with each other while most of them are congruent (Gilligan, 1982). Eriksson’s theory is more relevant in comparison to Kohlberg’s theory (Kohlberg, 1989). Eriksson has outlined growth and development into relevant stages. Every human can evaluate his life from Eriksson’s development structure. Kohlberg’s theory hardly reflects the stages a human has to undergo to mature. It is a more scientific approach to growth and development. Rather, it is an approach to examining how one develops social cognitive skills, learns to relate, become independent, and survive (Gilligan, 1982). A closer look at Eriksson’s theory, you will observe that the stages of life are actual and relate well with a human’s development. How we develop social cognitive skills, how we mature, get a sexual and social identity, and how eventually we become adults (Brannon, 2002).
Eriksson argued that as we grow, the world becomes larger. We have to use what we have learned from our environment to survive in the larger world. However, Kohlberg argues that we learn from the environment as we grow. In Kohlberg’s perspective, the human does grow not the world. Kohlberg makes a case of us becoming larger than our lives hence have to identify the mechanism of fitting in the small world. Eriksson projected vice versa, the world is larger as we grow and have to learn to fit in it (Marcia, 1976).
Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory explains development as a six-stage process within three levels, all different from each other. He projects moral development as a continuous process throughout our lives. According to Eriksson, development is a stage bases process. These stages succeed only if there are proper influences, especially from the environment surrounding the human. These dissenting facts about development are because of the methodology used to gather data. While Kohlberg used interviews to gather data, Eriksson used observation to make his case (Kohlberg, 1989).
An Overview of how these theories have affected my development from birth to adulthood
Each stage of my life is relevant to the stages of development in both Kohlberg and Eriksson’s theories. I have adopted fine behaviors, culture, and fashion. My affiliation and social class struggles remain between the middle class and the rich (Piaget, 1965). Since my childhood, this has been a doctrine, which I have to obey religiously. My parents advocated I affiliate with people who are conscious of themselves and aware of what they want in life. I should not relate with losing personalities, drunkards, and people held in lackluster. These theories are frameworks for setting up one’s life. Without the stages, life is incomplete and a stage is avoided it is forced into another life stage.
Reference
Brannon L. (2002): Gender Psychological Perspectives Allyn & Bacon,
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Harvard University Press: Cambridge.
Karen. T (1998): Gender and Psychology. Ed.. London: Arnold.
Kohlberg, L. & Turiel, E. (1971). Moral development and moral education. In G. Lesser, ed. Psychology and educational practice. Scott Foresman.
Piaget, J. (1965). The moral judgment of the child. The Free Press: New York.
Power, F. C. Higgins, A., & Kohlberg, L. (1989). “Lawrence Kohlberg’s Approach to Moral Education.” New York: Columbia University Press.
Marcia J.E.(1976) Identity Six Years After: A Follow-Up Study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 5, p. 145-160.