"Eight Human Ages" By E. Erickson

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

In social psychology, a person is, as well as knowing something (that is, a subject), and cognizable by someone (that is, an object). Because such a psychology is aimed at studying the person himself and at studying his interaction with the world around him, objects and people.

Here a person is considered both by himself and "in context" with the environment - people. “According to E. Erickson, each stage of development is characterized by the expectations of society, which an individual can justify or not justify, and then he is either included in society or rejected by it. This idea of E. Erickson formed the basis for his allocation of steps, stages of the life path. Each stage of the life cycle is characterized by a specific task that is put forward by society. However, the solution of the problem, according to E. Erickson, depends both on the already achieved level of human development and on the general spiritual atmosphere of the society in which this individual lives."

E. Erickson's theory of development covers the entire living space of an individual (from infancy to old age). Erickson emphasizes the historical conditions in which the child's self (ego) is formed. The development of the self is inevitably and closely related to the changing characteristics of social prescriptions, the cultural aspect and the system of values.

I am an autonomous system that interacts with reality through perception, thinking, attention and memory. Paying special attention to the adaptive functions of the self, Erickson believed that a person, interacting with the environment in the process of his development, becomes more and more competent.

Erickson saw his task in drawing attention to a person's ability to overcome life difficulties of a psychosocial nature. His theory puts at the forefront of the quality of the I, that is, its dignity, revealed in different periods of development.

To understand Erickson's concept of organization and personality development, there is an optimistic position that every personal and social crisis is a kind of challenge that leads an individual to personal growth and overcoming life obstacles. Knowing how a person coped with each of life's significant problems, or how inadequate resolution of early problems made it impossible for him to cope with further problems, is, according to Erickson, the only key to understanding his life.

The stages of personality development are predetermined, and the order of their passage is unchanged. Erickson divided a person's life into eight separate stages of psychosocial development of the self (as they say, into "eight human ages"). Each psychosocial stage is accompanied by a crisis - a turning point in the life of an individual, which arises as a consequence of reaching a certain level of psychological maturity and social requirements for the individual at this stage.

Every psychosocial crisis, if viewed from an evaluation point of view, contains both positive and negative components. If the conflict is resolved satisfactorily (that is, at the previous stage, the I was enriched with new positive qualities), then now the I absorbs a new positive component (for example, basal trust and independence), and this guarantees healthy development of the personality in the future.

On the contrary, if the conflict remains unresolved or receives an unsatisfactory resolution, the developing self is thereby harmed and a negative component is built into it (for example, basal distrust, shame and doubt). Although theoretically predictable and quite definite conflicts arise on the path of personality development, it does not follow from this that in the previous stages the successes and failures are necessarily the same. The qualities that the self acquires at each stage do not reduce its susceptibility to new internal conflicts or changing conditions (Erikson, 1964).

Erickson emphasizes that life is a continuous change in all its aspects, and that the successful solution of a problem at one stage does not guarantee a person from the emergence of new problems at other stages of life or the emergence of new solutions for old, seemingly already solved problems.

The task is that each individual individually adequately resolves each crisis, and then, he will have the opportunity to approach the next stage with a more adaptive and mature personality.

EIGHT STAGES OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO E. ERIKSON.

Stage 1: Infancy

Trust or distrust. (1st year of life).

At this stage, the maturation of sensory systems takes place. That is, vision, hearing, smell, taste, tactile sensitivity develop. The child is mastering the world. At this stage, as in all subsequent ones, there are two ways of development: positive and negative.

Development Conflict Subject: Can I Trust the World?

Positive pole: The child gets everything he wants and needs. All the needs of the child are quickly met. The child experiences the greatest trust and affection from the mother, and it is better that during this entire period he could communicate with her as much as he needs - this forms his trust in the world in general, an absolutely necessary quality for a full and happy life. Gradually, other significant people appear in the child's life: father, grandmother, grandfather, nanny, etc.

As a result, the world is a cozy place where people can be trusted.

The child develops the ability to form warm, deep, emotional relationships with their environment.

If a small child could speak, he would say:

"I love", "I feel care", "I am safe", "The world is a cozy place that you can trust."

Negative pole: The mother's focus is not on the child, but on the mechanistic care and upbringing of the child, her own career, disagreements with relatives, various anxieties, etc.

Lack of support, mistrust, suspicion, fear of the world and people, inconsistency, pessimism are formed.

Therapeutic Perspective: Observe those people who seek to interact through the intellect rather than through the senses. These are usually those who come to therapy and talk about emptiness, who rarely realize that they have no contact with their own body, who present fear as the main factor of isolation and self-absorption, who feel like a frightened child in the adult world, who are afraid of their own their own impulses and who reveals a strong need to control themselves and others.

A favorable solution to this conflict is hope.

Stage 2. Early childhood

Autonomy or shame and doubt. (1 - 3 years old).

The second stage of personality development, according to E. Erickson, consists in the formation and defense of the child's autonomy and independence. It starts from the moment the child begins to walk. At this stage, the child learns various movements, learns not only to walk, but also to climb, open and close, hold, throw, push, etc. Children enjoy and take pride in their new abilities and are eager to do everything themselves (for example, wash, dress and eat). We observe that they have a great desire to explore and manipulate objects, as well as an attitude towards their parents:

"I myself." "I am what I can."

Development conflict subject: Can I control my own body and behavior?

Positive pole: The child develops independence, autonomy, a feeling is developed that he owns his body, his aspirations, largely owns his environment; the foundations for free expression and cooperation are laid; self-control skills are developed without compromising their self-esteem; will.

Parents give the child the opportunity to do what he is able to do, do not limit his activity, encourage the child.

At the same time, parents should unobtrusively but clearly restrict the child in those areas of life that are dangerous for the children themselves and those around them. The child does not receive complete freedom, his freedom is limited within reason.

“Mom, look how great it is. I own my body. I can control myself."

Negative pole: Parents restrict the child's actions, parents are impatient, they are in a hurry to do for the child what he is capable of himself, parents shame the child for inadvertent misconduct (broken cups); or vice versa, when parents expect their children to do what they themselves are not yet able to do.

The child becomes indecisive and insecure in his abilities; doubt; dependence on others; a sense of shame in front of others is fixed; the foundations of stiffness of behavior, low sociability, constant vigilance are laid. Statements of this kind: "I am ashamed to present my desires", "I am not good enough", "I must very carefully control everything I do", "I will not succeed", "I am somehow not like that", “I’m not like that.”

The Therapeutic Perspective: Observe people who are unfeeling, denying their needs, having difficulty expressing their feelings, experiencing great fear of abandonment, and exhibiting caring behavior that burdens others.

Due to his insecurity, a person often limits and withdraws himself, not allowing himself to do something significant and get pleasure from it. And because of the constant feeling of shame towards the adult state, many events with negative emotions accumulate, which contribute to depression, dependence, hopelessness.

The favorable solution to this conflict is will.

Stage 3. Playing age

Initiative is guilt. (36 years).

Children aged 4-5 years transfer their exploratory activity outside their own body. They will learn how the world works and how you can influence it. The world for them consists of both real and imaginary people and things. A developmental crisis is about satisfying your own desires as widely as possible without feeling guilty.

This is the period of time when conscience appears. In behavior, the child is guided by his own understanding of what is good and what is bad.

Development Conflict Subject: Can I become independent from my parents and explore my limits?

Positive pole: Children who are given the initiative in choosing motor activities, who run, wrestle, tinker, ride a bicycle, sled, ice skate at will - develop and reinforce entrepreneurship. It is strengthened by the willingness of parents to answer the child's questions (intellectual enterprise) and not to interfere with his fantasy and play.

Negative pole: If parents show a child that his motor activity is harmful and undesirable, that his questions are intrusive, and his games are stupid, he begins to feel guilty and carries this guilt into later stages of life.

Remarks from parents: “You can't, you're still small”, “Don't touch!”, “Don't dare!”, “Don't go where you shouldn't!”, “You still won't succeed, let me myself”, “Look, how my mom got upset because of you,”etc.

Therapeutic Perspective: “In dysfunctional families, it is very important for the child to develop a healthy sense of conscience or a healthy sense of guilt. They cannot feel that they can live the way they want; instead, they develop a toxic sense of guilt … It tells you that you are responsible for the feelings and behavior of others”(Bradshaw, 1990).

Observe who exhibits rigid, pedantic behavior, who is unable to invent and write tasks, who is afraid to try something new, who lacks a sense of determination and purpose in their lives. The social dimension of this stage, says Erickson, develops between entrepreneurship at the same extreme and a sense of guilt on the other. On how at this stage parents react to the child's ventures, it largely depends which of these qualities will outweigh his character.

Favorable resolution of this conflict is the goal.

Stage 4. School age

Hard work is an inferiority complex. (6 - 12 years old).

Between the ages of 6 and 12, children develop numerous skills and abilities at school, at home and among their peers. According to Erickson's theory, the sense of "I" is significantly enriched with a realistic growth of the child's competence in various areas. Comparison of oneself with peers is becoming more and more important.

Development conflict subject: Am I capable?

Positive pole: When children are encouraged to make anything, build huts and aircraft models, cook, cook and do handicrafts, when they are allowed to complete the work they have begun, they are praised and rewarded for the results, then the child develops skill and ability for technical creativity, both from the outside parents and teachers alike.

Negative Pole: Parents who see their children as “pampering” and “dirty” in their work activities contribute to the development of feelings of inferiority in them. In school, a child who lacks sharpness can be particularly traumatized by school, even if diligence is encouraged at home. If he assimilates educational material more slowly than his peers and cannot compete with them, then continuous lag in the class develops in him a sense of inferiority.

During this period, negative assessment of oneself in comparison with others is especially harmful.

Therapeutic Perspective: Pay attention to people who are intolerant or afraid to make mistakes, lack social skills, and feel uncomfortable in social situations. These people are overly competitive, struggle with procrastination, show feelings of inferiority, are overly critical of others, and are constantly dissatisfied with themselves.

The favorable resolution of this conflict is confidence, competence.

Stage 5 Youth

Ego identity or role mixing. (12 - 19 years old).

The transition from childhood to adulthood causes both physiological and psychological changes. Psychological change manifests itself as an internal struggle between the desire for independence, on the one hand, and the desire to remain dependent on those people who care about you, the desire to be free from responsibility for being an adult, on the other. Parents or other significant people become "enemies" or "idols".

A teenager (boy, girl) is constantly faced with the questions: Who is he and what will he become? Is he a child or an adult? How does his ethnicity, race and religion affect people's attitudes towards him? What will be his true authenticity, his true identity as an adult? Such questions often cause painful concerns in the adolescent about what others think of him and what he should think about himself.

Faced with such a confusion in their status, a teenager is always looking for confidence, security, striving to be like other teenagers in his age group. He develops stereotypical behaviors and ideals and often joins various factions or clans. Peer groups are very important in restoring self-identity. The destruction of severity in dress and behavior is inherent in this period. It is an attempt to establish structure in chaos and to ensure identity in the absence of self-identity.

This is the second major attempt at developing autonomy, and it requires challenging parental and social norms.

The important task of leaving the family and the moral assessment of others can be very difficult. Over-submission, lack of opposition, or vivid opposition can lead to low self-esteem and negative identity. Other developmental assignments include social responsibility and sexual maturity.

Development conflict subject: Who am I?

Positive pole: If a young person successfully copes with this task - psychosocial identification, then he will have a sense of who he is, where he is and where he is going.

Negative pole: The opposite is true for a teenager who is distrustful, shy, insecure, full of guilt and a sense of his inferiority. If, due to an unsuccessful childhood or difficult life, a teenager cannot solve the problem of identification and define his “I”, then he begins to show symptoms of confusion of roles and uncertainty in understanding who he is and what environment he belongs to.

Therapeutic perspective: Look at people who show excessive agreement or rigidity, conformity with family, ethnic, cultural and social norms, who show "identity disorder" - "I don't know who I am!", Who show dependence on his parental family, who constantly challenges people with authority, who needs to protest or obey, and who stands out from others because his life style is unique and / or non-conformist.

This confusion is often seen in juvenile delinquents. Girls who show promiscuity in adolescence very often have a fragmentary idea of their personality and their promiscuous sexual relations are not correlated either with their intellectual level or with a system of values. In some cases, young people strive for “negative identification,” that is, they identify their “I” with an image opposite to that which parents and friends would like to see.

Therefore, preparation for comprehensive psychosocial identification in adolescence should begin, in fact, from the moment of birth. But sometimes it is better to identify yourself with a “hippie”, with a “juvenile delinquent,” even with a “drug addict”, than not at all to find your “I” (1).

However, those who, in adolescence, do not acquire a clear idea of their personality, are not yet doomed to remain restless for the rest of their lives. And the one who recognized his "I" as a teenager will certainly come across on the path of life with facts that contradict or even threaten his established idea of himself.

The favorable solution to this conflict is loyalty.

Stage 6. Early maturity

Intimacy is isolation. (20 - 25 years old).

The sixth stage of the life cycle is the onset of maturity - in other words, the courtship period and the early years of family life. In Erickson's description, intimacy is understood as an intimate feeling that we have for spouses, friends, brothers and sisters, parents or other relatives. However, he also speaks of his own intimacy, that is, the ability to "merge together your identity with the identity of another person without fear that you are losing something in yourself" (Evans, 1967, p. 48).

It is this aspect of intimacy that Erickson sees as a necessary condition for a lasting marriage. In other words, in order to be in a truly intimate relationship with another person, it is necessary that by this time the individual has a certain awareness of who he is and what he is.

Success in establishing this kind of close relationship depends on how the five previous conflicts have been resolved. For example, a person who has difficulty trusting others will find it difficult to love; a person who needs to control himself will find it difficult to allow others to cross their border; a person who feels inadequate will find it difficult to be close to others; it will be difficult for someone who is unsure of their identity to share who they are with others.

Development conflict subject: Can I have an intimate relationship?

Positive pole: This is love. In addition to its romantic and erotic meaning, Erickson sees love as the ability to commit oneself to another and to remain true to that relationship, even if it requires concessions and self-denial. This type of love manifests itself in a relationship of mutual caring, respect, and responsibility for the other person.

The social institution associated with this stage is ethics. According to Erickson, a moral sense arises when we recognize the value of lasting friendships and social obligations, as well as value such relationships, even if they require personal sacrifice.

Negative Pole: Failure to establish calm, trusting personal relationships and / or excessive self-absorption leads to feelings of loneliness, social vacuum and isolation. People who are immersed in themselves can enter into completely formal personal interactions and establish superficial contacts without showing real involvement in the relationship, because the increased demands and risks associated with intimacy pose a threat to them.

Intimacy is hindered by the conditions of an urbanized, mobile, impersonal technological society. Erickson cites examples of antisocial or psychopathic personality types (i.e., people who have no moral sense), found in conditions of extreme isolation, who manipulate and exploit other people without any regret.

The Therapeutic Perspective: Look for those who are afraid or unwilling to engage in intimate relationships and who repeat their mistakes in building relationships.

A favorable solution to this conflict is love.

Stage 7. Medium maturity

Productivity is inertia and stagnation. (26 - 64 years old).

The seventh stage is adulthood, that is, already the period when children became adolescents, and parents firmly tied themselves to a certain occupation. At this stage, a new personality parameter appears with universal humanity at one end of the scale and self-absorption at the other.

Erikson calls general humanity the ability of a person to be interested in the fate of people outside the family circle, to think about the life of future generations, the forms of the future society and the structure of the future world. Such interest in new generations is not necessarily associated with having children of their own - it can exist for everyone who actively cares about young people and about making life and work easier for people in the future. Thus, productivity acts as the concern of the older generation for those who will replace them - about how to help them gain a foothold in life and choose the right direction.

Development Conflict Subject: What does my life mean today? What am I going to do with the rest of my life?

Positive pole: An important point at this stage is creative self-realization, as well as concern for the future well-being of humanity.

Negative pole: For those who have not developed this sense of belonging to humanity, they focus on themselves and their main concern becomes the satisfaction of their needs and their own comfort. Difficulties in "productivity" may include: an obsessive desire for pseudo-intimacy, over-identification with a child, a desire to protest as a way to solve stagnation, an unwillingness to let go of one's own children, impoverishment of personal life, self-absorption.

The Therapeutic Perspective: Pay attention to people who have questions about success, identity, values, death, and who may be in a marriage crisis.

The favorable resolution of this conflict is concern.

Stage 8. Late maturity

Ego integration (integrity) - despair (hopelessness).

(After 64 years and before the end of the life cycle).

The last psychosocial stage completes a person's life path. This is the time when people look back and reconsider their life decisions, remember their achievements and failures. In almost all cultures, this period is marked by a deeper age-related change in all body functions, when a person has additional needs: he has to adapt to the fact that physical strength is decreasing and health is deteriorating; solitude appears, on the one hand,on the other hand, the appearance of grandchildren and new responsibilities, worries about the loss of loved ones, as well as awareness of the continuity of generations.

At this time, the focus of a person's attention shifts to their past experience, rather than planning the future. According to Erickson, this last phase of maturity is characterized not so much by a new psychosocial crisis as by the summation of integration and an assessment of all past stages of ego development.

Here the circle closes: the wisdom and acceptance of the life of an adult and infantile trust in the world are deeply similar and are called by Erickson by one term - integrity (integrity, completeness, purity), i.e., the feeling of completeness of the life path, the implementation of plans and goals, completeness and integrity …

Erickson believes that only in old age comes true maturity and a useful sense of the "Wisdom of the past years." And at the same time he notes: “The wisdom of old age is aware of the relativity of all the knowledge acquired by a person during his life in one historical period. Wisdom is the realization of the absolute meaning of life itself in the face of death itself”(Erikson, 1982, p. 61).

Development conflict subject: Am I satisfied with my life?

Did my life make sense?

Positive Pole: At its climax, healthy self-development achieves wholeness. This means accepting oneself and one's role in life at the deepest level and understanding one's own personal dignity and wisdom. The main work in life is over, the time has come for reflection and fun with grandchildren. A healthy decision is expressed in the acceptance of one's own life and destiny, where a person can say to himself: "I am satisfied."

The inevitability of death is no longer afraid, since such people see their continuation either in descendants or in creative achievements. Remains an interest in life, openness to people, willingness to help children in raising their grandchildren, participation in health-improving physical education programs, politics, art, etc., in order to preserve the integrity of their "I".

Negative pole: To whom the lived life seems to be a chain of missed opportunities and annoying blunders, realizes that it is too late to start all over again and there is no way to return the lost. Such a person is seized by despair, a feeling of hopelessness, a person feels that he has been abandoned, no one needs him, life has failed, hatred for the world and people arises, complete closeness, anger, fear of death. Lack of completeness and dissatisfaction with the life lived.

Erickson identifies two prevailing types of mood in irritable and resentful older people: regret that life cannot be lived anew and denial of one's own flaws and defects by projection (attributing to others one's feelings, emotions, thoughts, feelings, problems, etc.) to the outside world. Regarding cases of severe psychopathology, Erickson suggests that feelings of bitterness and regret can eventually lead an older person to senile dementia, depression, hypochondria, severe anger and paranoia.

Therapeutic view: Observe people who are afraid of death, those who talk about the hopelessness of their own lives and who do not want to be forgotten.

A favorable resolution to this conflict is wisdom.

Conclusion

In Erickson's concept, one can see crises of transition from one stage to another. For example, in the adolescent stage, “two mechanisms of identity formation are observed: a) the projection outside of vague ideas about one's ideality (“to create an idol for oneself”); b) negativism in relation to the “alien”, emphasizing “one's own” (fear of impersonality, strengthening of one's dissimilarity)”.

The consequence of this is the strengthening of the general tendency to join "negative" groups with the hope to stand out, to declare himself, to show what he can be, what suits him. "The second 'peak' comes at the eighth stage - maturity (or old age): only here the final configuration of identity takes place in connection with a person's rethinking of his life path."

Sometimes a crisis of this age occurs when a person retires. If he has no family or no caring relatives - children and grandchildren, then such a person is visited by a feeling of uselessness. He feels himself unnecessary to the world, something already served and forgotten. At this moment, the main thing is that his family is by his side and supports him.

And I want to finish this topic with the words of Eric Erickson: "… healthy children will not be afraid of life if the old people around them are wise enough not to be afraid of death …".

Epilogue

Everything that you read above is just a small fraction of what you could read on the example of the theory of personality development according to E. Erickson and see another look passed through your own prism of perception, where my main task was to convey to the readers, and in particular - for parents who embark on the path of having children and have become such - about full responsibility not only for their life, their choices, but also for WHAT you bear and HOW you pass on - to your future generation.

Used Books

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2. S. Klininger “Theories of personality. Cognition of a Man”. 3rd of. "Peter", 2003

3. GA Andreeva "Psychology of social cognition". Aspect Press. M., 2000.

4. Yu. N. Kuliutkin “Personality. Inner peace and self-realization. Ideas, Concepts, Views”. Tuscarora. SPb, 1996.

5. LF Obukhova "Child (developmental) psychology". Textbook. M., "Russian Pedagogical Agency". 1996

6. Erickson E. Identity: youth and crisis / per. from English; total ed. and foreword. A. V. Tolstykh. - M.: Progress, b.g. (1996).

7. E. Elkind. Eric Erickson and the eight stages of human life. [Per. with. English] - M.: Kogito-center, 1996.

8. Internet materials.