preview

Erikson’s Life Span Development Theories Essay

Better Essays

Thesis: The theory of psychosocial development developed by Erik Erikson is one of the best-known theories of personality. Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages and described the impact of social experience across the lifespan. Similar to Sigmund Freud, but unlike Piaget, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages that are predetermined. Unlike Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, Erikson’s theory, that of a psychosocial behavior, describes the impact of social experience across the entire lifespan. At each stage of development, Erikson described conflicts that act as turning points in life. This paper will discuss what Erikson’s theories is sheltered instruction, and how they apply to …show more content…

well, she should know what's going to happen to the watch, what's going to happen to daddy's temper, and what's going to happen to her! She can be guilty of the act, and she can begin to feel guilty as well. The capacity for moral judgment has arrived. Stage four is the latency stage, or the school-age child from about six to twelve. The task is to develop a capacity for industry while avoiding an excessive sense of inferiority. Children must "tame the imagination" and dedicate themselves to education and to learning the social skills their society requires of them. At this stage, the parents and other family members are joined by teachers, peers, and other members of he community at large. They all contribute: Parents must encourage, teachers must care, peers must accept. Children must learn that there is pleasure not only in conceiving a plan, but also in carrying it out. They must learn the feeling of success, whether it is in school or on the playground, academic or social. Stage five is adolescence, beginning with puberty and ending around 18 or 20 years old. The task during adolescence is to achieve ego identity and avoid role confusion. Ego identity means knowing who you are and how you fit in to the rest of society. It requires that you take all you have learned about life and yourself and mold it into a unified self-image, one that your community finds meaningful. Without these things, we are likely to see role confusion, meaning an

Get Access