3. Introduction
Born in Germany on June 15th
1902.
He was an artist and a teacher
in the late 1920s
He immigrated to the US in 1933
and taught at Yale and Harvard
University.
He became interested in the
influence of society and culture
on child development.
4. Field of Research
He studied groups of children to learn about the
influence of society and culture on child development.
Erikson’s theory consists of eight stages of
development. Each stage is characterized by a
different conflict that must be resolved by the individual
before moving to next stage.
6. Stage 1: Basic Trust vs. Mistrust
Birth to age 1
Totally dependent on others
If needs are fulfilled child
develops trust,
If not child develops
mistrust
7. Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame
and Doubt
Ages 1-3
Child becomes able of
making choice
If child’s independence is opposed,
child develops feelings of self-doubt,
shame in dealing with others
8. Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt
Ages 3-5
Child show desire to take initiative in
activities
Parents punishment can develop guilt that
will affect self-directed activity throughout
life
9. Stage 4: Industriousness vs.
Inferiority
Ages 6-11
Child develops cognitive abilities to enable
in task completion (school work, play)
Parents/teachers do not support child’s
efforts, child develops feelings of inferiority
and inadequacy
10. Stage 5: Identity vs. Role
Confusion
Ages 12-18
Form ego identity or self-image
Identity crisis or confusion of ego identity
11. Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Ages 18-35
Undertake productive work and establish
intimate relationships
Inability to establish intimacy leads to
social isolation
12. Stage 7: Generativity vs.
Stagnation
Ages 35-55
Active involvement in teaching/guiding the
next generation
Stagnation-stage of inactivity
13. Stage 8: Ego Integrity vs.
Despair
Ages 55+
People evaluate their past life
Integrity: Look back with satisfaction
Despair: Review with anger, frustration
14.
15. Ambiguous terms and concepts
Lack of precision
Most of the research was on males
Some terms are not easily measureable
empirically
16. Erikson’s Contributions
He worked for child development by studying
groups of Native American children and developed
the concept of identity crisis.
He was concerned with the relationship between
society/culture and child development, which he
termed “psychosocial development”.
He studied Impact of social, cultural, personal and
situational forces in forming personality.