Child and

Adolescent
Development
Looking at Learners at Different
Life Stages

EDUC 50
 UNIT 1: BASIC CONCEPTS AND ISSUES ON
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Part I: Introduction

Module 7: Erikson’s Psycho-Social Theory of Development

“There is in every child at every stage a new miracle of vigorous unfolding.”
-Erik H. Erikson

Abstraction
Introduction to the 8 Stages:
1. Erikson’s psychosocial term is derived from the two source words - psychological
(psycho relating to mind,brain etc.) and social (external relationships and environment). There
will also be term extended to biopsychosocial where bio means life, as in biological.

2. His theory was largely influenced by Sigmund Freud. But he extended his theory and
incorporated cultural and social aspects into Freud’s biological and sexually-oriented theory.

3. His ideas developed over time, aided by his own journey through ‘psychosocial crisis’
stages model.

4. His model is simple and well-designed. The theory is a basis for broad and complex
discussions and analysis of personality and behavior and also for understanding and facilitating
personal development. It can help teachers in becoming more knowledgeable and understanding
of the various environmental factors that affect his own and students’ personality and behavior.

5. His 8 stages are very accessible and is relevant to modern life, from several perspectives
for understanding and explaining how personality and behavior develops in people.

6. Various terms are used to describe his model like; biopsychosocial that refers to
biological, human development cycle or life cycle and variations of these. All refer to the same 8
stages psychosocial theory, being Erikson’s distinct work.

7. The Epigenetic Principle. As Boeree explains, “This principle says that we develop
through a predetermined unfolding of our personalities in 8 stages. Each stage progress
determine our success or lack of success. His theory of earlier stage served as a foundation for
the later stages. It highlights the influence of one’s environment, how earlier experiences
gradually build upon the next and result into one’s personality.

8. Each stage involves a psychosocial crisis of two opposing emotional forces, a ‘contrary
dispositions’. Erikson used the words ‘syntonic’ for the first-listed positive disposition and
‘dystonic’ for the second-listed negative disposition. To signify the conflicting relationship, he
connected them with the word ‘versus’, e.g., Trust vs. Mistrust.
 9. If the stage is managed well, we carry away a certain virtue or psychosocial strength
which helps us through the rest of the stages of our lives. Successfully passing through each
crisis involves ‘achieving’ a healthy ratio or balance between the two opposing dispositions.

10. If we don’t do well, we may develop maladaptations and malignancies that endanger our
future development. A malignancy is the worse of the two, it involves too little of the positive
and too much of the negative aspect such as a person who can’t trust others. A maladaptation is
not quite as bad and involves too much of the positive and too little of the negative such as a
person who trusts too much.

11. The crisis stages are not sharply defined steps. Elements tend to overlap and mingle
from one stage to another. It’s a broad framework and concept, not a mathematical formula
which replicates precisely across all the people and situations.

12. Erikson was keen to point out that the transition between stages is ‘overlapping’. Crisis
stages connect with each other, changes are graduated, mixed-together and organic.

13. He emphasized the significance of ‘mutuality’ and ‘generativity’, the terms are linked.
Mutuality reflects the effects of generations on each other especially families. Everyone
potentially affects everyone’s experiences as they pass each crisis stages. Generativity, named
disposition within one of the stage (stage 7), reflects the significant relationship between adults
and best interest of children.

The Eight Psychosocial Stages of Development

Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy, birth to 18 months)

Psychosocial Crisis - the goal is to develop trust without completely eliminating the
capacity for mistrust. They should develop feeling of safeness and familiarity if parents give
adequate care, thus trust. But if parents are unreliable and inadequate, they will develop mistrust.
Maladaptation - if parents are overly protective, it will lead to sensory maladjustment,
child becomes overly trusting and gullible, they believe no one can harm them.
Malignancy - if given too much restlessness, it can result in withdrawal, characterized by
depression, paranoia and possibly psychosis.
Virtue - if balance is achieved, they can develop virtue of hope, a strong belief that even
when things are not gong well, they will work things out. One of the signs if a child is doing
well is when he is not overly upset by the need to wait a moment for the satisfaction of his
needs.
Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame (Toddlers, 18 months to 3-4 years)

Psychosocial Crisis - task is to achieve a degree of autonomy while minimizing shame

and doubt. If the child is able to explore his environment, not discouraged, he will develop sense
of autonomy or independence and both self-control and self-esteem. But, it is easy for a child to
feel shame if parents blocks his desire to explore, the child will soon give up with the belief that
he cannot act on his own.
Maladaptation - little shame is not only inevitable but also beneficial. Without it, the
child will develop impulsiveness, jumping into things without proper consideration to their
abilities.
Malignancy - too much will lead to compulsiveness, they feel that everything they do
must be perfect, they must follow rules and avoid mistakes.
Virtue - if proper positive balance of both disposition is achieved, they can develop the
virtue of willpower or determination.

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt (Preschoolers, 3-4 to 5-6 years)

Psychosocial Crisis - task is to learn initiative without too much guilt. Children can take
the initiative when given chance to try out their ideas, accept and encourage fantasy and
curiosity and imagination, a time for play and not education. But if they can imagine, they can
plan , be responsible and guilty. If a younger child broke a glass, at first there won’t be evil
intentions as it was just exciting for a child to see something fly and broke. But when an older
child did the same, he should know what’s going to happen, he can be guilty of the act and he
can begin to feel guilty. The capacity for moral judgement has arrived. Erikson is a Freudian, so
included the Oedipal/Electra experiences in this stage. From his perspective, Oedipal/Electra
crisis involves the reluctance a child feels in relinquishing his closeness to the opposite sex
parent. A parent has the responsibility, socially, to encourage the child to grow up, but when
done harshly and abruptly, the child learns to feel guilty about his feelings.
Maladaptation - too much initiative and little guilt can became ruthlessness, to be
heartless and without mercy for feelings and mercy are signs of weakness. The extreme form of
it is sociopath.
Malignancy - too much guilt can lead to inhibition, they will not try things because
‘nothing ventured, nothing lost’ so nothing to feel guilty. Too afraid to take the lead and fears
the blame when it a project fails.
Virtue - a good balance leads to psychosocial strength of purpose, and can develop virtue
of courage, the capacity of action despite a clear understanding of limitations and past failings.

Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority (School age, 6 to 12 years)

Psychosocial Crisis - task is to develop a capacity for industry while avoiding and
excessive sense of inferiority. Children must tame their imagination and focus on learning social
skills their society requires them. They need to learn the pleasure in doing rather than just
planning, feeling of success in external and internal factors.If a child is allowed too little
success, he will develop a sense of inferiority as well as from other source of discrimination.
Maladaptation - too much industry leads to narrow virtuosity. These are kids without a
life, child prodigies that are not allowed to “be children” without allowing development of
broader interests.
 Malignancy - too much inferiority leads to inertia, includes those who suffer from
inferiority complex.
Virtue - the right balance leads to competency.

Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence, 12 to 18-20 years)

Psychosocial Crisis - task is to achieve ego identity and avoid role confusion.
Adolescence was what interests Erikson the most, the patterns he saw here were the bases for his
thinking about all stages. Ego identity means knowing who you are and how you fit in the rest of
society. It requires you to combine all you’ve learned about life and yourself and mold it into a
unified self-image, one that the community finds meaningful. To make it easier, there should be
a mainstream of adult culture that is worthy of respect, good adult role and open lines of
communication for the adolescent. Society should also provide rites of passage to help
distinguish the adult from the child. Like learning to earn alone and live alone that will
emphasize difference between the powerless and irresponsible time of childhood to the
powerful and responsible time of adulthood. Without these, role confusion is possible, an
uncertainty about one’s place in society. Erikson says, when there is role confusion, he is
suffering from an identity crisis. As such, Erikson suggested the psychosocial moratorium, to
take a little time-out,
Maladaptation - too much ego identity leads to fanaticism, where a person is so involved
in a particular role that there is no room for tolerance, he believes that his way is the only way.
Malignancy - too much role confusion leads to repudiation, to reject. They reject their
membership in the world of adults and need for identity. They prefer to go to groups against the
norms to form their identity, they became involved in their own destructive activities and
withdraw into their own psychotic fantasies.
Virtue - if successfully negotiated, it will lead to the virtue of fidelity, or loyalty. Ability
to live by societies standards despite imperfections, founding a place in that community that will
allow you to contribute.

Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young adult, 18-20s to 30s-40s)

Psychosocial Crisis - task is to achieve some degree of intimacy, as opposed to remaining

in isolation. Intimacy is the ability to be close to others, you have a clear sense of who you are
and you no longer need the fear of losing yourself. The fear of commitment in this stage is an
example of immaturity. A teenage relationship is often a matter of trying to establish identity
through “couple-hood”.
Maladaptation - becoming intimate too freely, too easily and without any depth to your
intimacy leads to promiscuity.
Malignancy - the tendency to isolate oneself from love, friendship, community and to
develop a certain hatefulness in compensation for one’s loneliness refers to exclusion.
Virtue - if successfully balanced and achieved, you will carry for the rest of your life the
virtue of love. Means being able to put aside differences and antagonisms through “mutuality of
devotion”.

Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle-aged adult, 40s to mid 60s)

 Psychosocial Crisis - task here is to cultivate the proper balance of generativity and
stagnation. Generativity is an extension of love into the future, a concern for the next generation
and future ones, anything that satisfies that old “need to be needed”. They do not expect to be
repaid for the love he gives to his children, if they do, they are not good parents. Stagnation, is
self-absorption, caring for no-one, they stop to be a productive member of society.
Maladaptation - too much generativity leads to overextension, they no longer
contributes well, they no longer allow time for themselves for rest and relaxation instead, tries to
take so many classes or so many jobs.
Malignancy - too little generativity leads to rejection, you are no longer participating and
contributing to society.
Virtue - but if successful, you will have a capacity for caring that will serve you through
the rest of your life.

Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair (Late adult, late 60s to death)

Psychosocial Crisis - the task is to develop ego integrity with a minimal amount of
despair. First comes a detachment from society like retirement or duties as parents coming to a
close. Then a sense of biological uselessness, the body no longer does everything it used to,
concerns for diseases and death which eventually leads to despair. In response to that despair,
some looks back to their past, some are preoccupied with their failures and bad decisions. Ego
integrity means coming to terms with your life, and accepting end of life, accepting choices
made and not regretting as it developed who you are now.
Maladaptation - too much ego integrity leads to presumption, when a person presumes
without actually facing difficulties of old age. The person in old age believes that he alone is
right, he does not respect the ideas and views of the young.
Malignancy - too much despair leads to disdain, which Erikson means a contempt of life,
one’s own or everyone’s, the person becomes very negative and appears to hate life.
Virtue - someone who approaches death without fear has the strength of wisdom, Erikson
calls it a gift to children because healthy children will not fear life if elders have integrity
enough to fear death.