Erik Erikson: How useful is his theory in explaining human development?

Question

Is it helpful to understand: behaviour/Changes/growth?

Answer 1

for me, yeah. erikson's theory is really applicable to the socioemotional development of the human being. but of course it shouldnt be taken as the only "useable" theory in explaining human development. you also have to look at cognitive, physical, behavioral, etc. aspects of the human being.

Answer 2

Erikson organized life into eight stages that extend from birth to death. He called these stages The Eight Stages of Man. Erikson’s Eight Stages of Man seems applicable to contemporary life. For example, in many cases an individual who has to deal with horrendous circumstances as a child may be unable to negotiate later stages as easily as someone who didn't have as many challenges early on. For example, we know that orphans who weren't held or stroked as infants have an extremely hard time connecting with others when they become adults. However, there's always the chance that somewhere along the way the strength of the human spirit can be ignited and deficits overcome.

Answer 3

Yes, his theory is very helpful. We studied him for childhood development in the college of education. His model show where kids should fall at different stages of their 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. When the environment makes new demands on people, the conflicts arise. 'The person is faced with a choice between two ways of coping with each crisis, an adaptive, or maladaptive way. Only when each crisis is resolved, which involves a change in the personality, does the person have sufficient strength to deal with the next stages of development' (Schultz and Schultz, 1987). If a person is unable to resolve a conflict at a particular stage, they will confront and struggle with it later in life."


Check out this website: http://sfhelp.org/01/erikson8.htm

Answer 4

In reading through it, no, I don't think he got any of it right.

From where I see it, from birth through the first few months the person is stuck in a world of dependency and lacks the ability to communicate, even though by the end of the second week they understand basic concepts, crying is the only way of communication.

From birth on they become stable or instable based upon issues of security. Wanted children become more secure and even get addicted to that security. Unwanted children instinctively strive for security and become obsessed with it.

After two weeks they become explorers of the world and are in an ultra rush to explore everything without any concept of consequences.

By 36 months they start to socialize and become congnizant and being to develop sexual orientation and learn their place in the world. They are able to exhort a full range of emotions and start to develop fixed opinions on things, in general.

Between 18 and 36 months they become orally communicative and can finally start to express themselves and their needs but learn about obstacles. They learn you can't always get what you want, but if you try you might get some of what you need. Frustrations being at this point that never end. This is the point where simple neruosis goes from being and instnctive phenomenon to being a conscious one. The ensuing social development is stiffled or biased by these now ingrained and fully realized concepts. You develop your physchology.

Between 2 and 5 years of age you develop your sexuality and sociology. You learn not everything is what it seems, not everyone accepts you, not everything you do is acceptable and you either learn to adjust to decide not to. Social maladjument begins here and continues into later life.

This is the point where deliquents, criminals, social workers, partrarchials, matrrachials and philosophers are made.

You decide, willfully, to either be cool or throw tantrums.

Now, we are, of course, talking about "nominal" body chemistry. Psychiatry and bio-chemistry has demonstrated that mis-firing brain areas can also induce some of these symptoms.

We are not talking physiological, we are talking psychological.

By the age of six you know what repulses you, what attracts you, what you find to be amicable and you also start to learn how to deal with some minor issues. It is at this point preliminary sexual education should start with basic anatomy of girl parts and boy parts and that this is a universal concept in the animal world.

To a large extent your foundation is built and the structure upwards commences at you enter into the educational scene and learn conformity and to do what is expected of you (or not to).

Starting at the age of 7 you develop your own social and moral codes. You start to firm up what is right and what is wrong on an ultimate level.

You start to realize those older than you are not always smarter or wiser, but you also realize there is little you can do about about it.

You begin to experience Freuds concepts of Totem and Taboo. The Pecking order, which you have no control over.

At this point in time, you being to teach yourself. You start to see yourself in the place of the world based upon what you see around you, but you are totally unaware of the rules of the world and that this might conflict with your dreams.

This is the point where girls want to become mothers and boys want to fly off in a rocket.

IT is at this point that the most gudience is required on a careful basis.

It is at this point that education can be stressed and educational toys should agument play toys.

This is the point where girls and boys should get erector sets and be told how things are built and how education, math are required to do this on a real world basis.

This is the point where simple eletronics and electricity kits should be introduced, showing how flashlights work, how radios work, how telephones work and the totem positions necessary to achieve the various levels.

AFter that it'sup to the individual child to either go for it or not.

Between 9 and 12 a more complete sex eduction should be applied. It is at this point the concept of duality in the world needs to be detailed.

Reality one: Everyone need to become self reliant and to work and to take care of themsevles and that this is a part of reality forever

Reality two: People decided to propegate and to do so with forethought and willful intent, cooperation and combined resources. It is at this point girls learn they make the babies and boys learn that start them being made. And that it's not a game.

It's at this point that human intamacy needs to be detailed before the explorer goes out and finds out about this by trial and error.

It is at this point the child either learns that your have nothing further to offer them and they must continue on their own and ignore your from this point on because you are total BS or that you have some wisdom to offer and they learn to continue to respect you.

This is where respect for adults and others in authority reaches a make or break point.

After 12 the hormones take over and the child, on their own and with help, has been equipped to face the flow or bio-chemical drugs now in their system or they just go WOW and fall into the drug world of euphornia.

Between 14 and 20 the child either has fixed views that are in total opposition to the adult world or is still somewhat pliable but still some some flexible views of their own.

This is the era of the know it all.

The child has EVERYTHING figured out.

They child buys into some prophets and ignors others.

Reality doesn't set in until 18-23 when the child has to stand up and walk out the door on their own and survive without crutches.

Those who are allowed to use crutches tend to become snobs. What we call prvilliaged.

This is where you learn to swim by being thrown into the deep end.

A lot of mistakes are made at this point, because of the KNOW IT ALL metnality that is still prevelant.

Between 24 and 30 is where girls tend to straighten their heads out more than guys do. They become less foolish and stop being explorers and start to settle down into mainstream life as best as they can, given the circumstances of the depth of mistakes they might have made between 14 and 24.

They learn the lessons of life while guys keep making mistakes. They tend to enjoy the euphoria of the mistakes.

30 to 40 you start concentrating on the dualism of life. Work and home.

50+ is when you realize it's all over. You are where you are and there is little you can do about it. This is when you start to reflect on what you should have done at 15 or 16 and the changes you should have made between 19 and 24.

You have either set yourself up for the pending end or you haven't.

This is where your realize how brilliant or dumb you were.

This is where you look at your bank account and see you are still living check to check or have enough to live on the interest already.

This is where you plan to retire or realize you must keep working to age 70 just to survive.

This is where you realize your body is falling apart.

Mid life crisis.

At 65+ you either enjoy what you have or your struggle and manipulate to survive on what is provided.

This is where you live in a world of $700 a month in social security in a society that rents housing for $800 a month or you go off and see the world, finish that education you never completed and do the things you always wanted to do, but the phrophets you listened to talked you out of.

This is where the poet, musician, actor, philosopher, artist that was dragged into the mud by the family at age 14 or 16 in favor of practicality comes out.

This is where the starving artist of adulthood gets a second chance to get an advanced degree and teach or go into law can happen.

This is where you live life because you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is where dispare and depression can overtake you as you realize you are nothing and nowhere and all your security is gone because all those who provided the crutches are long gone.

These are the stages and states of human development and the individual is driven into them because of their environment and how they learn to cope and how they are trained or educated or treated by outside forces.

Thre is no one way, no sure way. It's all serendipty when there is no bio-chemical influence at play.

A smart parent or teacher can possibly exert an influence, provided they are not stuck in their own self-imposed phsychological and sociological prisons.

There are two main avenues

The blind, deaf and dumb leading the the novice

The novice standing on the shoulders of giants who learns to see far and wide

The dysfunctional can spawn the functional or contiue the dysfunctional

The functional can spawn either the functional or dysfunctional.

It is the breaks of life.