Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development free essay sample

Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood) Occurring in Young adulthood, we begin to share ourselves more intimately with others. We explore relationships leading toward longer term commitments with someone other than a family member. Successful completion can lead to comfortable relationships and a sense of commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression. Ego Development Outcome: Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation Basic Strengths: Affiliation and Love In the initial stage of being an adult we seek one or more companions and love. As we try to find mutually satisfying relationships, primarily through marriage and friends, we generally also begin to start a family, though this age has been pushed back for many couples who today dont start their families until their late thirties. If negotiating this stage is successful, we can experience intimacy on a deep level. If were not successful, isolation and distance from others may occur. And when we dont find it easy to create satisfying relationships, our world can begin to shrink as, in defense, we can feel superior to others. Our significant relationships are with marital partners and friends. The second crisis, occurring between late adolescence and early adulthood, is called the crisis of intimacy versus isolation. This crisis represents the struggle to resolve the reciprocal nature of intimacy; i. e. , to achieve a mutual balance between giving love and support, and receiving love and support. Thus, youth must determine how to develop and to maintain close friendships outside the family, as well as how to achieve reciprocity in romantic relationships. Erikson believed that when youth successfully navigate this crisis they emerge with the ability to form honest, reciprocal relationships with others and have the capacity to bond with others to achieve common goals (e. g. , marriage). When youth fail to navigate this crisis successfully, they can become distant and self-contained; or conversely, they can become needy, dependent, and vulnerable. If youth do not resolve this crisis, their emotional development becomes stalled, and as a result, they will remain isolated and lonely without social supports. Identity Moratorium – the status in which the adolescent is currently in a crisis, exploring various commitments and is ready to make choices, but has not made a commitment to these choices yet. The third identity status is called moratorium. This identity status represents high degree of exploration but a low degree of commitment. At this status, youth are in the midst of an identity crisis which has prompted them to explore and experiment with different values, beliefs, and goals. However, they have not made any final decisions about which beliefs and values are most important to them, and which principles should guide their lives. Thus, they are not yet committed to a particular identity. They are keeping their options open. For example, Tim, 14, may suddenly begin to argue with his parents about going to the Sunday worship service at the Methodist Christian Church, even though he has attended this service with his family since childhood. Instead, he likes to spend his timing reading about all the different world religions and plans to visit several mosques, temples, and churches around the area to see what their worship services are like. Or, he may question the logic of religion altogether, and he may even wonder whether God exists at all. It is clear that Tim is not quite certain what he believes yet, but he is actively exploring and considering what values, principles, and beliefs he wants to live by. Identity Moratorium – adolescent has acquired vague or ill-formed ideological and occupational commitments; he/she is still undergoing the identity search (crisis). They are beginning to commit to an identity but are still developing it. Jerry Erikson emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development has eight distinct stages, each with two possible outcomes. According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and successful interactions with others. While failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages, which can lead to a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. These stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time. Since adulthood covers a span of many years, Erikson divided the stages of adulthood into the experiences of young adults, middle aged adults and older adults. While the actual ages may vary considerably from one stage to another, the ages seem to be appropriate for the majority of people. Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adulthood) During middle adulthood, we establish our careers, settle down within a relationship, begin our own families and develop a sense of being a part of the bigger picture. We give back to society through raising our children, being productive at work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations. By failing to achieve these objectives, we become stagnant and feel unproductive. Ego Development Outcome: Generativity vs. Self absorption or Stagnation Basic Strengths: Production and Care Now work is most crucial. Erikson observed that middle-age is when we tend to be occupied with creative and meaningful work and with issues surrounding our family. Also, middle adulthood is when we can expect to be in charge, the role weve longer envied. The significant task is to perpetuate culture and transmit values of the culture through the family (taming the kids) and working to establish a stable environment. Strength comes through care of others and production of something that contributes to the betterment of society, which Erikson calls generativity, so when were in this stage we often fear inactivity and meaninglessness. As our children leave home, or our relationships or goals change, we may be faced with major life changes — the mid-life crisis — and struggle with finding new meanings and purposes. If we dont get through this stage successfully, we can become self-absorbed and stagnate. Significant relationships are within the workplace, the community and the family. Refining and extending Erik Erikson’s work, James Marcia came up with four Identity Statuses of psychological identity development. The main idea is that one’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made regarding certain personal and social traits. Based on Erik Erikson’s groundbreaking work on identity and psychosocial development in the 1960s, Canadian developmental psychologist James Marcia refined and extended Erikson’s model, primarily focusing on adolescent development. Addressing Erikson’s notion of identity crisis, Marcia posited that the adolescent stage consists neither of identity resolution nor identity confusion, but rather the degree to which one has explored and committed to an identity in a variety of life domains from vocation, religion, relational choices, gender roles, and so on. Marcia’s theory of identity achievement argues that two distinct parts form an adolescent’s identity: crisis (i. e. a time when one’s values and choices are being reevaluated) and commitment. He defined a crisis as a time of upheaval where old values or choices are being reexamined. The end outcome of a crisis leads to a commitment made to a certain role or value. James Marcia expanded on Eriksons work and divided the identity crisis into four states. These are not stages, but rather processes that adolescents go through. All adolescents will occupy one or more of these states, at least temporarily. But, because these are not stages, people do not progress from one step to the next in a fixed sequence, nor must everyone go through each and every state. Each state is determined by two factors: 1. Is the adolescent committed to an identity, and 2. Is the individual searching for their true identity? Identity Diffusion – the status in which the adolescent does not have a sense of having choices; he or she has not yet made (nor is attempting/willing to make) a commitment. The core idea is that one’s sense of identity is determined largely by the hoices and commitments made regarding certain personal and social traits. The work done in this paradigm considers how much one has made certain choices, and how much he or she displays a commitment to those choices. Identity involves the adoption of 1) a sexual orientation, 2) a set of values and ideals and 3) a vocational direction. A well-developed identity gives on a sense of one’s strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. A person with a less well-developed identity is not able to define his or her personal strengths and weaknesses, and does not have a well articulated sense of self. The first identity status, identity diffusion, describes youth who have neither explored nor committed to any particular identity. Thus, this identity status represents a low level of exploration and a low level of commitment. These adolescents havent considered their identity at all, and havent established any life goals. They are reactive, passively floating through life and dealing with each situation as it arises. Their primary motivation is hedonic; the avoidance of discomfort and the acquisition of pleasure. By way of illustration, consider the example of Tyler, who stumbled his way through high school and graduated last year (but just barely). Tyler still doesnt know what he wants to do with his life. In fact, he hasnt really given much thought at all to what hed like to accomplish. He hasnt applied to any colleges or technical schools. He still works part-time at the pizza shop; a job he started while in high school so that he could have a little extra spending money. He doesnt earn enough money to live on his own so he lives with his parents, but he doesnt pay them any rent or even pay for his own groceries. Nonetheless, he hasnt even considered applying for a better paying, full-time job. Whenever his frustrated mother asks, What are you doing with your life? he just mutters, I dunno. Tyler hasnt even considered this question, and has no goals or plans of any sort. Diffusion – the state of having no clear idea of ones identity and making no attempt to find that identity. These adolescents may have struggled to find their identity, but they never resolved it, and they seem to have stopped trying. There is no commitment and no searching. As mentioned, these four identity statuses describe points along a continuum moving from an initially diffuse, undefined individual identity to a highly specific and well-defined, individual sense of self. Inherent in Marcias theory is the assumption that a mature and well-adjusted person possesses a well-defined and individually determined identity. This assumption reflects an implicit set of values common to many developed Western societies concerning the desirability of an individually defined identity; but, this set of values may not be universally shared. In contemporary Western cultures, there is a great value placed upon individual needs, rights, and freedoms. Therefore it is only natural that such societies would define maturity in terms of a highly evolved sense of an individual self. But some other cultures value the needs of the larger community over any single individual. In such cultures, maturity is defined by the ability to subjugate individual pursuits and desires in the service of the groups greater good.