Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson developed a theory of psychosocial development featuring eight developmental stages strongly influenced by Sigmund Freud in which Erikson felt the individual faces a key psychosocial issue in the development of one's psychosocial self (McAdams, 2006). The eight stages are: infancy, early childhood, play age childhood, school age childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, young adulthood, mature adulthood, and old age (2006).
During infancy, the individual questions security and faces the psychosocial issue of trust versus mistrust. During early childhood, the individual faces independence and faces the psychosocial issue of autonomy versus shame and doubt. During play age childhood, the individual explores the ways in which he or she can be powerful and faces the psychosocial issue of initiative versus guilt. During school age childhood, the individual assimilates the qualities that makes one good and faces the psychosocial issue of industry versus inferiority. (2006)
During adolescence and young adulthood, the individual questions their place in the adult world and faces the psychosocial issue of identity versus role confusion. During young adulthood, the individual questions the capacity to love and faces the psychosocial issue of intimacy versus isolation. During mature adulthood, the individual questions how to give gifts and faces the psychosocial issue of generativity versus stagnation. During old age, the individual questions how to receive gifts and faces the psychosocial issue of ego integrity versus despair. (2006)
A friend's son, Andrew, just turned one year old this past week; he has surpassed the infancy age wherein he faced the issue of trust versus mistrust and answered the question regarding his security. Andrew is now entering the early childhood age in which he is testing his autonomy versus shame and doubt and is learning to be independent. He is making attempts at independence in nearly every aspect of his life. Andrew is expressing the desire to self-feed, to stand and walk on his own, to climb stairs, and to learn new things independently. Andrew is also going through the anal stage in Freud's psychosexual stage that corresponds with Erikson's early childhood stage and is making attempts to control his bowels. In recent weeks, Andrew has held his bowel movements until they become hard, and he has pulled his diaper off a few times and had a bowel movement beside his potty chair.
I am going through Erikson's mature adulthood stage of life marked by psychosocial issue of generativity versus stagnation. The central question of mature adulthood is: How can I pass on what I know or create something that will live on after I am gone? McAdams(2006) states that generativity is "the personal and societal goal of providing for the next generation" (p. 362); stagnation is described by McAdams as self-absorption. This is an apt descriptor of me; I have a strong desire or need to care for and nurture others.
Though I have always been a giving person, I can look back and see clearly just how much this giving nature has increased in recent years. I have been told stories of going through the early childhood life stage that Andrew is entering now when I was almost three years old. I am told that I would have bowel movements in the doorway, although I was quite able to use the potty chair. I am able to remember going through each of Erikson's previous stages and have found them to be quite accurate.
Reference
McAdams, D. (2006). The person: A new introduction to personality psychology. (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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