Human Development

One: Basic Trust vs. Mistrust: Infancy
through ages 1 or 2. In this stage, a child
who is nurtured, loved, and well handled
develops a sense of security, trust, and a
general optimism and openness to life.
Poorly handled, neglected, or abused, the
child becomes mistrustful and insecure.

Two: Autonomy vs. Shame: This stage
occurs generally between the ages of 18 or
24 months and 3.5 to 4 years. A child who
has been parented well emerges from this
stage with a sense of confidence. It is during
this stage in which there is rapid physical and
mental development. Allowed to try out their
abilities and to exercise their new "powers" to
operate independently, the child develops a
sense of self which mirrors the pride shown
them by their caregivers. Children who are
discouraged or over-controlled by their
caregivers do not develop their abilities
optimally and their acts of independence are
met with inattention or disapproval resulting
in a sense of shame, embarrassment, and
inadequacy.

Three: Initiative vs. Guilt: Approximately
3.5 years of age to the time a child first
enters school. In 1956, when Dr. Erickson
first put his theory forth, school began at the
age of 5.5 or 6 years of age. Opportunities
to develop at this stage may have changed
somewhat since then since school often
begins earlier. In addition to other forms of
development, this stage depends partially on
the social opportunities with peers which a
school setting provides. This is the "play
age." A child who develops optimally learns
to imagine and fantasize and to further
develop his or her skills through all sorts of
active play. She learns to cooperate and to
lead as well as follow. If guilt rides on the
back of shame developed in the previous
stage, a child becomes timid and fearful,
hangs on the fringes of groups, and clings to
adults. Such a child develops sub-optimal
skills of play, socialization, and imagination.
Failure in the development of certain skills
leads the child to believe they were wrong to
have even tried. They are unlikely to retain
the confidence to initiate activity or to take a
position of leadership among their peers.

Four: Industry vs. Inferiority: First years
of school through 7th or 8th grade. This is
the "school age." In this stage, the child is
thrust into environments where life is more
structured and organized. For better or
worse, children become generally aware that
elders such as teachers and other mentors
have ideas about milestones and the optimal
unfolding of their development. In this
process, children will station themselves in
relation to this structure, their elders, and in
relation to their peers. Differences and
similarities among peers occur intentionally
(through mastery) or by default and it is the
children who develop mastery that are best
positioned for success in the subsequent
stages.

The specific challenges facing children in

stage four involve the

mastery of: 1) basic

rules when interacting with their peers, 2)

the

progression from free play to play which may

involve complex

structure such as team

sports, and 3) their formal studies in

school.

In addition to this structure being taught to

them, the child must

accept the value of this

structure enough that self-discipline

develops

increasingly with each successive school

year. The

mastery of this stage, as with

other stages, not only predicts the

likelihood

of future success, but the mastery (or lack of)

stages

predicts

the likelihood of

success in this one. The child

who has

developed trust, autonomy, and initiative

(see earlier

stages) will

find it markedly

easier to be successfully industrious

in the

context of an increasingly

structured

world

than the

mistrustful child whose

shame and

guilt feelings will lead

him or

her

to feeling

defeated and

inferior.

Erik Erickson's 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development Across the Human LifeSpan

The upside of this apparently deterministic

outlook on child

development is that there is

increasingly, opportunity for the child

him or

herself to intervene in the course of this

unfolding. There

are, no doubt, connections

between feelings of inferiority and

actual

inferiority, but the child who realizes, or is

helped to realize

that feeling inferior does not

necessarily mean they are inferior -

such a

child may be able to significantly alter the

course of their

lives - a course which parents

and teachers may have come to

view as the

child's fate.

This is the stage at which a child may benefit

directly from the

professional guidance of a

counselor. Prior to this point, a

counselor's

energy will be best invested in counseling the

caregivers.

Five: Identity vs. Identity Diffusion: This
is adolescence, ages 13 or 14 to about 20.
This a time of self directed experimentation
and a quest to answer the questions, "Who
am I and who will I become?" This
experimentation occurs in a variety of
contexts. Predictive of successful completion
of this stage is the adolescents' increasing
awareness that this is, in fact, a stage - a
stage after which they will enter into
adulthood and take on adult roles and
responsibilities. Predictive of an
unsuccessful resolution of these adolescent
challenges is the adolescent's sense of being
incapable, of moving toward adulthood, of
being unready to move into adulthood, or
abandoning this as a desire altogether.

Many would assert that some sizeable portion

of our

society's

adults (at least in certain

Western cultures)

have failed to

successfully

complete their

adolescence - that we live in a

world

dominated not

by adults, but by

protracted adolescence.

Some have said that adolescence was

"invented" to

give

children a fighting chance

in their struggles with

their transition

into

adulthood. Social expectations

changed too

with the

"invention" of the teenager and

adolescents were allowed a

gestation period

sorts in which they could be more fully

developed

before being "born" into

adulthood.

Although some would argue this to have

been a

sorely overdue

"discovery" rather

than "invention," the

assertion of more and

more stages have been seen

in recent years.

Dr. Erickson's theory of human development

was put

forth in the

era of James Dean who is

often

accredited with being the

world's first

teenager

Since that time, we have seen the

acknowledgement

of "pre-teens" or 'tweens"

whose

developmental

stage is seen as yet

another transition period -

between

childhood and adolescence. More recently,

there has

been the assertion of yet another

stage -

this one between the

ages of twenty

to 30 or 35.

This stage has been given the

name

"Emerging

Adulthood," and though

many have embraced this

notion, many are

skeptical about the stage and the

implications

for the individual and society.

Six: Intimacy vs. Isolation: Despite the
emergence of new developmental stages in
"our current times," Dr. Erickson would assert
that young adulthood is marked by the
development of the abilities for true intimacy.
This is the intimacy necessary for good and
lasting friendship or romantic partnership.
The young adult who has not mastered the
previous stages is more likely to experience
relationships which are less enduring or
stable. Given this, many of these young
adults will begin their withdrawal into isolation.

Seven: Generativity vs. Self
Absorption: In the adult years, often
thought of as the middle years (not the same
as "middle age"), the individual turns their
attention to social contribution. They give to
society through their work or creativity or
charity. They embrace their responsibilities
to nurture their families, assuming roles as
leaders and providers.

Those who may have drawn into relative

social isolation tend to engage in endeavors

which are geared toward meeting

their own

needs, needs which may have not been met

in earlier stages. The "mid-life crisis" is often

felt more intensely as

they shift their view of

their life - no longer as the years since their

rth, but in terms of how much time they now

have left.

The manner in which they respond

to this crisis may determine the tenor of their

final stage.

Eight: Integrity Vs. Despair: If the other
stages have been successfully mastered or
satisfactorily resolved, either at the optimal
times or through "going back" (often with the
help of a professional therapist), the older
adult experiences a sense of integrity. They
look back upon their lives without regret.
Such individuals tend to possess qualities of
trust, confidence, and satisfaction with what
they've done, who they've been & who it is
they have become. They retain good
relationships and feel supported in their
social circles.

If any of the previous "psycho-social crises"

(stages) have not been reasonably resolved,

the individual, looking back on

their life may

experience bitterness and despair about

what they've failed to do and who it is they

have failed to become.

Christian Wolff, Psy.A., Licensed Psychologist Associate/Counselor
820 NW 21st Avenue, Suite B. Portland.Oregon. 97209. 503.381.2032. christian@christianwolff.com

Erik Erickson's Eight Stages of
Development:

A theory of social and emotional
development over the entire human life span.

Dr. Erickson believed that each stage of
human development was marked by a
"psychosocial crisis" which must be resolved
satisfactorily before a person can move on
with the expectation of experiencing success
in the next stage.

Dr. Erickson viewed the early stages as
foundational to the subsequent stages. If a
person does not navigate their way
successfully through the early stages, it can
be expected that they will have difficulty in
the subsequent stages.

At best, one would hope that parents and
other caretakers of children would be well
versed in child development and help to
ensure that the children in their care
successfully transitioned from one stage to
the next.

For older children, adolescents, and adults
who may not have successfully conquered
the tasks of earlier stages, there is work to
be done. This work often requires the
assistance of trained professionals who can
identify the effects of these unsuccessfully
negotiated stages and work with the
individual on the difficult task of learning
what had not been learned.

Below, in very abbreviated form, are Dr. Erik
Erickson's Eight Stages of Man.