Erickson's Eight Stages Of Development

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Erickson developed the first true life-span theory of human development which breaks down the processes of development into 8 stages. Erickson was an artist and teacher that was influenced by Freud. His attention then became entirely focused on children and the development of them. Ericksons psychosocial theory has had an impact on the developmental process because it covers the development on the whole life-span. According to Erickson (1950) psychological development results from the interaction between maturational processes or biological needs and the societal demands and social forces encountered in everyday life. (Salkind, 2004) As you know Erickson’s theories contains eight stages and in order to move onto the next stage you must have resolved any conflict that may have occurred. Erickson’s theory emphasises on the importance of the ego. The ego is the executor of realistic goal seeking actions between biological urgers of the id and the social constraints of the superego. (Salkind, 2004) Erickson believes that social pressures and environmental forces have even greater impacts. Ericksons stages are best described as psychosocial. Erickson states that development takes place through the resolvement of a crisis. Here is an example of Erickson’s eight stages of psychosexual development. stage Psychosocial stage task Social conditions Psychosocial outcomes Birth to 1 year Oral sensory Can I trust the world? Support, lack of support and deprivation Trust and