Theories Of Erikson's Theory Of Identity Development

Erikson’s theory of identity development
3.1. General Background
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory is a psychoanalytic theory in which he extended Freud’s five psychosexual stages of development and suggested series of eight psychological stages of development, focusing more on the social context of development, through which a healthy developing human should pass from infancy to the old age (Fleming, 2004). The ego identity is the conscious sense of self that the individual may develop through his social interactions. The achievement and development of the ego identity is one of the aims of Erikson’s theory (Cherry, 2015).
In each stage, the individual faces what Erikson called crisis which the individual must overlap to proceed

They repudiate their membership in the world of adults and, even more, they repudiate their need for an identity. Some adolescents allow themselves to "fuse" with a group, especially the kind of group that is particularly eager to provide the details of your identity: religious cults, militaristic organizations, groups founded on hatred, groups that have divorced themselves from the painful demands of mainstream society. They may become involved in destructive activities, drugs, or alcohol, or you may withdraw into their own psychotic fantasies. After all, being "bad" or being "nobody" is better than not knowing who you are! (George, 2006:

3.3. Maturity stage (Ego integrity vs. despair)
In Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development, reaching this stage is a big deal, and by this age a person begins to take a reflective and evaluative look back at his or her life (Fleming, 2004). Only the individuals who pass the previous seven crises successfully can achieve the ego integrity and feel that their life is valuable and accept their lives without any regret. While, those who fail in resolving the previous crises will face a kind of despair which is the result of the feeling that they waist their lives (Ewan, 2003).
This stage may be seen as the most difficult of all stages. The individual in this stage will be detached from society, life troubles and from a sense of usefulness. Yet they will experience the old age body weaknesses (Boeree, 2006). After a lifetime of living and learning, Erikson stated that wisdom is the basic strength associated with later years, based on the well-lived life. Disdain is the core pathology of this stage (Fleming, 2004: