Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

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Table of Contents

Trust vs. Mistrust
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Initiative vs. Guilt
Industry vs. Inferiority
Identity vs. Role Confusion
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
References

Trust vs. Mistrust

It is the first stage of development which focuses on the infant’s basic needs, which the parent fulfills. The baby’s interaction with them creates a conflict of either trust or mistrust since the child is entirely dependent on them, especially the mother. In the United Arab Emirates context, women are expected to be the sole caregiver, while men supports them by providing such material needs as housing, food and clothing (Gross, 2020).

The child is still young and interacts with the world through the guardians and copies their society’s perspective. In a typical Arab family in the UAE, kids are undervalued. To instill trust, comfort and immediate response to needs are required, which is mainly the mother’s role. The girl might lose faith in society because of neglect from her father, which might affect her ability to form a healthy relationship.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

At this stage, toddlers start asserting their independence and insisting on following their decisions. They focus on developing personal control, performing necessary actions, and making preferences on such things as the food they like (Orenstein & Lewis, 2020). In the case study, the girl at this age might emphasize gaining emotional control over her conduct. She might dictate who touches her toys, the kind of toys she wants, and clothing.

In most cultural settings, including UAE, the girl is introduced to toilet training, which further builds independence (Coelho et al., 2020). However, as noted above, the locality involves authoritarian traditions. Thus, the behavior is guided by strict adherence to adult rules, and any digression results in severely harsh punishment, especially for publicly displayed social behavior. If she is allowed to make all these decisions herself, she will develop stable self-esteem and independence. If the family is less liberal and treats her biasedly because she is female, she can develop less self-confidence.

Initiative vs. Guilt

At this stage, children begin to engage in existential questions and are propelled by initiative self. They master the world and environment around them, learning fundamental skills (Orenstein & Lewis, 2020). Within the case study, it is obvious when the girl is interacting with complex emotions such as guilt. Because of her locality’s nature and customs, she realizes the existence of strict rules to adhere to. She thus has to make decisions based on the consequences that might follow. Usually, conservative societies limit the capacity of children from wholly submitting to their instincts and desires, particularly if they overlap the cultural boundaries. She can develop negative behaviors if she is overly restricted due to frustrations because of her unachieved goals. As such, she needs an understanding surrounding to guide her in making appropriate rational decisions which do not interfere with other people’s wellbeing.

Industry vs. Inferiority

At this stage, children are influenced by emotions in their decision-making and distracted from achieving their goals. They learn to develop new skills necessary to fit in the setting without becoming overwhelmed with guilt, shame, and feeling inferior. The girl is engaged more in school than home since most of her life is now wholly focused on academics, and she is introduced to societal roles and gender variations (Cross, 2017). Due to gender prioritization, where males are perceived to be more deserving of education than females, the girl at this stage can start feeling inferior (Zhi, 2016). However, if she masters her schoolwork well, she can develop a positive self with the right support. Learning to deal with academic and social demands are rewarding and boosts her feelings of competence. Consequently, she will learn to believe in her skills and abilities and succeed.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

At this stage, children face the most turbulent points, which affects their version of identity. The adolescent develops concern with how others see them in their public image. In UAE, the concept of self is almost inherently dependent on family status and reputation (Coelho et al.,2020). It is equally founded on the kind of support that is accorded to them. However, families exploring liberal ways can be associated with the girl in the case study by embracing both authoritarian and permissive styles of parenting. She will develop awareness of her sexual identity in the transition phase to adulthood by noticing men and wondering if they find her pretty and suited for a family. However, her actions are still restricted because of her people’s conservative culture. Her identity provides her with an integrated and cohesive sense of self, which she can maintain throughout her life.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

At the start of this stage, identity and confusion come to an end progressively. The young adult is still eager to blend with friends, especially peers, to stabilize personal identity due to the need to fit. Within the case studies context, the girl might want to associate with her age mates and even find love (Orenstein & Lewis, 2020). In college, the social rules are somewhat flexible, and she might be at liberty to interact with potential husbands.

If she faces rejection from gay people she admires, she might resort to self-alienation. The result could be similar if she breaks up with her boyfriend, and some people have a relatively lesser capacity to deal with pain, thus could trigger instantiation. However, she might get married to a suitor of the parent’s choice, which will leave her heartbroken. The consequences of her choosing her partner or the guardians are equally dependent on the extent of liberty. The marriage could be an opportunity to reconstruct her self-identity; thus, she might have lost in the previous stages or get lonely.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

In middle adulthood, individuals are faced with questions concerning the meaningfulness of their contributions to the community for its betterment. During this period, people who succeed in managing the expectations and work on their potential for what they feel is useful to society feel generative (Orenstein & Lewis, 2020). At this time, she will probably move from her parental home to her matrimonial house and nurture her family. As a college graduate, she could get employment in either government parastatal or private firms. However, cultural gender roles require her to dedicate more time for her husband and children than work (Coelho et al., 2020). She will be responsible for her kid’s development, especially in elementary school. If she finds a way to balance between the responsibilities and home setting, she will have achieved generativity. However, the possible opposite result is stagnation of feelings since she can feel useless to society.

Ego Integrity vs. Despair

The stage begins when an aging adult begins to engage with the challenge of mortality. These preliminary stages are triggered by retirement, loss of friends, spouses, acquaintances, facing a terminal illness, or any other major life event (Orenstein & Lewis, 2020). At this stage, she probably might have retired from her career or be almost retiring. She might extensively reflect on her past life, school-going, family, and workdays to develop a sense of either fulfillment or despair. She might also evaluate her relationships with other people starting with her immediate environment family. In case she never pursued a career after her college graduation, she might access to see if it was a wrong or right decision and the probable outcome of each choice. If she lived a fulfilling life, she would feel complete and successful.

References

Coelho, O., Pires, R., Ferreira, A. S., Gonçalves, B., AlJassmi, M., & Stocker, J. (2020). Arabic version of the personality inventory for the DSM-5 (PID-5) in a community sample of United Arab Emirates nationals. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health: CP & EMH, 16, 180. Web.

Cross, T. L., & Cross, J. R. (2017). Maximizing potential: A school-based conception of psychosocial development. High Ability Studies, 28(1), 43-58. Web.

Gross, Y. (2020). Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Models and Theories, 179-184. Web.

Orenstein, G. A., & Lewis, L. (2020). Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. Web.

Zhi, X. (2016). Psychological development and education. Psychological Development and Education, 32, 205-213. Web.

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