What Is Erikson's Theory Of Psychosocial Development

Submitted By bethanyncaldwell
Words: 2370
Pages: 10
Open Document
Erickson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
Bethany Caldwell
December 7, 2014
Dr. Lauria
Excelsior College

Abstract
For my term paper I wish to discuss about Erikson’s psychosocial theory. This topic does a great job of exploring the lifespan. As a nurse I do have some knowledge of the lifespan development, researching this topic allowed me to learn more about the lifespan. This was a great learning experience for me. This topic is important to me because the psychosocial theory expands through the lifespan and as a nurse, it is important to understand the stages of life. This allows you to connect with your patients since you are more aware of what life stage they are experiencing. Applying the use of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development in the nursing setting helps analyze a patient’s symptomatic behavior in regards to past experiences and current issues with developmental tasks. Therefore this is an important part of patient care and being my current major, this topic is especially interesting, because it can be applied to patients of all ages.

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
Erik Erikson was born June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany and died on May 12, 1994. Erik Erikson was best know for his famous theory of psychosocial development that describes the development through the lifespan. Erik Erikson was a neo-freudian psychologist that agreed with many of Freud’s concepts; he just added his own spin and covered the whole lifespan. Erikson believed that nature determines the sequence of the stages, although you must pass through one stage before entering the next stage in order (Berk). The following eight stages described in detail cover what we as humans go through from our first day on earth to our last. These stages shape personality and experiences from childhood to adulthood. These stages are great examples for someone in the healthcare field to be knowledgable of, to help coordinate your care. The first stage of Erickson’s psychosocial development is trust versus mistrust.This is the most fundamental stage that occurs. This stage occurs between birth and one year of age. The main focus of stage one is whether or not the child’s parents are meeting the trust needs of the child. Trust is defined by Erickson as “an essential truthfulness of others as well as a fundamental sense of one’s own trustworthiness”(Sharkey). Infants depend on their parents, especially their mother from the moment they are conceived, they are looking for comfort, food and shelter. If the child is exposed to comfort, dependability, shelter, love and affection, the child will begin to form a trusting view of the world. If the child is not exposed to comfort love, shelter, dependability, love and affection, the child will being to form a view of mistrust against the world. The main questing asked in this stage is “can I trust the world?” When the child experiences a balance of both trust and mistrust the child begins to develop hope. Erickson stated “ hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive” (Hall). The child must first learn to form a trusting relationship with their caregiver which will lead them to continue to trust their caregiver or begin to mistrust them.
The second stage of Erickson’s psychosocial development is autonomy versus shame and doubt. This stage occurs from about eighteen months to three years of age. The main focus of this stage is gaining a better sense of control of oneself. This is transitioning into independence of the child. The main question of this stage is “is it okay to be me”? Even though children who are experiencing this stage are focusing on exploring their world, they are still relying on their parents to help them with choosing between good and bad, right and wrong. The child and caregiver are focusing on getting the child toilet trained and having them dress themselves. Erikson believed that
Show More

Related Documents: What Is Erikson's Theory Of Psychosocial Development

Term Paper

Correctional Health Care Increasing Staff Motivation and Satisfaction MGMT 591: Leadership and Organizational Behavior Professor Brett Gordon December 17, 2012 The organization that will be the topic of discussion in my final project paper is Georgia Health Sciences Universities (GHSU), Georgia Correctional Healthcare (GCHC) division. GHSU is both a hospital and teaching institution based in Augusta, Georgia. GHSU was founded in 1828. Georgia Health Sciences University is home to…

Words 2285 - Pages 10

Term Paper

companies use shady accounting practices to enflate revenue or hide losses, the public can’t get an accurate picture of what they are investing in. The public demanded that something be done, so in 2002 the U.S. govt passed the Sabex-Oxly act. For my term paper I will examine some the corporate scandals that led to the creation of the act. Deragulation was lobbied for hard on wall street during the Bush Presidency. The public was lead to believe that loosing the rules on corporate practices would lead…

Words 999 - Pages 4

Term Paper

Learning activity Term Paper Test for Hidden Bias The Implicit Association Test, tests for unconscious biases. I chose this learning activity to see if I have any hidden biases. I have always believed that I was a straight shooter never putting on a facade or giving a false presentation of myself. To prepare for taking this activity, I made sure that I was in a quiet room, away from any distractions. I concentrated on each activity as they appeared on my computer screen. I chose six categories to…

Words 765 - Pages 4

Term Paper

Community Organization September 16 2013 Compare and Contrast Community Organizations The two community organizations that I choose to compare and contrast is Do-All,Inc and United Way. I have worked with both of these organizations in the past, and they are both really good organizations, and do a lot of improve the overall community. Do-All, Inc. evolved from a dream for a better life for people with disabilities. Do-All, Inc was formed in 1952 by the Bay County Association of Retarded Citizens…

Words 723 - Pages 3

term paper

Progressive Roots - In the beginning of the 1900s, America had 76 million people, mostly in good condition. Then before the first decade of the 20th century, the U.S. would be influenced by a “Progressive movement’ that fought against monopolies, corruption, inefficiency, and social injustice. 1. The purpose of the Progressives was to use the government as an agency of human welfare. - The Progressives had their roots in the Greenback Labor Party of the 1870s and 1880s and the Populist Party…

Words 2369 - Pages 10

Term Paper

Pediatric Oncology Nursing Did you know that one in one hundred new nurses will become a pediatric oncology nurse? Pediatric oncology nursing is a very demanding and heartwarming career. To be a pediatric oncology nurse means to be a primary care coordinator for the management of patients with cancer. A pediatric oncology nurse will assess patient needs, implementing a plan with appropriate tasks for the patient to gain progress. Not only will the pediatric oncology nurse help with the patient…

Words 1781 - Pages 8

Term Paper

Introduction Software as a Service (SaaS) has the potential to transform the way information-technology (IT) departments relate to and even think about their role as providers of computing services to the rest of the enterprise. The emergence of SaaS as an effective software-delivery mechanism creates an opportunity for IT departments to change their focus from deploying and supporting applications to managing the services that those applications provide. A successful service-centric IT, in turn…

Words 6880 - Pages 28

Term paper

issues that occur there are many that people may not be aware of, but the ones that will be discussed to explore ethical situations are Unauthorized Access related to software, hardware, network, internet web mining, IT freedom and hacking. This paper examines how each unauthorized access should be handled and provides examples of each related area of security. Security – Unauthorized Access Unauthorized access is known as the act of gaining access to a network, system,…

Words 3103 - Pages 13

Term Paper

The Emancipation Proclamation and the Death of an American Hero. Students Name Professor’s Name History 150 Online 10 March 2014 There were many different events that happened during the time of President Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln came up with the Emancipation Proclamation which was an effort to help end slavery, eventually leading to the thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery altogether. Sadly his life was cut short. John Wilkes Booth assassinated him…

Words 1950 - Pages 8

Term Paper

he Glass Menagerie is a very character oriented poem. Tom, Amanda, and Laura are all very well developed characters. They all have significant and unique characteristics that are shown well throughout the poem. Tom is the most interesting to me though because of his qualities and even his flaws. Tom has a few different and contradicting characteristics such as he is easily persuaded, his determination and his strong sense of guilt. Tom Wingfield seems to be easily entrapped and persuaded into…

Words 348 - Pages 2