Theory of Human Personality Development - Essay Example

Psychology of Human Development Erik Erikson produced a comprehensive developmental psychology theory of human personality development covering the entire human lifespan. The significant characteristic of Erikson’s theory is that to successfully progress from one stage to another necessitates resolution of a particular psychosocial crisis peculiar to that stage. The question of whether the conflict actually occurs or not depends on how well prepared the individual is at that particular point in life during a transition from one stage to another. Erikson referred to this issue as ultimate psychological functioning. As a psychological theory to explain human development, it is certainly an improvement over Freud’s narrow thinking and provides very useful insight into the nature of human psychological problems. Erikson’s eight stages of human development patterns is a useful model to understand human development in general, and offers a remarkable and valuable insight for personal conflict resolution in particular. Issues in the Psychology of Human Development 1) Erikson’s theory of physical, emotional and psychological human development and the conflict/crisis that must be resolved in each stage In the Eight Stages of Man (Erikson, 1950), Erik Erikson produced a comprehensive developmental psychology theory of human personality development covering the entire human lifespan. It was an advancement of his teacher Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, wherein Erikson also took into account the social environment besides the biological factors. 1. The first stage is of infancy (roughly from birth to 18 months) 2. The second stage is of toddlerhood (roughly from 2 to 3 years) 3. The third stage is of early childhood (roughly from 3 to 6 years) 4. The fourth stage is of middle childhood (roughly from 6 to 11 years) 5. The fifth stage is of adolescence (roughly from 12 to 18 years) 6. The sixth stage is of young adulthood (roughly from 19 to 40 years) 7. The seventh stage is of middle adulthood (roughly from 40 to 65 years) 8. The eighth stage is of older adulthood (roughly from 65 plus) The significant characteristic of Erikson’s theory is that to successfully progress from one stage to another necessitates resolution of a particular psychosocial crisis peculiar to that stage. The conflict or crises that must be resolved at each stage are the ‘decisive changes’ that must be made in order to avoid experiencing the inner conflicts. “The individual is provided with a ‘sensitive period’ in which to successfully resolve each crisis before a new crisis is presented. The results of the resolution, whether successful or not, are carried forward to the next crisis and provide the foundation for its resolution.” (Huitt, W, 2008) As opposed to ‘accidental’ or ‘unexpected’ changes that may occur at any time such as bereavement, these are developmental changes related to circumstances that are ordinarily expected to occur during the stages of life based on the experience of human psychological development. In Erikson’s theory, each of the developmental stages is associated with such development changes with respect to the conflicts or crises that must be resolved. And, these he identified as follows: 1. In the first stage, the conflict is of trust versus mistrust; This is dependent on the quality of care the baby receives and shapes the baby’s view of his mother and the new world around him. 2. In the second stage, the conflict is autonomy versus shame and doubt; Here, the child is “beginning to think of itself as a person in its own right, separate from the parents, and… the child wants to do everything for itself and parents have to allow it… firm and considerate training helps the child to develop a sense of self-control without a loss of self-esteem.” (Gross, R) 3. In the third stage, the conflict is of initiative versus guilt; Due to the rapid development of physical, intellectual and social development, the child wants to utilize his abilities and skills to engage in all sorts of activities. If the child is not allowed the freedom it needs, then the child may begin to start inhibiting its initiative and natural curiosity. 4. In the fourth stage, the conflict is of accomplishment versus inferiority; In this stage, besides the child’s parents, the influence of teachers and the peer group becomes greater. The child’s concern with how things are made or work should be encouraged, and they need to be satisfied with their own efforts and personal achievements. Making unfavourable comparisons and discouragement inhibit their sense of self-worth. 5. In the fifth stage, the conflict is of identity versus role confusion; Here, there is a rapid body growth that disturbs the previous mastery enjoyed in childhood. The adolescents are forced to adapt to their new bodies maturing into adulthood. Sexual feelings are more pronounced and greater social interactions occur. During this period of transition from childhood to adulthood, “they are expected to make decisions about their future but… are being kept dependent on adults while being expected to behave like adults, in an independent and responsible way” (Gross, R). 6. In the sixth stage, the conflict is of intimacy versus isolation; The individual develops the ability to give and receive love, and make a long-term commitment to relationships. If there is insufficient intimacy, it could lead to a situation of feeling neglected or isolated. 7. In the seventh stage, the conflict is of generativity versus stagnation; At this stage, the individual feels a greater responsibility to guide the development of the next generation. 8. In the eighth stage, the conflict is of ego integrity versus despair; In the final stage of life, there is a review of the life that has been spent thus far, an understanding of the importance of people and the relationships that had been developed during one’s life. 2) Important personal decisions that a typical 30 year old would have made in his life A typical 30-year old person would be in stage six of Erikson’s scheme of development. In this stage, the issue of love, relationships and intimacy concerns the individual a lot because ‘genitality’ fully matures and personal and sexual relationships are actively sought. Being unable to resolve the expected crisis at this stage would have led to problems associated with isolation and self-absorption; feeling distant or removed from others and society. Two important decisions that he or she might have made are discussed below. On finding another individual to share life with, deciding on the nature and depth of the relationship to follow would have been one of the most significant and life-changing decisions ever made. In particular, if it were a love relationship, considering the extent to which intimacy was to be developed and whether or not to marry would have preoccupied his or her thoughts most of the time. Erikson listed certain criteria with regard to harmonizing the many ’modes’ and ‘modalities’ for achieving ‘genital utopia’. This involves a “mutuality of orgasm with a loving partner of the opposite sex with whom one is willing and able to share a trust” (Davis, D. 1995). Intimacy is required for emotional comfort and is a basic human drive with biological roots, satisfying the individual as well as social need for procreation; producing offspring to begin new cycles of human development. Another major decision would have centered on work, not only having work but the type of work too. Erikson believed that “the jobs people choose play an major role in their representation of themselves to society” (Erikson, 1968). This is also a special type of relationship between the individual and his or her employer. It enables the provision of a secure financial environment for other personal and social relationships to thrive, and thus avoids potential isolation from family and society. And, “the counterpart of intimacy is distantiation, which is the readiness to isolate and destroy forces and people whose essence seems dangerous to ones own (Davis, D. 1995). If the individual had difficulty in finding suitable work, the pay was insufficient, or conditions were unsatisfactory, there could have been an ‘ego loss’ that greatly diminished the feelings of self-worth. Kelvin (1981) also acknowledged that work is crucial to an individual’s self-concept, and in their relationships with others. 3) An in-depth examination of these issues and conflicts The question of whether the conflict actually occurs or not depends on how well prepared the individual is at that particular point in life during a transition from one stage to another. Erikson referred to this issue as ultimate psychological functioning. Usually, the changed circumstances surrounding the developmental ‘conflict’ are naturally dealt with and it is only at a deeper level of consciousness that the person becomes aware of a newer outlook on life once the transition has followed through with ease. The development of a ‘higher’ way of thinking and the acquisition of age specific habits occur quickly through the process of learning, pondering, repetition and reinforcement. However, if there is insufficient or no mental, emotional and physical preparation, or the educational and social training has been inadequate, then the situation results in the identified conflict or crisis. This could mean a period of instability or distress whilst the individual eventually and expediently learns how to cope. The typical decisions of a 30 year old mentioned in part 2 above demonstrate that this first adulthood stage in one’s life involves making some major decisions. Benedict (1954) saw adulthood in western culture as “involving the unlearning of much of what is learned as a child” (Gross, R). Their effects also continue into the later adulthood stages because these directly determine the nature and quality of the rest of one’s life. We could define the conflict to resolve in this stage simply as the need to find both work and a life partner. If this search proves fruitless it can lead to isolation and severe character problems. The psychological quality that Erikson expects to be satisfied to prevent these problems from occurring in early adulthood is intimacy. The Attachment theory of psychology tries to explain the importance of intimacy. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1990) observed that “romantic partners feel comforted when their partners are present and anxious or lonely when their partners are absent”. If the desire for intimacy is satisfied, the bond of attachment of the relationship is strengthened and there is no failure to develop this psychological quality, so the crisis is resolved. Interestingly, Mashek and Sherman (2004) found that sometimes too much intimacy is not desirable either. Perhaps it could lead to too many emotional entanglements and the problems associated with jealousies. In this case, Erikson may have correctly identified the psychological qualities needed for this as well as the other stages of human development, but we should also stress the need to maintain an appropriate balance between the opposing qualities in the conflict. 4) A critical overview of Erikson’s eight stages of human development patterns As with all observations of patterns associated with human nature, they are necessarily generalizations that may be found to satisfactorily explain the behaviour of most people but certainly not each and every individual. Therefore, individual differences need to be considered even within the same group of people identified as having similar traits, and cultural habits and norms. Differences in culture, the issue of untimely changes etc. were not considered by Erikson. Significantly, he also assumed that the sequence of stages applied equally for both males and females, especially during adolescence, whereas gender differences do exist and impact on the development of both. Untimely changes that do not accord to the expected point of transition. Take the example of a child who is forced to mature much earlier than expected due to unfortunate circumstances such as the death or otherwise absence of his or her parents and the onset of increased responsibilities. For this individual there will be a rapid acceleration of transition through the stages of life. The consequences of this would mean having to deal with the conflicts and crises much earlier too. Other accidental changes that upset or interrupt the normal flow of human activity and development include illnesses and diseases, the loss of a job, suffering from trauma, and injuries caused by major disasters. These need not be negative ones only though. Unexpected positive events can equally have a similar profound effect in one’s life such as Cultural differences amongst people could account for differences in the number, span and transition points of each of Erikson’s developmental stages. For instance, the decision when to enroll a child in school, when to enter the world of work, and when to get married and have children differ amongst different cultures and accounts for profound differences. In some cultures there are also puberty rites for instance that does not exist in western culture. Religion is also tightly bound to culture, so societies that are more religious may tend to have more rigid or otherwise ‘confining’ characteristics that do not allow much scope for individuals to alternative courses of action to determine the nature of their own development. On the other hand, some psychologists believe that the concept of ‘adolescence is only a recent invention of Western capitalist society. Thus, it is highly significant to note Erikson’s own background of personal experience in Germany, that his descriptions of developmental stages befit the western concept of human nature, and what is expected at each stage is based on western culture and patterns of thinking, especially native American traditions. And, all this too for the particular period in the 1950s in which he lived. Moreover, his theory is not based on any statistical research, so it cannot be tested for validating. Therefore, it is relevant to ask about the extent to which he theorized or conjectured, and also to what extent he was influenced by the thoughts of others, especially his mentor Freud. More recently however, some researchers have managed to quantify ‘self-esteem’ as a measure of self-concept, for example by the ‘Rosenberg Self-Esteem’ questionnaire. Brenden (1969) noted that self-esteem is “indispensable to normal and healthy self-development”. Even after taking into account individual differences, untimely, accidental or unexpected changes, cultural, traditional and linguistic differences amongst different societies, variations in learning and education systems, and political and economic differences, Erikson’s eight stages of human development patterns is a useful model to understand human development in general, and offers a remarkable and valuable insight for personal conflict resolution in particular. Psychotherapists can better understand abnormal behaviours and emotional concerns, and the root of the mental problem that is getting in the way of normal progress. Furthermore, the identification of these stages helps to respond much more effectively to human needs by way of providing educational and social training, and in forming social, economic and political policies. As a psychological theory to explain human development, it is certainly an improvement over Freud’s narrow thinking and provides very useful insight into the nature of human psychological problems. This is especially due to Erikson’s emphasis of the social interaction factors. But the applicability of the whole theory should be considered in individual cases and particular social contexts. Erikson did not address gender and other differences mentioned above, and his consideration of different cultures was limited. Therefore, this is a deficiency of his theory. Also, many other in-depth studies have since been conducted on specific stages, and more intricate theories formed, so these should be studied for a more up-to-date, clearer and deeper insight on this topic. For example, Marcia’s research, which identified not stages but four statuses of adolescent identity formation, the works of Bingham and Stryker 1995) suggesting the socioeconomic crises receive different emphases for males and females, and the succinct expression of the issues of adulthood expressed by Covey, Merill and Merrill (1994) as ‘to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy’. Finally, from a spiritual perspective, although Erikson’s theory is an improvement over earlier theories in that it takes into account social interaction besides mere biological factors, it could be further improved upon by embracing the next step, taking into account the development of thought patterns and beliefs. In other words, apart from the psychosexual (and other biological developments) and psychosocial growth schedules already considered, the ‘psychomental’ aspect also needs to be studied. Like feelings, thoughts too develop during the course of human life and suggest the existence of ‘philosophical stages’. Moreover, these factors have a more fundamental effect on social interaction and therefore in actually shaping the psychology of human development particular to that individual and social group. A more sophisticated model would also have to allow for cultural differences and the fact that not only individuals, but societies also develop throughout the ages. References Covey, S., Merrill, A. R., & Merrill, R. (1994). First Things First: To live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy. New York: Simon & Schuster. [see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0684802031/7745-3899696-849824] Davis, D. (1995). Psychosocial Theory: Erikson. Retrieved 22 Nov. 2008 from: http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/erikson.stages.html Gross, R. (1999). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. Hodder and Stoughton. Third edition. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 270-280. Huitt, W. (2008). Socioemotional development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date], from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/affsys/erikson.html. Mashek, D.J., & Sherman, M.D. (2004). Desiring less closeness with initimate others. In A. Aron and Mashek, D.J. (Eds.), Handbook of Closeness and Intimacy (pp. 343-356). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Read More