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Erikson’s Psychoanalytical Theory.
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As illustrated by Erikson's psychoanalytic theory, psychosocial development requires that
an individual undergoes a sequence of eight developmental stages from infancy to maturity. Each
phase is distinguished by two conflicting forces, which usually lead to a psychosocial crisis with
a corresponding virtue. In this regard, I would like to analyze two church members from my
local church, who are in two different stages of Erickson's theory. Mr. Luke Evans, our priest, is
a fifty years old male experiencing the seventh stage of Erikson's theory, "generativity vs
stagnation," and a three years old girl, Kimberly Jones, who is experiencing the second stage,
“autonomy vs. shame and doubt.”
As experienced by Mr. Evans, the conflict between generativity and stagnation is
characterized by one's need to nurture or create things that will outlive them (Malone et al.,
2016). Success in this stage is marked by one’s pride of accomplishment and usefulness.
However, failing to inspire the next generation or being unproductive may lead one to feel as if
their lives have stagnated (Malone et al., 2016). For example, Mr. Evans has recently initiated a
program to feed the homeless in our neighborhood. Moreover, he has gone ahead to contact and
secure different sponsors who will see the program's success. Such accomplishments make him
proud and we can deduce that his generativity is successful. In this stage, he has managed to
garner the virtue of care (Malone et al., 2016).
As experienced by Mrs. Jones, the "autonomy vs. shame/doubt" stage is characterized by
a child’s strong urge to control their motor abilities, eliminative functions with continued
exploration of their environment (Orenstein & Lewis, 2020). Their parent's encouragement and
patience foster the toddler's autonomy. However, where the parents are highly restrictive, the
child ends up having a sense of shame or doubt and may be reluctant or fearful to try new
challenges (Orenstein & Lewis, 2020). For example, Jones’ parents usually sit at the church’s
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front row. Jones is very keen to walk to the podium and towards the church instruments
whenever she has a chance. She also attempts to go up the podium stairs and she usually fails
several times before eventually succeeding. Deriving from the biblical concept, which states that
all who want to inherit the kingdom of heaven must become as children are, her parents do not
try to stop her but instead encourage her to explore. Jones will emerge from this stage with a
virtue of undeterred will.
As illustrated by Mr. Evans and Ms. Jones, various people experience different stages of
Erikson’s psychoanalytical theory depending on their age. Positive success in the conflicting
forces will lead one to emerge with a corresponding valuable virtue.
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References.
Malone, J. C., Liu, S. R., Vaillant, G. E., Rentz, D. M., & Waldinger, R. J. (2016). Midlife
Eriksonian psychosocial development: Setting the stage for late-life cognitive and
emotional health. Developmental Psychology, 52(3), 496–508.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039875
Orenstein, G. A., & Lewis, L. (2020, March 9). Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development.
NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556096/
