The Impact of Worldview
Understanding one’s worldview when studying anything, much less developmental theories,
is of particular importance (Cashion, Shriner, Shriner, & Mossler, 2019). A person’s worldview
is the basis and foundation from which they approach any kind of theory, question, or belief. No
one is truly objective and the only way to accommodate this difficulty is to be fully aware of the
preconceived concepts that one has when approaching anything. This applies specifically to
developmental theories as one’s worldview very well determines which developmental theories
are adopted.
Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial theory (Cashion et al., 2019). He trained under
Freud in psychoanalysis, however, Erikson moved away from Freud’s concepts in order to create
his own theories. He disagreed with Freud’s belief that personality development was driven by
desire for sexual fulfillment. Instead, Erikson believed that development grew out of
relationships with family and society. Erikson’s theory also included eight stages to cover the
entirety of the human lifespan. It began with infancy and ended with late adulthood. Erikson
believed that individuals in each state would face a crisis that had to be resolved in order for
them to maintain healthy development.
Personal Worldview and the Psychosocial Theory
One of the strongest opinions I have is that our childhoods have the greatest impact on us.
Childhood is where we learn healthy attachment through our parent’s ability to provide for our
basic physical, emotional, and mental needs. If done right, then we grow up to be adults with
healthy attachment styles. This means an adult with confidence, strong self-esteem,
assertiveness, motivation, self-regulation, and more. This means a mentally, emotionally, and
physically healthy adult who will be able to earn degrees, get good jobs, develop fulfilling
relationships, and, in general, have a successful life without an unusual amount of difficulty or
obstacles.
On the other hand, someone who’s parents did not meet all their needs in childhood will grow
up with unhealthy attachment. This means a range of issues from mental and emotional health
issues such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders, to the inability to develop healthy
relationships, struggles with school and work, and countless other problems. From jobs to school
to relationships, these adults will be meant with inordinate struggles because the very foundation
of functionality that should been built upon in childhood was never constructed. Many of these
adults will spend the rest of their lives aimlessly drifting from one bad situation to the next in the
attempt to catch up with their healthy peers.
Healthy family relationships are supposed to teach us by example what we should expect
from every other kind of relationship we will encounter for the rest of our lives. It also teaches us
how to leave the future relationships that do not match up to what our parents have set as an
example. If this example is lacking, then it places us into a dangerous position in our future
relationships. Erikson’s development theory acknowledges the mental and emotional needs that
we have throughout our development years and points out that we do not develop healthily
unless those needs are adequately met (Cashion, et al., 2019).
Conclusion
How we learn, interact with, and retain what we learn in the class is very dependent on our
worldview. As we go through this class, our already developed beliefs and ideologies will draw
