Erikson and Freud are two of the few theorists who have developed a lifespan approach to development. Freud's approach to development was psychosexual while Erikson's was psychosocial. Even though Freud's theory is better known, Erikson's theory remains a leading and very much applied model in personality and developmental psychology today.
When considering these two stage-oriented theories, you can directly compare the majority of their stages. These are matched in the following table:
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Approximate Age
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Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development
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Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial development
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Infancy (Birth to 1 year)
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Oral stage
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Trust versus mistrust
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Early childhood (1-3 years)
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Anal stage
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Autonomy versus doubt
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Preschool (3-6 years)
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Phallic stage
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Initiative versus guilt
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School age (7-11 years)
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Latent period
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Industry versus inferiority
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Adolescence (12-18 years)
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Genital stage
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Identity versus role confusion
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Young adulthood (19-40 years)
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Intimacy versus isolation
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Middle adulthood (40-65 years)
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Generativity versus stagnation
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Older adulthood (65-death)
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Integrity versus despair
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When considering Erikson's eight stages of development, the way a person moves through each stage directly affects their success in the next stage. Their personality is being built and shaped with each stage. At each stage, there is a turning point, called a crisis by Erikson, which a person must confront.
In this assignment, you will observe or interview two different people, each at a different stage of development. For a third observation, take a look at yourself and the stage that you are in (this stage must be different from your other two observations).
· Record your three observations in a template. Include the following information:
o Name
o Age
o Gender
o Current developmental stage
o Status within the stage (i.e., identity achievement or role confusion)
o Events that have lead to this status
Download a Development Template from the Doc Sharing area to record your observations.
· Summarize what you have learned about psychosocial development through these observations/interviews.
· Summarize the trends you see in your observations/interviews regarding psychosocial development.
· How does movement through Erikson's stages influence personality development? Again, be specific.
· How do Erikson's stages of development compare to Freud's stages? How are they similar? How are they different?
· Between these two theories, which one do you feel best explains your own personality development? Justify your answers with specific examples.
Write a 3-4-page paper in Word format. Insert your chart at the end of your paper.