Erickson’s View of Social Development

Edwin D. Bell

Winston-Salem State University

Why is Psychosocial Theory Important to Teachers?

As children develop cognitively, they also develop self-concept and ways of interacting with others.

Teachers need to understand the stages of development so that they can successfully interact, motivate, and teach children.

Psychosocial Theory

Erik Erickson developed a theory of personal and social development that was an adaptation of the developmental theories of Sigmund Freud. His work is called psychosocial because it relates the principles of psychology, i.e., individual, and social development. He conceptualized eight stages of development.

Stage I: Birth to 18 Months

Psychosocial crisis – trust vs. mistrust

Significant relationship – maternal person

Psychosocial emphasis – to get and to give in return

Stage II: 18 Months to 3 Years

Psychosocial crisis – autonomy vs. doubt

Significant relationship – parental person

Psychosocial emphasis – to hold on; to let go

Stage III: 3 to 6 Years

Psychosocial crisis – initiative vs. guilt

Significant relationship – basic family

Psychosocial emphasis – to make (=go after); to “make like” (playing)

Stage IV: 6 to 12 Years

Psychosocial crisis – industry vs. inferiority

Significant relationship – neighborhood, school

Psychosocial emphasis – to make things; to make things together

Stage V: 12 to 18 Years

Psychosocial crisis – identity vs. role confusion

Significant relationship – peer groups and models of leadership

Psychosocial emphasis – to be oneself (or not to be); to share being oneself

Stage VI: Young Adulthood

Psychosocial crisis – intimacy vs. isolation

Significant relationship – partners in friendship, sex, competition, cooperation

Psychosocial emphasis – to lose and find oneself in another

Stage VII: Middle Adulthood

Psychosocial crisis – generativity vs. self-absorption

Significant relationship – divided labor and shared household

Psychosocial emphasis – to take care of

Stage VIII: Late Adulthood

Psychosocial crisis – integrity vs. despair

Significant relationship – “mankind”, “my kind”

Psychosocial emphasis – to be, through having been; to face not being

Implications and criticisms

Not all people experience Erickson’s crises to the same degree or at the same timeErickson’s theory emphasizes the role of the environment in causing the crises and resolving themSchool plays a key role in that environment in stages IV and V.His theory has been criticized because it does not address how or why people progress from one stage to another

Review and Synthesis

Compare Erickson’s eight stages of psychosocial development with Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development on a chart.

Which of Erickson’s stages pertain to elementary and middle school?

How can teachers help students resolve these crises successfully?