This essay explains the eight stages that Erik Erikson...

The best-known neo-Freudian was Erik Erikson. He formulated his own theory of personality development. He projected that everyone goes through psychosocial stages rather than psychosexual stages as Freud proposed. Erikson has identified eight stages of psychosocial development that each person goes through during their entire life span. In Eriksons theory, the stages of development process unfold as we go through life. Each of these stages has tasks that have to be mastered in order to build toward a satisfying and healthy developed life. Those who do not master the task will have a hard time dealing with crises. According to www.top-psychology.com/9043-Erikson and http://azaz.essortment.com/psychosocialdev_rijk.htm the eight stages of†¦show more content†¦Erik seems to think this is the best time to have a family because you are more worried with the welfare of others. This is the point when you feel valuable and useful. When the person feels like they have failed it seems to take the meaning out of life. They become bitter and angry at the world. Integrity vs. Despair This is the last stage of life, sixty-five years old to death. The person should be able to reflect on ones life and accept it. These are the people who have lived their life to the fullest. They also have a more accepting view of death. For the people who want to live their life over feels they have been cheated out of something. They become depressed because they ask the question, what if? They can be unhappy for the rest of their lives. As people go through these eight stages of life they better their lives with acceptance and healthy relationships. Erikson believes a person, throughout their entire life span, never stops developing, until death. I personally agree with his theory. I have interviewed and/or observed four people that are at different points of Eriksons psychosocial stages to see how they are managing the developmental crises of that stage. My first observation was of a fifteen month old, whom I watched to see how the subject was dealing with trust vs. mistrust. My second observation was with a five-year-old, who has just begun school. This child was a good subject to compare to