Erik Erickson (1902-1994) was a student of Sigmund Freud.

He offered a modified Freudian

view of development of personality identity through the life span. His theory presents a
progression through eight psychosocial stages. At each stage there is a crisis and its resolution
leads to development of a virtue.

Erickson differed from Freud however, in giving more emphasis to social and cultural forces of
development.

Freud believed that personality is formed mainly in the first 6 years, through unconscious
processes under the influence of one’s parents, and that personality formation is irreversible.
Erickson considered personality formation to be more malleable and to continue throughout
life, to be influenced by friends the family and society.

The following are the stages of development:

1. Infancy:
This period extends from birth to 18 months of age. This is called the age of trust v/s mistrust.
The infant who comes to the new environment, from mother’s womb needs only nourishment. If
the child’s caretaker, the mother anticipates and fulfills these needs consistently, the infant
learns to trust others, develops confidence. Inevitably the child will experience moments of
anxiety and rejection. If the infant fails to get needed support and care, it develops mistrust
which affects the personality in later stages of life.

2. Early childhood:
This stage ranges from 18 months to 3 years. By second year of life, the muscular and nervous
systems have developed markedly, and the child is eager to acquire new skills, is no longer
content to sit and watch. The child moves around and examines its environment, but judgement
develops more slowly.

The child needs guidance. In the crisis of autonomy v/s doubt faced during this period, the
critical issue is the child’s feeling of independence.

In an extremely permissive environment, the child encounters difficulties that it cannot handle,
and the child develops doubt about its abilities. Similarly if the control is severe, the child feels
worthless and shameful of being capable of so little.

The appropriate middle position, respecting the child’s needs and environmental factors,
requires the caretaker’s careful and constant attention.
3. Middle childhood:
This stage extends from 3-5 years. The crisis faced during this period is initiative v/s guilt. Once
a sense of independence has been established, the child wants to tryout various possibilities. It is
at this time the child’s willingness to try new things is facilitated or inhibited.

If the care taker recognises the child’s creative effort in attempting to do some activities is
encouraged, the crisis will be resolved in favourable direction and this outcome, if repeated,
should influence the future initiative. Otherwise the child develops feelings of guilt.

4. Late childhood:
This period ranges from 5-12 years. During this period the child develops greater attention span,
needs less sleep, and gains rapidly in strength; therefore, the child can expend much more effort
in acquiring skills, and needs accomplishment, regardless of ability. The crisis faced during this
period is industry v/s inferiority.

The child aims to develop a feeling of competence, rather than inability. The success in this
endeavour leads to further industrious behaviour, failure results in development of feelings of
inferiority. Hence, the caretakers should guide the child to take up appropriate tasks.

5. Adolescence:
This is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood which extends from 12-20 years.
During this period the individual attains puberty leading to many changes. These changes have
enormous implications for the individual’s sexual, social, emotional and vocational life; that is
why Stanley Hall has rightly described this period as a “period of storm and stress”.

These changes make the individual to find an identity, which means developing an
understanding of self, the goals one wishes to achieve and the work/occupation role. The
individual craves for encouragement and support of caretakers and peer groups. If he is
successful he will develop a sense of self or identity, otherwise he will suffer from role
confusion/ identity confusion.

6. Early adulthood:
This stage extends from 20-30 years. As an adult, the individual takes a firmer place in society,
usually holding a job, contributing to community and maintaining a family and care of offspring.
These new responsibilities can create tensions and frustrations, and one solution involves is, an
intimate relationship with family. This situation leads to a crisis called intimacy v/s isolation.
If these problems are solved effectively by the love, affection and support of family the individual
leads a normal life, otherwise he will develop a feeling of alienation and isolation which in turn
affects his personality negatively.

7. Mature adulthood:
This period ranges from 30-65 years. It is otherwise called middle age. During this stage of life,
the crisis encountered is generativity v/s stagnation. This requires expanding one’s interests
beyond oneself to include the next generation. The positive solution to the crisis lies not only in
giving birth to children, but also in working, teaching and caring for the young, in the products
and ideas of the culture, and in a more general belief in the species.

This response reflects a desire for wellbeing of the humanity rather than selfishness. If this goal
is not achieved the individual will be disappointed and experience a feeling of stagnation.

8. Old age:
This stage is the extension after 65 years till death. By this age people’s goals and abilities have
become more limited. The crisis in this stage is the integrity v/s despair in which the person
finds meaning in memories or instead looks back on life with dissatisfaction. The term integrity
implies emotional integration; it is not accepting one’s life as one’s own responsibility. It is
based not so much on what has happened but, as on how one feels about it.

If a person has found meaning in certain goals, or even in suffering, then the crisis has been
satisfactorily resolved. If not, the person experiences dissatisfaction, and the prospect of death
brings despair. The declining physical health conditions, decreased income, death of spouse, etc.
will still more worsen these feelings.

Havighurst (1953) prepared a developmental model in which he has presented the list of
developmental tasks from birth to old age. Every cultural group expects its members to master
certain essential skills and acquire certain approved patterns of behaviour at various ages during
the life span. Havighurst has labeled them developmental tasks.

According to him a developmental task is ‘a task which arises at or about a certain period in the
life of the individual, successful achievement of which leads to happiness and to success with
later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness and difficult with later tasks’.
Although most people would like to master these tasks at the appropriate time, some are unable
to do so, while others are ahead of schedule. Though these tasks are applicable to American
population, they are generally accepted to be applicable to all. They are as follows:

Infancy:
This stage covers approximately first two weeks of life. It is the shortest developmental period. It
is a time for radical adjustment. The new born infant must make four major adjustments to post
natal life viz.,

(i) To temperature changes

(ii) To sucking and swallowing

(iii) To breathing

(iv) To elimination.

3. Babyhood and Early Childhood:

(i) Learning to take solid foods

(ii) Learning to walk and talk

(iii) Learning to control the elimination of body wastes

(iv) Learning sex differences and sexual modesty

(v) Getting ready to read

(vi) Learning to distinguish right and wrong and beginning to develop conscience.

4. Late Childhood:
(i) Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games

(ii) Building a wholesome attitude toward oneself as a growing organism

(iii) Learning to get along with age-mates

(iv) Beginning to develop appropriate masculine or feminine social roles.

(v) Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing and calculating.

(vi) Developing concepts necessary for everyday living

(vii) Developing a conscience, a sense of morality, and a scale of values

(viii) Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions.

(ix) Achieving personal independence.

5. Adolescence:
(i) Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes

(ii) Achieving a masculine or feminine social role

(iii) Accepting one’s physic and using one’s body effectively

(iv) Desiring, accepting, and achieving socially responsible behaviour

(v) Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults

(vi) Preparing for an economic career

(vii) Preparing for marriage and family life

(viii) Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behaviour-developing an

ideology.

6. Early Adulthood:
(i) Getting started in an occupation

(ii) Selecting a mate

(iii) Learning to live with a marriage partner

(iv) Starting a family

(v) Rearing children

(vi) Managing a home

(vii) Taking on civic responsibility

(viii) Finding a congenial social group.

7. Middle Age:
(i) Achieving adult civic and social responsibility

(ii) Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults

(iii) Developing adult leisure-time activities

(iv) Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person

(v) Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of middle age

(vi) Reaching and maintaining satisfactory performance in one’s occupational career

(vii) Adjusting to aging parents.

8. Old Age:
(i) Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health

(ii) Adjusting to retirement and reduced income

(iii) Adjusting to death of spouse

(iv) Establishing an explicit affiliation with members of one’s age group

(v) Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements

(vi) Adapting to social roles in a flexible way. (Courtesy: Developmental psychology, Elizabeth B.
Hurlock)
Human Development
Have you ever brought home a new puppy and then watched it grow up? How did your dog
change as it got older? You may have watched your dog grow and develop from a cute and
cuddly puppy, to a bit of a troublemaker, to a confident companion, and finally to a lazy old dog
who sleeps all day. Each of these stages has different physical and emotional characteristics. Just
like dogs, humans go through different developmental stages in their life, as well.
Typical human development is a pretty predictable process--most humans develop at similar
rates. This pattern of development allows us to make generalizations about different stages, such
as infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Let's take a closer look at each stage.

Infancy
Infancy, typically the first year of life, is the first important stage of human development. Many
physical milestones occur during this stage as an infant gains control over its body. However,
infants must rely on others to meet most of their needs. They learn to trust other people as needs
are met. They need to feel this security in order to properly develop both physically and
emotionally.
Like your puppy, an infant needs to be loved and nurtured. As you met the needs of your puppy,
he/she learned to trust and bond with you while he/she also developed physically.

Childhood
The next stage of human development is childhood, during which children start to explore and
develop a sense of independence. Eventually, children learn to make their own decisions and
they discover that their actions have consequences. As they learn and grow, they develop a sense
of self. Children need to be nurtured so that they develop self-confidence instead self-esteem
issues. Achieving a healthy level of self-confidence helps children stay motivated to achieve. A
child also needs guidance as they begin to test out new skills and gain confidence in their
decision-making.
Do you remember when your puppy got big enough to start getting into things? You may have
had to make sure to put your shoes up or your dog would chew them as he/she was learning what
he/she should and shouldn't do.

Adolescence
During childhood, children begin to develop a sense of self and independence, and this process
continues in the next stage of human development. During adolescence, young men and women
are primarily concerned with finding their identity and expressing who they are in the world.
Puberty causes many physical changes to take place, and adolescents must adapt to their
changing bodies. All of these changes can make adolescence a confusing and stressful period. As
adolescents try to find their place, they may experiment with different roles and make attempts to
separate from authority figures. They are getting used to their bodies and trying to find out where
they belong. They may try out different hairstyles and hobbies in an attempt to create an image
of themselves they're comfortable with.
Eventually, your puppy wasn't really a puppy anymore - he/she was growing into a dog. He/she
probably became a bit rebellious, too, and tested your authority from time to time. As you set
firm and consistent rules, your puppy became comfortable with his/her personality and place in
your home. Your overgrown puppy is very much like an adolescent.

Adulthood
Adulthood brings on even more new challenges and major decisions about school, career, and
home life. Early adulthood involves few physical changes, but it's a time of important
emotional development, as young adults decide where they want to live, who they want to live
with, and what type of work they want to do.
Next comes middle adulthood, or middle age, when adults begin to deal with the physical signs
of age: wrinkles, gray hair, and maybe a few extra pounds. On top of physical changes, most
middle-aged adults also experience stress from dealing with older children and taking care of
aging parents. Most adults have the life experience and emotional stability to deal with these
challenges, but it's no wonder we use the term 'midlife crisis' for those who struggle with this
period of human development.
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