Industry versus Inferiority: A Case Study of a 7-Year-Old Boy

This case study explores the industry versus inferiority stage of psychosocial development in a 7-year-old boy named John. It discusses the impact of parental and societal expectations on a child's self-esteem and confidence.

Running head: INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
John Sanders is a 7-year-old boy who lives with his two elder siblings and parents. His
two other siblings perform quite well both in academics and extracurricular activities and parents
are very proud of them. However, they try their best to make john similarly successful like his
siblings and continuously compare him with his siblings. John tries to study but is not as
meritorious as his siblings are. He makes careless mistakes for which his marks tend to be lower
than his siblings. He had put on weight and therefore he cannot be active in sports and extra-
curricular activities. He is bullied in the school and when he complains about this to the teacher
and his parents, they supported the bullying and stated that such weight of him will inevitably
attract criticisms. For the last few days, he had been seen to be withdrawn from the class and the
teacher had reported to the parents. The parents were concerned and consulted the counselors.
The child belongs to stage 4 known as industry versus inferiority that usually ranges from
5 to 13 years. The “industry” phrase mainly refers to the situations when children who become
accomplished in comparison to their peers develop self-confidence. Praise for their achievements
can help in boosting their self-esteem (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). “Inferiority” on the other hand
tells about the situation, when children who fail to achieve certain milestones, starts doubting
their abilities or self-worth. When the children are constantly criticized, they develop the feelings
of inferiority. Children in this age are mainly seen to try to do the tasks that other children of his
age try to achieve. When they are seen to make the effort and they succeed, they develop self-
confidence. When they fail or when they are criticized they are seen to feel low and inferior to
other (Ardelt, Gerlach &Vaillant, 2018).
In the case study also, it was seen that John initially was trying his best to achieve best
results and therefore he tediously sits with his studies and try to complete his homework.
However due to loss of concentration, he tend to make mistakes. Therefore, he already feels low

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about not scoring well even when he has worked hard for it. This is made worse by the constant
comparison that is done by his parents every time he scores unwell. The parents instead of
encouraging him and providing him constructive feedback about his performance, criticizes him
continuously. This makes him feel inferior not only to his friends in the class but also in his
home in front of his siblings. Therefore, he has started feeling uncomfortable both in school and
in his house as well.
Researchers are of the opinion that children in this age feel the need to gain approval be
exhibiting specific competencies that are valued by the society. They begin to develop a sense of
pride in their accomplishments. When children are encouraged and reinforced for their
initiatives, they start feeling industrious or competent and thereby they feel confident in their
ability to achieve goals (Cherry, 2017). When such initiatives are not encouraged by their parents
or teachers, they feel inferior, doubting their abilities and cannot reach their potential. As he was
criticized for his weight and failure in his sport activities, it condemned his enthusiasm to
participate in sports. It killed the zeal that was present in him and the main contributors were the
negative comments and attitudes of the teacher and the parents (Doan et al., 2015). They should
have motivated him to continue trying which would bring him success due to repeated practice.
Absence of such inspiration made him withdraw completely from everything.

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References:
Ardelt, M., Gerlach, K. R., & Vaillant, G. E. (2018). Early and Midlife Predictors of Wisdom
and Subjective Well-Being in Old Age. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.
Cherry, K. (2017). Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. Psychology.
Psychosocial Theories. Päivitetty, 14, 2017.
Doan, B. T., Vallecillo-Samot, K., Moye, S., & Dahl, L. (2015). Industry vs. Inferiority Board
Game: A Counselor’s Tool for Exploring Crises of School Age Children.
Dunkel, C. S., & Harbke, C. (2017). A review of measures of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial
development: Evidence for a general factor. Journal of Adult Development, 24(1), 58-76.