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

Running head: INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
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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 For the last few days, he had been seen to be withdrawn from the class and the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