Theory of Erikson | Psychology

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
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Introduction
The psychosocial theory of the development of Erikson elaborates on the effect of the
external factors on the personality of an individual. It talks about the influence of the parents and
the society on the aspect of the personality from the stage of the childhood to the adulthood
(Schultz & Schultz, 2016). This essay discusses about the theory of the personality of Erikson
and its eight stages. The essay also elucidates on the effect of the conflict on the personality
development of the people.
Discussion
The theory of Erikson talks about the fact that a person advances through the eight life
stages that helps in the negotiation of the biological and the socio-cultural forces. There occurs a
psychosocial crisis in each stage and the individual have to reconcile the opposing forces that can
help him in emerging with a considerable amount of the virtue.
The theory of Erikson harps on the fact that a person has to pass through the eight
interrelated stages across the course of the lifecycle. In the first stage of the infancy the main
emphasis is on the nurturing ability of the mother and the father pertaining to the visual contact
and the touch. The second stage is of the toddler when the child gets the opportunity to build the
self-esteem along with the autonomy. In the third stage, the child becomes involved within
classic “Oedipal struggle” and he resolves the struggle with the help of the social role
identification (Syed & McLean, 2017). The fourth stage is known as latency when the children
become capable of learning the new skills and gaining the knowledge. In the stage of the
adolescence, the person has to make the struggle for the discovery of his own identity. In the
stage of the young adult, the people seek for the companionship along with the love. The

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relationships in this stage are with the marital partners and the friends. In seventh stage of the
middle-aged adult the career and the work are prioritized by an individual. In the last stage of the
late adult, the individuals indulge themselves in the reflection and look back upon their
experiences and the failures (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017).
The personality development is affected in the event of a conflict arising in the
developmental stages of Erikson. The individual have to face a great deal of the confusion in the
event of the crisis arriving at any of the stages. The conflict can disrupt the healthy personality of
an individual and it can act as a barrier in the path of acquisition of the basic virtues (Kerpelman
& Pittman, 2018). It can impair the ability of a person in completing the further stages which
can adversely affect the personality of a person.
Conclusion
Psychosocial theory talks about the impact of external factors on personality of a person.
The social environment of a child has a great bearing on the formation of his personality.
Conflict can lead to disruption in the path of formation of the healthy personality and it can
impair the abilities of a person.

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References
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.
Kerpelman, J. L., & Pittman, J. F. (2018). Erikson and the relational context of identity:
Strengthening connections with attachment theory. Identity, 18(4), 306-314.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). Theories of personality. Cengage Learning.
Syed, M., & McLean, K. C. (2017). Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development.

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