Human Growth and Development II: Erikson's Stages Assignment

This assignment delves into Erikson's stages of human development, specifically focusing on the generativity versus stagnation stage in middle adulthood and the ego integrity versus despair stage in late adulthood. The assignment compares and contrasts these stages, exploring the factors that can lead to positive or negative outcomes, such as societal contributions, career successes, and relationship building. It also examines the physical and cognitive changes that occur in late adulthood, including changes related to aging and potential decline, and how these changes may lead to eventual death. The assignment further discusses the processes of death and dying, considering different scenarios and outcomes based on the choices and experiences of individuals during this final stage of life, referencing relevant supporting evidence from the text. The analysis emphasizes the impact of life experiences, relationships, and the individual's reflection on their life's achievements and failures, as they navigate these critical developmental stages.

Running head: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 1
Growth and Development
Name
Institution
Introduction

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 2
Psychoanalyst Erikson theorized middle adulthood as the stage of Generativity-
versus stagnation as the middle adulthood; this is where people considered their
contribution to society work ,family and community .This is basically the seventh
stage in Erikson psychoanalyst stage of development. It approximately occurs during
middle adulthood of 40-60 years.
Generativity stage, this means that one has to make a positive effect on the world
by showing concerned to others, contributing and participating in the world a
conducive environment to be. However stagnation is where an individual fails to
contribute. As a result a person tends to stop participating in almost everything.
People, who may go through the Generativity versus stagnation stage successfully,
may feel sense of accomplishment towards their contribution to the society or
community.
In contrast, a self-centred individual is not able to assist a community in any
development, this person is said to have developed a stagnation feeling .A self -
centred person is one who is unable to create the urge of togetherness with mates and
hence find difficulties in accepting the kids of his/her other mates.
In a family set up it is evidence that parents widens their relationship with their
children by involving their belief and expectations .They care and show concern to
their while they are still living with them this is Generativity. Stagnation comes when
the children has to go different places to settle down and start their own life and have

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 3
families due to this the parents will remain with no one to care and show concern to
same to the children they won't have anyone to take care of them.
Erikson talks about the closeness in intimacy, identification and Generativity.
When talking about Generativity it simple means caring which comes in as an initiate
connection among intimacy and identity as spoken by Erikson .Therefore intimacy is
termed as an individual that one would care to be with, identity is what a person
would care to be and do .Stagnation comes in when a person would not care to be
with, be an individual who one cannot take of or when an individual doesn't love to be
and help a society in any development.
Snarey complemented a study that stated parents who involve themselves in taking
care of their kids during development and growth tends also to help themselves in
development (Bee & Boyd, 2009). This also increases their skills in their perspective
careers which include showing concerned to colleagues, being responsible to their
work and developing the need to getting involved in the nurturing of their children.
Integrity versus despair stagnation
Erikson stated that so many writers and authors try to look on the stages of
development. Erikson on his articles talks about eight hierarchical orders. In this stage
an individual is intended to experience a sense of mortality, this may be due to
retirement, death of close relative or friends.
This also checks or identifies the success or failure of an individual according to
Bullers. The review of this career failure or success can either be positive or negative.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 4
And it’s also related to Ego integrity which is the outcome of positive reflection of
final life stage crisis; is observed as the most personal development of an individual.
According to Erikson, ego equality basically from the review of positive resolution
about wisdom, it’s concerned with life itself in the faces of death.
What occurrences can affect positive or negative outcomes?
Living in different stages causes problems that make people have difficulty in
building their relationships. This brings negative impact to the people and when they
are able to understand the society and managing them leads to positive impact in
Generativity stage .In ego integrity versus despair stage a negative reflection in the
late adulthood is brought by one individual failure to achieve their dreams and it may
affect one on its contribution to the society .The failure of not achieving ones goals in
life and achieving goals in life is an example of challenges faced in this stage. The
attempt to live in a different stage before due time may result into major social
challenges that will make it difficult for the person to build relationships.
Part B
In ego integrity versus stage, there are physical features like less interest on social
events, loss of teeth, occurrences of skin wrinkles and aging that determines the
characteristics of colour (Perez, 2010).
This changes mostly physical has a close impact to deteriorate in the life of an
individual hence demise (Crain, 2011). This stage may lead to one line vying a
solitary life due to isolation from others .it also comprises a feeble systems of a body

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 5
with poor bone formation that can easily suffer from features .Here individuals are
most likely exposed to old age diseases that majority lead to death some individuals
highly develop complications of health leading to their death (Macnow, 2014).
People may develop challenges when they associate into different stages of life
having a feeling that may lead to an initiate monitoring (James, 2009) .The feeling of
need for integrity and commitment majorly associate individuals lives in this stage.
This stage is actually at a point in life where an individual lacks that strength to
perform hence he relax and wait for the pension they had saved and invested for over
period of years (Robinson, 2013).
An individual who has enough savings and invested well actually lives a free and
comfortable life while those who did not experience difficulties and live a life full of
changelings. This affects the attitudes and later on cause’s depression.
A clear indication of an individual in this stage can be provided by suffering from a
terminal disease this stage is a source of reflection on people's lives and to make
appropriate judgment on their lives and the kind of achievements they attain.
In the processes of death an Individual feels isolated and denied, in this stage they
need monitoring because they feel isolated. There is also depression during the
process of death; at this stage an individual may be faced with so many diseases that
lead to depressions hence leading to demise (Hillary & Chris, 2019). An individual
starts bargaining with his life having the feeling of surviving at the same time the

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 6
feeling of dying .Lastly, having hope during the process of death where an ailing
individual has lost all hopes and is only waiting for death.
Summary
There is the first stage of life which starts from childhood and goes on to middle
stage then later on late stage .All this stages have their results, if one does not get to
pass one life stage the person gets affected either on the last stage .Then the last stage
can be easily predicted by the goals one had achieved earlier, this can either tell
whether one is a failure or successful.
References

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 7
Bee, H., & Boyd, D. (2009).The Developing child (12ed.).Boston, MA: person.
Chris, B., & Hillary, T. (2019). Human Growth and Development. SAGE Publications
Limited.
Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development; Concept Applications. upper saddle
River ,NJ: Person Education.
James, E. (2009). Identity formation and Self Development in Adolescence.
Handbook of adolescent Psychology
Macnow, A. (2014). MCAT Behavioural science Review. New York City: Kaplan
publishing.
Perez, J. (2010). Codon populations I'm single -stranded whole human genome DNA
are fractal and fine -tuned by the Golden Ratio.
Robinson, O. (2013).Development through adulthood: An integrative sourcebook.
Palgrave Macmillan.
.