Abstract Erik Erikson believed that people grow from life experiences.

The things that life hands us on a daily basis we take and learn from whether it was a mistake or a great opportunity. In this paper I assessed myself with all the stages of Eriksons theory and found very interesting results.

Erik Erikson was born in 1902 in Germany (Cherry p. 1). Throughout his life he studied many different things to land him here in the United States studying children and the experiences in their lives that mold them into the adults that they become. He developed an eight stage theory that assessed children from birth thru the retirement years in their life. The eight different stages in his theory involve different things depending on how the person handled things that they had to deal with while growing up and through adulthood. Certain stages go hand in hand with ages. Although sometimes it seems that the age associated with the stage does not matter. Some people may go through different stages at different ages. The names of the stages are the following; stage one is Trust vs. Mistrust, stage two is Autonomy vs. Shame, stage three is Initiative vs. Guilt, stage four is Industry vs. Inferiority, stage five is Identity vs. Role Confusion, stage six is Intimacy vs. Isolation, stage seven is Generativity vs. Stagnation and stage eight is Integrity vs. Despair (McDevitt, Ormrod p418). For the self-analysis assignment, I assessed myself in all of the different stages that I have already been through and what I expect I will experience in my older adult life. Each stage I have defined as what the stage is, what happens during that stage, the different outcomes that one may have and also how I came out of that stage. I have also given details on how one outcome may make differences on how another stages outcome may be.

TRUST vs. MISTRUST- The Infancy Period- Stage 1 Trust vs. mistrust is just what it sounds like. Does a child trust someone or do they not trust them. Depending on what the child experiences during the infancy period of their life can strongly affect how the child develops during other stages of Erik Eriksons theory of Psychosocial Development. When a child is hungry, are they fed or are they left crying wanting to be fed. If a child just wants attention or has a dirty diaper are they just ignored? If so they will come out of this stage with mistrust toward adults because no one helped them when they felt they needed something. If the child is attended to and they get their diaper changed when needed and they are paid attention to when they want attention, they will come out of this stage trusting adults because they were attended to and made happy when they wanted or needed it. (McDevitt, Ormrod p418). When I was an infant I had an older brother and an older sister. I have been told that my sister helped with me when I was a baby more than what my brother did. I was told that I was crying one day and my sister picked me up and was trying to play with me but instead of me laughing and giggling, I puked right into her mouth! I of course do not remember that because I was not even one year old yet but I have been told many times about that occasion. I also was told that when I was 11 months old I got a very bad case of food poisoning that put me into the hospital for a few weeks. My mother has pictures of me in the hospital bed with IVs in my arms. She said that she thought I got it from the family baby sitter who did not cook my eggs all the way. It is not for sure where I got it but I got to come home on Christmas Eve 1992 and both my parent said that was the best Christmas gift they could ever receive. I feel from the stories that I was told from my mother, brother, sister and father that I was very well taken care of when I was an infant. I feel like I trusted everyone that took care of me. My mother also told me that when I

was only a few weeks old, her and my father had to go to Tennessee for a funeral of one of our family members and they did not want to take me there because it was such a long drive, so my aunt kept me while they were gone. She tells me all the time that I was her baby. She even has a shirt still to this day with my picture on it and my nick name that she called me. She still wears it to and she also has pictures of me at her house. She says that I was over there all the time that she always asked to keep me because she enjoyed having me. With her keeping me a lot I feel like that gave my parents a break too. They could hang out with my brother and sister and do things with them that they could not do while I was around. From the stories that I was told by everyone, I was a very happy baby besides being in the hospital and I was loved by everyone. I feel like I came out of Eriksons first stage trust verses mistrust on the good side of it, trusting adults and loving life from all the love that I was given by my family members.

Autonomy vs. Shame- The Toddler Years- Stage 2 This stage of Erik Eriksons theory is from the ages of 1 to 3. This stage is all about if the child can solve simple problems by themselves and if their parents give them enough time to do things themselves like get dressed, eat, drink, and use the toilet. If the parent or parents do not give them the chance to do these things by themselves the child usually comes out of this stage with shame or doubt because they never had the chance to try the things they needed to. If the parents let their children try the things like feeding, dressing, washing, and using the toilet themselves the child feels like they accomplished something so they come out of the stage with autonomy (McDevitt, Ormrod p. 418). While I was at this age I do not remember anything, like in the last stage, but from the stories that I have been told from when I was younger I feel that I came out of this stage with autonomy. My mother, father, siblings, and aunt all told me that I was always trying to do things myself. Whether it was trying to walk my dog by myself knowing that the dog was going to drag me or try to help clean the house, I was trying to do everything that they done. My mother has a picture of me after I started walking with a little pretend sweeper in my hand sweeping the living room floor. She also has a picture of me with all my clothes on backwards, which proves that I tried to dress myself and they let me and made me look ridiculous. Coming out of this stage I feel plays a huge role in how I went into the next stage of Erik Eriksons theory. Overall I feel like I had a great first years of my life and enjoyed it and so did everyone else.

Initiative vs. Guilt The Preschool Years- Stage 3 Initiative vs. guilt is a stage in Erik Eriksons theory that takes place during the ages of three to five. During this stage children always want to do things that they want to do. They want to try new things and experience new things they have never experienced before. If a child is excited to do new unexplored things and the parent lets the child learn from these experiences the child will come out of this stage with initiative, which means that the child will be happy or proud of themselves for doing what they had done. If a child tries to do new things and the parent tells them no or tells them they should not have done what they done the child will come out of this stage with guilt (Mcdevitt, Ormrod p. 419). In many different cases a child can go through different experiences in their life that can alter their outcome out of this stage. If they are raised by their birth parents for a year or so and then adopted, they may have totally different adoptive parents that do things different from what they are used to so they had guilt but after they are adopted the get initiative. While I was in this stage of Erikson theory I have memories of things that happened to me that I think played a huge role in how I came out of this stage. I remember it was a friend of the familys birthday and we had a huge birthday party for him and I wanted him to try to ride my tricycle around just to laugh at him. No one ever told me no that he should not ride my tricycle, or to leave him alone. They let me ask him and then agreed with me that it was a good idea. I know that it was not really me doing something, but it was my idea that they wanted to go along with not only just for me but for their laughter also. It made me feel good because I felt like I had a good idea that adults liked and also went along with. I also remember it was my birthday one year and my parents had a birthday party for me and everyone was in the living room watching homemade videos of myself and my siblings, and I left the room and no one

knew I left. When they found me I was in the kitchen eating spoonfuls of butter. I dont know why I was, but I did not get in trouble for eating it. All my mom done was told me that it was not good for me but she did not yell at me for doing it. I do not remember much more while I was in this stage but what I do remember I feel like it tells a story about how I came out of this stage. The memories that I do have, shows that I came out of this stage with initiative not guilt. I feel since I had an older sister and older brother living at home until I was about 8 years old they showed me what was wrong and right before mom and dad got to me, which was a good thing for me since I came out of this stage with initiative.

Industry vs. Inferiority Elementary School Years-Stage 4 When children go into Elementary school they experience many new things in life that they would not get to experience in their home life. As an example, when they are given a project in school and have to complete it, and get graded on it, they take it home and cannot wait to see what their parents say about what they have accomplished. If their parents are very proud of their child and praise them for what they have done and hang their work up either on the refrigerator or bulletin board at home that gives that child a sense of pride or industry. It gives that child a reason to be excited to do things at school and bring them home to mom or dad because they will be so proud of them for doing what they have done. If a child brings home a project or art work that their parents really do not say much about or say that it could have been better, than that child may feel sad or bad because they now feel like they did not do the best that they could because of what mom or dad had said, which is called inferiority (Mcdevitt, Ormrod p 419). The child feels like that if their mom and or dad were not proud of them that they should not be proud of the hard work that they may have done and that the next time that it will definitely not be worth trying hard because it still will not be good enough for mom and dad. While I was in elementary school I was always doing different things for my school and trying to better myself at such a young age. I remember that all through elementary I tried to do things to either help the teacher or help the school in general. I would try to stay after school and help clean up the cafeteria or stay after lunch and instead of going to recess I would help the janitor clean up. I was also in almost all sports that were available to me at the age I was. I started choir in the third grade and I also started volleyball in the third grade as well as being a student helper in the office. I was always doing something to help around and my parents were very proud of that.

When I went into the fifth grade, I had a great teacher that would help us with anything that we needed help with. I wanted to be in the science fair to try to win and go to the Ball State Science Fair and compete. He help me come up with an activity to do which was how does sound travel. We worked day in and day out after school on this project for me and the time finally came for the school science fair to take place. I remember standing in the hallway right outside of my fifth grade classroom being very nervous because I was next for the principle to talk to about what I had done. They came to my table and I told them what I had done and went through my activity with them. Finally it was over, now I just had to wait for the results. It was the next day when they told who the winner of the Science Fair was and it was me! I got first place and was able to go compete in the Ball State Science Fair! My parents were so proud of me and still to this day have my ribbons and trophys on their shelf in their living room. I feel like I came out of this stage with industry because I was always praised on what I had accomplished whether it was good or bad. If I had a bad assignment my parents would make sure and tell me that I done a great job and that next time I would just have to try harder. They never put me down or made me feel like it was not worth trying. My father always told me to never say that I could not do something and to always at least try to do the things that needed to be done, and if you fail try again, that is how you learn. I also feel like me being the baby of my family played a huge role in how I was treated. I felt like after my brother and sister moved out of the house that all the attention was on me including theirs so it made a world of difference. I felt like this stage was a very good stage for me because I got to experience many new things and always had people on my side and behind me one hundred percent.

Identity vs. Role Confusion- Adolescence- Stage 5 When children leave from middle school and enter a whole new school is about the same time that they are transitioning into adulthood. During this time they are forced to deal with things that can alter the person that they think they once were with being in a new school and going through the changes that their body is going through. In Erik Eriksons theory of development it is explained as when a person comes from childhood to adulthood and how they think they fit into the world (Mcdevitt Ormrod p 419). During this time the young adult is faced with many questions about themselves that they have to find the answers to. They may not know who they want to be and what their purpose is in life and they want to figure that out so they can make a difference. They may have many different friends that are different from one another because the young adult does not know where he or she fits in yet. Erik Erikson does believe that most children come out of this stage knowing who they are and what they want to do in life (Mcdevitt Ormrod p 419). This stage is typically from the age of 10 to age 20. While I was transitioning into high school from middle school and going through changes with my body I do remember having many different friends that were very different in many ways. One group of my friends would ask me why I would hang out with the other group and vice versa. It was hard trying to figure out who I was and what my purpose was in life and knowing where I wanted to go with my life. I remember going to football and basketball games with my friends and having tons of fun. I started dating and hanging out with new people. When I got about half way through my freshman year in high school I started dating my current boyfriend. I stopped doing some of the things that I used to do so I could hang out with him more. We started doing more things together and my friends did not like that because they felt

like he took me away from them. I felt like I was in the right spot in my life and was making good decisions because I was staying out of trouble. While in high school and going from one grade to the next, I felt like the more I did in my life the more that I felt that it was right for me. My boyfriend and I continued dating and he helped me feel good about myself when things in my life went bad. Many people in my life died that were very important to me and my boyfriend was there for me every step of the way. I think that with those people dying and knowing what they died from made me want to do things in my life to better myself to know that I would never have to put my family in that situation. Since I am at the age of 20, I believe that I am coming out of this stage knowing who I am and knowing what I want to do with my life. I know what I want to get out of the time that I have here on earth and that I want to make a difference in the world by teaching. I want to help people and I do believe that from what I have went through in this stage has helped me 100% to make the right decisions in my life. I am able to look at the outcome of a situation and know if it is going to be a good one or not. Even though with all the rough times that I have been faced with I know it helped mold me into the person that I am today which I am comfortable with.

Intimacy vs. Isolation- Young Adulthood- Stage 6 This stage of Erik Erikson Theory of Psychosocial Development is stage six of his eight stages. Intimacy vs. Isolation is all about whether someone can find companionship or if they cannot which results in them being lonely. In this stage of development a person is ready to give commitments to people so they have someone to talk to, love, have a bond with, and communicate with regularly. When someone is going through this stage they may get married, have intimate relationships with someone, or have close friendships (Mcdevitt, Ormrod p 419). They kind of find out who they are and what they may want to do with their life and who they may want to spend the rest of their life with. When someone is in this stage of their life and they may have someone that they feel they can trust or is there for them every day, they may come out if this stage with intimacy. Intimacy does not always have to be a sexual relationship; it can be an emotional relationship as well. A person needs companionship with someone to get a feeling of belonging. When someone is going through this stage and cannot make commitments to someone, they may start to feel lonely or unloved. They may have someone to talk to but it is not the relationship that they may want with someone. If this happens to a person, they would come out of this stage feeling isolated. They would feel isolated because they could not find the person that they wanted to find and have the type of relationship that they wanted to have with them. I feel personally like I am in this stage right now and almost out of it. I say that because I have had the same boyfriend for six years and I am very happy with that. We live together and I know that he is the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with and have and raise a family with when the time is right. We do so much stuff together and it reminds me every day why I wanted to be with him.

Another reason why I feel this way is because other than my boyfriend, I have one very close friend that I can confide in. She means the world to me. We were best friends starting in the sixth grade but we kind of drifted away from one another. After some tragic things happened in both of our lives and we both needed someone there for us, we seemed to pick things up from where we left off four years before. We may not see each other every day now, but I know that if I needed to talk to someone and my boyfriend would not understand I can call her anytime and talk. She will always be there for me through thick and thin! After everything that I have been through being on this earth for 20 years, I feel like I have made the right decisions in my life to make it through the next couple of stages of Erik Erikson theory just fine. There may be a few speed bumps that I may come up to but I am sure with a support system like mine I can make it through anything.

Generativity vs. Stagnation Middle Age Stage 7 The seventh stage in Erik Eriksons Theory of Psychological Development occurs during middle age and is called Generativity vs. Stagnation (Mcdevitt, Ormrod p 419). This stage is all about whether someone feels that they have made a difference in the world. That may not mean what they have done in the community but what the person has done family wise. If a person does not have any children or has not raised a family they may feel stagnation or like they have not done anything or have not been productive with the time that they have spent on this earth. If a person has raised a family or has done volunteer work and is proud of what they have accomplished they will feel Generativity not regret. In many cases some people may feel both on the things that they have done in their life. If a person has raised a family but has not done any work for the community or vice versa they may regret it. I personally have not made it to this stage yet. If and when I do make it to this stage I would definitely want to come out of it with Generativity. I want to raise a family and have a good life with no regrets. I am doing volunteer work now in the community with the Education Outreach Club at Ivy Tech so I feel that I am doing what I need to do to help the community. As far as raising a family I do not have any children yet but I would like to someday. When I do have children I want to raise them to be good people of this society and to teach them to keep giving back to help our community in any way that they can. I feel if I do these things I would live a good life and not regret the things that I accomplish.

Integrity vs. Despair Retirement Years- Stage 8 The eighth stage of Erik Eriksons Theory of Development occurs in the retirement years of a persons life. This is the final stage of a persons life that they may go through. During this stage a person looks back on their life and decides if they are happy how they have lived their life (Mcdevitt, Ormrod p 419). If a person fulfills their goals they may have set for themselves and accomplish those goals they would get a sense of pride for doing those things. If a person sets goals for themselves and do not accomplish those goals, the person may feel despair or unhappy about their results. When I get to this stage in my life I want to be happy with what I have done. I do not want to regret things I did or things that I did not do. I want to be retired like the stage says I am supposed to be and not have any worries. I feel that the path that I am choosing to take now is going to lead me to this stage in my life and I will be happy. I do not want to be at the age in my life where it is too late to change the things that I do not like or that I am unhappy with. By doing the right things in my life now and keeping myself on track I feel that I will be happy when I get to this stage

References Cherry, K., (2012). Erik Erikson Biography (1902-1994). Retrieved from http://www.psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_erikson.htm Mcdevitt, T. M., Ormrod, J. E. (2013). Child Development and Education. Pearson Education, Inc.