Running head: ERIKSON’S THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 1

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

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Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Every person goes through different stages of growth and development in their life as

argued by Erik Erikson in his theory of psychosocial development (Gilligan, 1979). Despite the

fact that the psychosocial stages of development are the same, it is evident that different people

have diverse experiences as a result of diversity in social, cultural, gender, and environmental

factors. It is also vital to comprehend that internal and external factors have a significant impact

on the lives of people (Blaschke-Thompson, n.d.). As a result, as a person goes through the

stages mentioned above, their lives are shaped differently.

As Erikson asserts, everyone passes through the interrelated stages of development,

though the personality and characters are shaped differently (Levitt, Silver, & Santos, 2007). In

this case, an individual usually acquires his or her uniqueness, in reference to personality and

identity, thus the emergence of the diversity. As a result, the formed identity on different persons

can either be positive or negative, innate or acquired, all depending on the degree of social and

environmental influence.

The fidelity stage from the ages of 12-18 years forms the adolescence period where one

discovers his/her identity and the ability to overcome the confusion that comes along with it. It is

the fifth stage in the psychosocial development where an individual is faced with identity vs. role

confusion crisis (Blaschke-Thompson, n.d.). Mainly, at this development stage, Erikson argues

that males tend to experience an increased strength in muscle due to the heightened production of

testosterone, while females have body weight redistributed throughout the body. However, some

common features such as growth of pubic hair occur while the brain goes through a significant

transformation due to emotional changes (Mendle, Turkheimer, & Emery, 2007). To this end,
ERIKSON’S THEORY OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 3

confusion is rampant as most teenagers try to reveal their position in the religious, social, and

political lives.

The early adulthood which is between the ages of 18-40 years was majorly comprised of

intimacy vs. isolation crisis with the question of ‘can I love?' being the center of emphasizing

(Fuller‐Rowell & Doan, 2010). The early stages of this development stage slightly resemble the

fidelity stages as one is keen on attaining an identity and acceptance into the society. The need to

love and be intimate is very clear, but it is often countered by the fear of rejection which forces

most people to keep distance and isolate themselves from people who may hurt them. In a study

by Fuller‐Rowell and Doan, 2010, the results showed that there was a significant difference

between Whites and African Americans in reference to association. The same study showed that

the Whites had a strong positive association, whereas African Americans exemplified negative

association.

There are different results for this psychosocial development stage in regards to gender

among other factors. As Erikson mentions, most men tend to resolve to identity issues prior

intimacy issues (Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, 2011). It is vital to understand that women tend

to manifest different patterns during this stage. For instance, women can face intimacy before

identity issues by opting to marry and raise children then deal with identity issues later. On the

other hand, some women can deal with both identity and intimacy issues at the same time

(Mendle et al., 2007). Other factors such as economic, social, and cultural variances have a

significant impact on how individuals form their personality at this stage. Young adults will

move out of the roof of their parents and become autonomous. In this case, income levels will

betrays how an individual turns out in the later stage.

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References

Blaschke-Thompson, T. (n.d.). Adolescence.

Blaschke-Thompson, T. (n.d.). Young Adulthood.

Gilligan, C. (1979). Woman's place in man's life cycle. Harvard Educational Review, 49(4), 431-

446.

Fuller‐Rowell, T. E., & Doan, S. N. (2010). The social costs of academic success across ethnic

groups. Child Development, 81(6), 1696-1713.

Josselson, R. (1998). Revising herself: The story of women's identity from college to midlife.

Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Levitt, M. J., Silver, M. E., & Santos, J. D. (2007). Adolescents in transition to adulthood:

Parental support, relationship satisfaction, and post-transition adjustment. Journal of

Adult Development, 14(1-2), 53-63.

Mendle, J., Turkheimer, E., & Emery, R. E. (2007). Detrimental psychological outcomes

associated with early pubertal timing in adolescent girls. Developmental Review, 27(2),

151-171.

Robbins, S. P., Chatterjee, P., & Canda, E. R. (2011). Contemporary human behavior theory: A

critical perspective for social work. Pearson Higher Ed.