Personality Development
Erik H. Erikson's Stages
There has always been a link between the way societal
pressures and cultural influences affects one's personality. Erik H.
Erikson, a 20th century development psychologist, explored many of these
relations and identified eight psychosocial character-forming stages of
human development that sequentially unfold in a person's lifetime as
they grow and mature (Auger & Rich, 2007) (Table 1). Each one of
Erikson's stages is characterized by a specific challenge or a unique
developmental crisis typically encountered by a person of its specified
age group. Each developmental task or crisis must be resolved before
moving on to the next stage. When a crisis is resolved successfully,
"[it] forms a solid foundation for personality growth and healthy
emotional development" (Auger & Rich, 2007, p. 29). Organizing one's
psychosocial development in this manner implies that this principle is
genetically inevitable in shaping anyone's human development, regardless
of their culture or ethnicity.
Table 1. A chart displaying
Erikson's eight psychosocial stages of human development.
Although only three of the eight stages (learning
initiatives versus guilt; learning industry versus inferiority; learning
identity versus identity confusion) take place during primary and
secondary school, unresolved dilemmas prior to these stages can be
revisited from earlier years if the student is provided with "on-going
opportunities to practice making appropriate choices" in a
learner-friendly classroom (Auger & Rich, 2007, p. 85). For example, if
a child became severely ill in the first three years of their life, the
child might not have had a chance to normally resolve the first and
second psychosocial stages, namely: trust versus mistrust and/or
autonomy versus shame and doubt. A teacher who acknowledges Erikson's
stages and emphasizes decision-making in the classroom, even from an
early age, helps students recuperate from unresolved crises that have
led to undesirable affects, by allowing them to be more productive and
adept at solving problems to which Erikson referred, using healthy
resolutions (Auger & Rich, 2007).
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Figure 1. A photo of Erik H.
Erikson.
Most students begin their schooling career at the
learning stage versus the guilt stage, either in preschool or in
kindergarten. As an educator, it is important to gear the student
towards a positive learning experience rather than one of guilt. A
positive learning experience at this stage is characterized by a healthy
attitude of being able to initiate actions independently. Teacher who
introduces their students to various classroom activities to which the
students can initiate and perform on their own will help them overcome
feelings of powerlessness and guilt about being dominated by the
environment (Auger & Rich, 2007). For instance, a teacher could assign
every every student a classroom role that will enable them to
collaboratively participate in tidying up the classroom at the end of
the day. Opportunities like these helps build a sense of confidence and
responsibility; on the contrary, harsh teacher criticism may lead to
guilt and feelings of anxiety. The next stage, learning industry versus
inferiority, involves the developmental task of acquiring a sense of
competence while avoiding inferiority. This stage occurs in middle and
late childhood, ages six years to the start of puberty, during
elementary school. Students facing this crisis will often evaluate their
accomplishments by comparing self with others, especially as they are
drawn into social culture of peers (Auger & Rich, 2007). As they
gradually develop intellectual and physical skills, they want to see how
productive and competent they are with these new abilities. It is
crucial for teachers to stimulate this need for productiveness by having
students do more productive work on their own. During this stage,
students want to be recognized and rewarded though the things they do in
the classroom. Therefore, teachers should constantly encourage their
students to succeed. If their attempts to succeed fail, and the teacher
provides little feedback or negative feedback, the student will end up
feeling incompetent, and in turn, feel inferior. The final stage before
the transition from adolescence to adulthood is learning identity versus
identity confusion. During this time in a person's life, one develops a
stable personal identity and establishes a clear path toward a vocation
(Auger & Rich, 2007), asking questions like, "who am I?" Or "what will
become of me?" It is important for teachers to support students during
this critical time of decision making. For instance, educators should
constantly focus in on the effects of peer pressure by teaching students
how to make the appropriate decisions and choices. This builds
confidence in a child and prevents confusion when confronted with peer
pressure. If a child feels like he/she is being called to a certain
profession, teachers should provide resources and personal advice
pertaining to the profession. This way students can adequately explore
and identify a positive future path. Solutions to each crisis do not
have to be completely positive in nature, as some aspects of negativity
are inevitable. As long as positive resolutions dominate, a positive
outlook will result at the end (Auger & Rich, 2007).
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