How does movement through Erikson's stages influence personality development?

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Assignment 2: LASA 1: Development Throughout the Lifespan

Erikson and Freud are two of the few theorists who have developed a lifespan approach to development. Freud’s approach to development was psychosexual while Erikson’s was psychosocial. Even though Freud’s theory is better known, Erikson’s theory remains a leading and very much applied model in personality and developmental psychology today.

When considering these two stage-oriented theories, you can directly compare the majority of their stages. These are matched in the following table:

Approximate AgeFreud’s Stages of Psychosexual DevelopmentErikson’s Stages of Psychosocial developmentInfancy (Birth to 1 year)Oral stageTrust versus mistrustEarly childhood (1–3 years)Anal stageAutonomy versus doubtPreschool (3–6 years)Phallic stageInitiative versus guiltSchool age (7–11 years)Latent periodIndustry versus inferiorityAdolescence (12–18 years)Genital stageIdentity versus role confusionYoung adulthood (19–40 years) Intimacy versus isolationMiddle adulthood (40–65 years) Generativity versus stagnationOlder adulthood (65–death) Integrity versus despair

When considering Erikson’s eight stages of development, the way a person moves through each stage directly affects their success in the next stage. Their personality is being built and shaped with each stage. At each stage, there is a turning point, called a crisis by Erikson, which a person must confront.

In this assignment, you will observe or interview two different people, each at a different stage of development. For a third observation, take a look at yourself and the stage that you are in (this stage must be different from your other two observations).

  • Record your three observations in a template. Include the following information:
    • Name
    • Age
    • Gender
    • Current developmental stage
    • Status within the stage (i.e., identity achievement or role confusion)
    • Events that have lead to this status

Download a Development Template to record your observations.

  • Summarize what you have learned about psychosocial development through these observations/interviews.
  • Summarize the trends you see in your observations/interviews regarding psychosocial development.
  • How does movement through Erikson’s stages influence personality development? Again, be specific.
  • How do Erikson’s stages of development compare to Freud’s stages? How are they similar? How are they different?
  • Between these two theories, which one do you feel best explains your own personality development? Justify your answers with specific examples.

Write a 3–4-page paper in Word format. Insert your chart at the end of your paper. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.doc.

By the due date assigned, deliver your assignment to the Submissions Area.

Course Project Grading Criteria and Rubric

Assignment 2 Grading CriteriaMaximum
PointsChart identifies general characteristics of people being observed Chart identifies each person
’s Erikson’s stage of development (Course Objective [CO] 2)20Explains which events of this developmental stage influence this outcome (CO 2)24Summarizes learning about psychosocial development, applies observations (CO 2)24Explains the connection between Erikson’s stages of development and personality development (CO 2)28Compares and contrasts Erikson and Freud’s stages of development (CO 1)32Determines which theory best fits own personality development, applies self-observations (CO 1, 2)28Presentation Components:
Organization (12)
Usage and Mechanics (12)
APA Elements (16)
Style (4)44