The Eight Ages Of Man, According To Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson was an American psychoanalyst who developed a widely accepted and widely disseminated theory of personality development. Although at first he started from Freud’s concepts, he distanced himself from it, considering that cultural influence had much greater importance than that given to it by the father of psychoanalysis.
We all go through crisis situations during our lives and we are used to seeing them as something negative. However, for Erick Erikson crises are necessary processes that lead to evolution and change. They are circumstances that allow us to transcend, grow and become aware of ourselves. Erik Erikson points out that the journey through life is made up of eight ages or cycles and that each of these is marked by a specific conflict.
It indicates that human beings evolve and we are constantly acquiring new knowledge and experiences throughout our existence. Otherwise, there will be hangs in some stages of development. Some people refuse to mature, while others are forced to grow early. All this will depend, to a large extent, on the context in which each one grows up.
The ages of man from Erikson’s perspective
The eight stages in human development, according to Erik Erikson, are as follows:
1. Basic trust vs. basic mistrust. 0 to 1 year
The newborn establishes a dependent relationship, especially with its mother. In it he finds the full satisfaction of his needs. Such care will gradually guarantee the learning and development of their confidence, if their basic requirements are consistently met.
As his senses evolve, the baby will recognize his surroundings as familiar. He will venture out and his first great achievement will be not to experience anxiety in the absence of his mother, to overcome the fear of being abandoned by her. Otherwise, you will be skeptical and suspicious.
2. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt. From 1 to 3 years
During this stage the child acquires autonomy to move from one place to another. Hitting or crying is the language to get what you want. If the child’s context does not fully respond to the needs he experiences, self-doubt and fear of taking the initiative will appear.
Shame in the infant is expressed as a need not to be seen, to hide his face, something that results in tantrums and crying, or different manifestations of emotional overflow. External control must be firm and reassuring for autonomy to appear.
3. Initiative vs. fault. From 3 to 6 years
If there is something that distinguishes a child at this stage, it is his initiative. Especially during the game, he discovers the roles that are most meaningful to him and plays them. The child needs to identify and project his role in the world. The initiative at this age, consists of planning that social role that acts.
Rivalry and jealousy can also appear at this stage. The child wants to be treated as someone special and rejects any deference from the mother to others. If you don’t get relatively privileged treatment, you develop guilt and anxiety.
4. Industriousness vs. inferiority. From 6 years to adolescence
During this period the child has a school life. Regardless of whether he feels comfortable or dissatisfied, the child begins to gain recognition for what he does in this new environment. You are in a position to acquire new knowledge and skills or, in other words, to become productive.
Our culture has acquired high levels of specialization that make it complex and limit the initiative of the individual. The risk in this stage is that when there is not enough recognition, a feeling of inadequacy appears that can lead to a feeling of inferiority.
5. Identity vs. role confusion. During adolescence
This period is characterized by questioning everything that was trusted. That is, the knowledge, skills and experiences acquired. All this due to the biological changes that the body undergoes and the personality crisis that this generates.
Adolescents are concerned about the image that others have of them and fight constant battles between what they have been until now and what they will be in the near future. They are confused about their identity, they are idealistic and highly influential. If they go through this stage properly, they will be able to build a solid identity. Otherwise, they will successively rehearse to pretend to be what they are not.
6. Privacy vs. isolation
It is the moment when the young adult is able to establish work, sentimental, political, professional commitments, sacrificing something in return. If, out of fear, this young adult fails to establish these kinds of links with the world, the underlying danger will be isolation.
It is the stage of decisions and challenges to acquire stability. It is also the period in which conceptions about work, friendship, family, etc., take hold. Basically it is in this stage when a definitive step towards adulthood is taken.
7. Generativity vs. stagnation
Erikson refers to generativity as the desire in old age to found and guide new generations. When this does not occur, a process of personal stagnation begins that is linked to the feeling of not transcending, of not having any kind of impact in the future.
Only when people have faced both defeat and triumph, have been able to procreate or generate ideas and have devoted time and care to them, can it be said that they have gradually matured. That they have reached an experience of fulfillment.
8. Integrity of self vs. despair
The last age of life can be a serene or restless time. It all depends on how the previous ages have been solved. An elderly person should be able to formulate a wise assessment of his time, in which the recognition of the real and the understanding of the world prevail.
There is integrity if reflection and experience can be combined at this age. In the event of unresolved conflicts or stages that were not overcome, it is usual for a deep fear of illness, suffering and death to appear.
