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 Age |
Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development |
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial development |
Infancy (Birth to 1 year) |
Oral stage |
Trust versus mistrust |
Early childhood (1–3 years) |
Anal stage |
Autonomy versus doubt |
Preschool (3–6 years) |
Phallic stage |
Initiative versus guilt |
School age (7–11 years) |
Latent period |
Industry versus inferiority |
Adolescence (12–18 years) |
Genital stage |
Identity versus role confusion |
Young adulthood (19–40 years) |
Intimacy versus isolation |
|
Middle adulthood (40–65 years) |
Generativity versus stagnation |
|
Older 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).
Download a Development Template to record your observations.
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 Criteria |
Maximum |
Chart identifies general characteristics of people being observed Chart identifies each person ’s Erikson’s stage of development (Course Objective [CO] 2) |
20 |
Explains which events of this developmental stage influence this outcome (CO 2) |
24 |
Summarizes learning about psychosocial development, applies observations (CO 2) |
24 |
Explains the connection between Erikson’s stages of development and personality development (CO 2) |
28 |
Compares and contrasts Erikson and Freud’s stages of development (CO 1) |
32 |
Determines which theory best fits own personality development, applies self-observations (CO 1, 2) |
28 |
Presentation Components: Organization (12) Usage and Mechanics (12) APA Elements (16) Style (4) |
44 |
Total: |
200 |
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