Erik Erikson was a German born individual who later became an American citizen. He was a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, but was most commonly known for his theory on psychosocial development of humans. Further through this document I will discuss Erikson’s eight stages of development and how that coincides with where I believe I am within my life. I will also cross-reference my daughter, Brittany Marie, and provide an explanation of where I believe she is in Erickson’s timeline.
After reviewing the information listed in Erikson’s stages of development, the stage I identified with the most was young adulthood. In this stage young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success helps us create a strong relationship that will last. However, failure can result in individual seeking loneliness and isolation. The main question asked here, is on intimate relationships for helping us transition into our middle adulthood stage of our ego development process. I have sought to answer this question by actively seeking relationships that are right for me. Many of them have ended in failure, but with each relationship I get one step closer to “answering the question” produced in this stage and carry the wisdom learned onward with me. One specific example was when I was previously married. I thought I had found the one person that would guide me into the next stage of my ego development, but instead was met with failure. I have since then become much wiser and ask “better questions” when seeking the answer for this stage.
I would have to describe my daughter next and the stage of ego development coinciding with her. The school age can be easily associated with my daughter. She is constantly striving for success in school coming in the form of green “check marks”. My approval is constantly sought after and she is absolutely devastated when she does not meet expectations set by the school (which has rarely...