What are the reasons behind the Erikson’s theory being a stage theory? I. The stages refer to qualitatively different behaviour patterns II. The stages describe general issues III. The stages unfold in an invariant sequence
What are the reasons behind the Erikson’s theory being a stage theory? I. The stages refer to qualitatively different behaviour patterns II. The stages describe general issues III. The stages unfold in an invariant sequence Correct Answer I, II and III
Erik Erikson has a significant contribution to the theories of personality development. The theory of psychosocial development is a well-known theory of Erikson which tries to explain the development of personality which takes place through a series of stages since childhood. The theory of psychosocial development describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan.
Key Points
Reasons behind the Erikson’s theory being a stage theory
- Erikson proposed eight invariant (never changing) sequential stages of individual human development influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors throughout the lifespan.
- According to Erikson, this sense of self changes, as one goes through the various stages of personality development. In every stage of life, there is new information and experience that are present in one’s life. These are the issues one faces to the sense of self or ego identity.
- Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of these conflicting forces.
- The experience of facing these challenges determines one’s ego identity and shapes one’s perception of life. There are challenges which one faces in daily interactions in society and how one deals with them forms part of one’s personality.
- In addition to ego identity, Erikson also believed that a sense of competence motivates qualitatively different behavior patterns and actions. Each stage in Erikson’s theory is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life.
- If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery, which is sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality. If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy.
Hence, we can conclude that all three statements are the reasons behind Erikson’s theory being a stage theory.