Personality and Developmental Psychology Assignment Sample

Introduction

Psychosocial development is the most important for the personality development of a person. During childhood, the sense of self or self-concept enhances, and in this period caregivers or parents play a crucial role. in order to discuss the facts of personality and mental health development “Erikson’s theory of lifespan” will be evaluated, as this can help to develop an in-depth understanding regarding the current context. Apart from that, the usefulness of this theory in this 21st will be analyzed along with critics and comparison with other theories regarding psychosocial development.

Discussion

Erikson’s Notoriety has developed the lifespan theory by evaluating the development of a person throughout life, which includes childhood, teenage, adulthood, and old age (Young, 2022). Erikson has developed this theory by analyzing the requirements of a person in his or her different ages. The theory has been developed with eight stages, which are mainly focused on the psychosocial growth of a child. Erikson gave great importance to the caregivers of children, as they are the people who can influence the personality development of a child at an initial age. As the theory reflects the factors that can influence the mental and psychosocial growth of a person, it is relevant in this 21st. The theory reflects integrity mainly helps in building a feeling of success in an individual person during the stage of psychosocial development (Cicilia Angelis, Miranti & Dwiastuty, 2019).

The usefulness of this theory reflects by its significance in the psychosocial development of a child. This theory has the potential to address the development of children throughout their lifespan, which also includes old age. The theory is more relevant in this era, as it provides importance to the family life, relationships, and personal development of a child (Khairani & Maemonah, 2021). Moreover, the stages of this theory reflect how caregivers of children can help them to be confident and achieve fulfilment in their lives. Trust can help children to feel safe and secure. Hence, children use to trust their caregivers, as they understand the needs of the child (Khairani & Maemonah, 2021). On the other hand, caregivers have to be careful and show that children can trust them. Otherwise, it can be a reason for mistrust, which can lead them to fear the world. Self-control is important for the child, as in the initial stage the child can develop the viewpoint and personality (Cicilia Angelis, Miranti & Dwiastuty, 2019). Therefore, the theory can be used to evaluate the lifespan of a person and analysis their sympathetic behavior’s. More specifically, this theory can be used in the healthcare and psychosocial development of a child.

In this 21st century, the increasing use of smartphones and the internet has made a great change in the behaviour of children. On the other hand, the behaviour of caregivers has also been influenced by technological devices in this modern era. Hence, the social interaction of children has been influenced by the use of technological devices, so the theory can be used to help children to improve their behaviour (Caena & Redecker, 2019). More specifically, for mental development, the period of childhood is most crucial and as the theory reflects how parents can take part in the mental development of a child, it can be used by parents. Along with parents, other caregivers such as teachers of children also can use this theory. In this 21st, as children are more active to use technological gadgets, it can be a reason for the lack of social interaction. This, can be a barrier to the mental health and personality development of children. For evidence, as per the opinion of Zengaro, Zengaro & ALI (2019), the use of technology can be a reason for lack of social interaction, as it reduces the opportunities for interaction. Hence, as the theory reflects the way to guide children to enhance their abilities and self-control it can be used in this era of modernisation.

Along with that, as the theory reflects the requirements of children of different ages parents can be able to understand and fulfil them. The theory gives importance to the personality development of a child. More importantly, in this 21st century, the nature of childhood is modern and this kind of ability of interaction is required to develop a greater personality. Therefore, the theory can be used to increase social interaction abilities among children (Gross, 2020). As in this 21st, adolescents are more willing to spend their time on smartphones and other technological gadgets rather than social interaction, caregivers have to take charge to encourage them for social interaction (Ertemel & Ari, 2020). For instance, parents have to always be active while taking care of a child to ensure that the child can trust them. Additionally, caregivers have to provide comfort and show affection to the child to develop their personality and reduce the fear of the world. Apart from that, the 21st is the era of modern childhood and the expectations of children have been changed. This reflects the Erikson theory that can help to understand the expectations of children and take part in their personality development (Tjalla and Sudrajat, 2020).

During the first stage, the child has to depend on caregivers; in this stage; they want to have control over their work and the world around them. This stage is important for a child as it is the time for developing self-sense. In this century, caregivers are more willing to enhance the self-sense of children, as it can help them to become confident and deal with the world (Ültay & Ültay, 2020). Even their abilities used to be increased in this stage as they have greater self-control. In this 21st, it can be seen that children are good at maintaining technological tools and gadgets. On the other hand, they sometimes are not able to complete their basic needs without taking help from caregivers. Therefore, the theory has its importance in this era as it focuses on self-control development and reflects the importance of self-abilities for personality development. For evidence, as per the opinion of Yelland (2018), the use of technological devices like tablets can influence the simple skills of a child. The sense of personal control increases in this second stage and that enhances its significance in a person’s life. For instance, in this stage children can have control over their food choice. On the other hand, if a parent punishes their child for simple mistakes, they can push them to feel shame or be in self-doubt.

When a person enters into adulthood, these emotional intimate relations play a critical role in the emotional well-being of a person. People who have become successful in finding solutions to the conflict of intimacy versus isolation stage generally build close romantic relationships, maintain a proper connection with society, maintain a positive relationship with close friends and family (Abuhassan & Azmi, 2019). Mainly intimacy is important in the creation of supportive networks within the society that it is beneficial for the stable mental and physical health of a person throughout life.

It can be said that in this modern era the behaviour of adolescents has been changed, as they rely on their gadgets for spending time rather than family and friends. This reflects as the theory says, caregivers have to take initiatives to improve the personality of a person in their initial ages. Hence, it is undoubtedly useful for parents and caregivers in this 21st century (Ültay & Ültay, 2020). Apart from that, isolation can result in loneliness within an individual person entering into adulthood. The adults’ struggle with this kind of experience mainly goes through the stage that there are few or no friends, lack of social support, poor romantic relationships, and others (Bergee & Grashel, 2021). This reflects the necessity of improving the abilities for social interaction in this 21st.

Maree (2021) has criticised the theory of Erikson by stating that the theory focuses highly on the stages and assumes that completing a single stage is considered a prerequisite for the next crisis associated with development. This theory mainly emphasizes the expectations of social categories that are found in some cultures although not in all cultures. The exact mechanism needed for resolving the conflicts and moving from a particular stage to another one is not described or developed within this theory in a convenient way. The constructiveness of moving from one stage of psychosocial development to another one is insufficient in Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development or lifespan development (Syed & Fish, 2018). This mainly gives rise to confusion and the progress gets delayed.

The theory of Erikson has some limitations associated with it as it mainly focuses on childhood even though it involves the span of an entire life. Another limitation of this theory is its way of application for other cultures. Each culture is specified with different categories and has different ways of performing some activities (Sun & Sun, 2021). It can be stated that this theory mainly has the limitations of the path through which a person will move from one stage to the other one. For example, that a person needs to search for identity in his or her adolescence period may work well in the middle-class culture within the United States. This approach will not do well in the cultures where transition into adulthood mainly correlates with puberty through passage rites and where there are fewer choices available for adult roles (Gilleard, 2020). Criticism for this theory is done for supporting a limited view or aspects associated with human development. This theory has been argued by critics for focusing highly on childhood along with the type of development that takes place in adulthood.

It has been admitted in this theory that the identity of a person can change in his or her adulthood after the stage of adolescence (Sandler et al. 2018). This theory has been limited to the development techniques that can be helpful for a child to make him or her grow into a well-mannered and satisfied individual self. On the other hand, Freud’s theory of development has been developed as a result of in-depth case studies which has been helpful to get rich and detailed information (Sandler et al. 2018). Valid data has been used for this theory by looking into the problems of every individual for their whole life span. Compared to Erikson’s theory, the realistic nature of Freud’s theory of development have made it one of the valuable models of personal development (Gilleard, 2020).

Freud’s theory of development also helps in eradicating the mental problems of people which is lacking in the Erikson’s theory of development. In the 21st century, children are also familiar with technological advancements. Therefore, social interaction, which is focused in the theory of Erikson, can be easily done on online platforms without getting involved in physical interaction (Syed & Fish, 2018). This theory has not stated any preference towards offline or online social interaction. On the other hand, Freud’s theory evolves by testing the recent case scenarios associated with the mental problems and development which has made it beneficial over Erikson’s theory. Therefore, the lack in constructiveness and lack of in-depth analysis associated with the real-life case studies in Erikson’s theory have made it invalid for some researchers or experts.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that this theory has 8 stages that can build an individual person into a successful adult from its childhood. It can also be concluded that a sense of self-confidence can be built with the help of this theory within a particular person and give a proper direction to his or her life. This theory is useful to eradicate any kind of mental confusion or instability that can hamper their productivity. It can be stated that this theory lacks constructive minds which can lead to confusion in the psychosocial development of an individual person through his or her life span. The lack of a mechanism to move from one state to another has been a negative factor for this theory.

Reference list

Abuhassan, A.S. & Azmi, M.N.L., (2019). Psychosocial Development Portrayed In Jane Austen’s Emma. Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching, 3(2), 185-200. Retrieved on 9 March from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5744/fcbd356da128411dafc90facda3bc72ce1c4.pdf

Bergee, M.J. & Grashel, J.W., (2021). Psychosocial profiles of music education undergraduates based on Erikson’s principles of epigenetic development. Visions of Research in Music Education, 16(6), 4. Retrieved on 9 March from: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1795&context=vrme

Caena, F., & Redecker, C. (2019). Aligning teacher competence frameworks to 21st century challenges: The case for the European Digital Competence Framework for Educators (Digcompedu). European Journal of Education, 54(3), 356-369. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/ejed.12345

Cicilia Angelis, A. G. M., Miranti, I., & Dwiastuty, N. (2019). The character development of ‘Ben’in gifted hands: the ben Carson’s story through Erikson’s psychosocial theory. LiNGUA, 14(2), 261. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7ba3/532b4dc4b9509f65960cc804d868a789ab91.pdf

Ertemel, A. V., & Ari, E. (2020). A marketing approach to a psychological problem: Problematic smartphone use on adolescents. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(7), 2471. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2471/pdf

Gilleard, C., (2020). The final stage of human development? Erikson’s view of integrity and old age. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 14(2), 139-162. Retrieved on 9 March from: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2383&context=etd

Gross, Y. (2020). Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Models and Theories, 179-184. Retrieved on 9 March from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118970843.ch31

Khairani, K., & Maemonah, M. (2021). THE NATURE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD ACCORDING TO ERIK ERIKSON’S VIEW. Jurnal Kajian Gender dan Anak, 5(2), 151-161. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: http://jurnal.iain-padangsidimpuan.ac.id/index.php/JurnalGender/article/download/4555/2978

Maree, J. G. (2021). The psychosocial development theory of Erik Erikson: critical overview. Early Child Development and Care, 191(7-8), 1107-1121. Retrieved on 9 March from: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2020.1845163

Sandler, J., Holder, A., Dare, C., Dreher, A. U., & Wallerstein, R. S. (2018). Freud’s models of the mind: An introduction. Routledge.

Sun, X., & Sun, T. (2021, October). Research on Lifelong Education Based on Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory. In 2021 6th International Conference on Modern Management and Education Technology (MMET 2021) (pp. 267-270). Atlantis Press. Retrieved on 9 March from: https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125961461.pdf

Tjalla, A. & Sudrajat, U., (2020). The Influence of the Prevention, Advocacy, Distribution, Repair, and Adjustment Functions of Teacher Guidance and Counselling on the Psychosocial Conditions, Self-Reliance, and Competence of High School Students in DKI Jakarta Province. International Journal of Education and Practice, 8(1), 174-189. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1249647.pdf

Ültay, N., & Ültay, E. (2020). A Comparative Investigation of the Views of Preschool Teachers and Teacher Candidates about STEM. Journal of Science Learning, 3(2), 67-78. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1251666.pdf

Yelland, N. J. (2018). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Young children and multimodal learning with tablets. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 847-858. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/285108/https%20bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com%20doi%20am-pdf%2010.1111%20bjet.12635.pdf

Young, G. (2022). Development, Stages, and Causality. In Causality and Neo-Stages in Development (pp. 21-42). Springer, Cham. Retrieved on 9 March 2022 from: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-82540-9_2

Zengaro, F., Zengaro, S. & ALI, M.A., (2019). Social Isolation and Technology: Implications for Psychosocial Development: A Theoretical Paper. Journal of Research Initiatives, 4(3), 6. Retrieved on 9 March from: https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1200&context=jri

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