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The first stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development deals with the basic trust and mistrust of a child with their guardian. This stage begins in infancy. It is to help a child gain a "balance between trust, which helps them form intimate relationships, and mistrust, which enables them to protect themselves." (Martorell, 2023, p. 150) When I was younger, my dad worked a lot. Although I had my mom, my dad always made the extra effort to make up the time he missed when he was at work. By doing this, I knew he would always come back and have something fun for us to do.

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Stage 2: Autonomy versus shame and doubt

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Stage 2: Autonomy versus shame and doubt

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The second stage of Erikson's psychosocial development deals with developing a greater sense of self-control. "This stage occurs between the age of 18 months and around age 2-3 years." (Cherry, 2022). At around the age of 2 and a half my mom had been working on potty training with me. I can remember I used to have accidents through the middle of the night very frequently, so she would make me wear pull ups. I hated wearing pull-ups because i was a "big girl". I started to not have as many accidents, but she still made me wear pull-ups. She told me I took it off one night, but I didn't have any accidents. From that night one I never had to wear one again. "The strength that emerges during this stage is will. As children are better able to make their wishes understood, they become more powerful and independent." (Martorell, 2023, p. 156).

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The third stage of Erikson's psychosocial development is to "balance the urge to pursue goals with reservations about doing so." (Martorell, 2023, p. 210). This stage occurs at the pre-school age. When I was in preschool, we were paining Christmas trees to hang on our trees at home. During painting my tree, I decided it would be fun to also paint all over my friends tree that was sitting next to me because her's was not “colorful enough.” This upset my friend and my teacher, so I had to apologize to my friend and sit by myself for the rest of craft time. A note was also sent home to my parents to let them know about my poor choices that day. This showed me that even though I thought I was trying to help, it was not the right thing to do.

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The fourth stage of Erikson's psychosocial development deals with "children learning the productive skills their culture requires or else face feelings of inferiority." (Martorell, 2023, p. 275). This stage happens between 6 and 11. When I was in fifth grade, I really struggled in math class. Since I was doing so bad it effected my grade and i started to feel super frustrated. My teacher set up a meeting to help me one on one. I began to understand and improve my grade. This made me feel very proud of myself. When someone "productively navigates this stage, they feel useful and develop a sense of self-worth." (Cherry, 2022).

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Stage 5: Identity versus identity confusion 

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Stage 5: Identity versus identity confusion 

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The fifth stage of Erikson's psychosocial development is that "adolescent seeks to develop a coherent sense of self, including the role she or he is to play in society." (Martorell, 2023, p. 336). The search for identity starts in the teenage years. When I first started middle school, I was super nervous. I knew that the other elementary school in our district was going to be joining for the rest of our school years. While I never questioned my identity sexually, I questioned it socially. I had no idea where I was going to fit in at the middle school. I decided to sit with new people at lunch the I recognized from sporting events. We immediately clicked and all became good friends. We even all played sports together in the following years.

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The sixth stage of Erikson's psychosocial development is forming loving and intimate relationships with other people. This can create fulfilling relationships, but can also cause loneliness and the feeling of isolation. "This stage occurs from 19 to 40." (Cherry, 2023). In high school I had my first serious relationship. While in the beginning it was good, it turned toxic very fast. We were with each other on and off for about 2 years. Once we broke up for good, I felt very alone and lost. After high school I got into my current relationship. We have been together for about 3 and a half years. My past has taught me a lot about relationships and how they are supposed to look. The relationship that I am currently in is healthy and I can see it lasting the rest of my life. According to Erikson, "a man is not capable of real intimacy until after he has achieved a stable identity, whereas women define themselves through marriage and motherhood. Thus, said Erikson, women develop identity through intimacy, not before it." (Martorell, 2023, p. 337).

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Stage 7: Generativity versus stagnation  

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Stage 7: Generativity versus stagnation  

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The seventh stage of Erikson's psychosocial development is people developing their lives. People feel like they are being generative when they are doing good for others. Others might feel stagnate because they are not doing anything to contribute to anyones else. This stage is from ages 40 to 65. Although I am 22, I feel like this stage applies to my life currently. For a living I work two jobs, A daycare assisant and a preschool aide. By working these jobs i feel like I am helping the younger generation succeed. I am also in school to become an elementary school teacher. my sense of feeling generativity will continue when I have my own classroom and am helping my students achieve their goals. "Some cultures, such as the United States, are individualistic. Individualistic cultures place a priority on personal goals and encourage people to view themselves as distinct individuals. Other cultures are collectivistic and are more concerned with collective goals and group dynamics. In these cultures, people are more likely to view themselves with respect to their relationships with others." (Martorell, 2023, p. 5).

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The eighth and final stage of Erikson's psychosocial development occurs from the age 65 to death. This stage is the stage where people start to reflect of the life that they have lived. People feel a sense of integrity when reflecting because they feel they have lived a good and full life, Others may feel despair because they believe that they could have done life in the way that they wanted to. I have not yet come to this stage in life, but as of now I feel like I am on the right track to fulfill all of my life goals. "The study of child development is part of the broader study of human development, which covers the entire human life span from conception to death, and is organized around periods and domains of development." (Martorell, 2023, p. 2).

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Martorell, G. (2023). Child, 3rd edition. McGraw Hill.

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Kendra Cherry, Mse. (2022a, December 29). Industry vs. inferiority is stage four of psychosocial development. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/industry-versus-inferiority-2795736

Kendra Cherry, Mse. (2022a, December 28). Learning how to become self-reliant in Psychosocial Stage 2. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt-2795733

Kendra Cherry, Mse. (2023, February 28). Intimacy vs. isolation: Forming intimate relationships with others. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/intimacy-versus-isolation-2795739