We find it cute when babies cannot decide if they are happy in the arms of a new stranger, and we laugh at the idea of a mid-life crisis, but are these kinds of dilemmas ones that can alter the remainder of one’s life? In Erik Erikson’s book, Childhood and Society, Erikson describes the internal struggles that develop in different parts of life. He argues that the decisions one makes in these periods can greatly influence not only the way that he lives the rest of his life but also the way he will approach future dilemmas that come his way (Coon, 2018). To investigate how applicable Erikson’s psychosocial theory is, I interviewed four people of varying age brackets, and I found that the different dilemmas that my interviewees faced at different points in life are consistent with the pattern that Erikson describes, and I discovered that the influence of predecessors is of great importance when determining how one will face each dilemma.
Erikson’s psychosocial theory defines the various dilemmas that are a natural part of different stages of life. The psychosocial dilemmas are the battles between personal desires and the defined restrictions that the world places on a person at a particular time (Coon, 2018). As people move through these struggles, the decisions they make redefine both how they view themselves as well as how they view the world around them, and Erikson (1993) defines the positive and the negative decisions people are faced with at defined periods of life. If people make the correct decision, they are met with fulfillment and happiness as well as preparedness to face the next dilemma. The inverse is also true; if someone makes the wrong decision, it can lead to an incapability to correctly redefine themselves in the next stage of life.
All of the people interviewed in my experiment had already passed the first four stages of Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, but the effect of these four stages is still greatly influential to the answers I received in my interview as each person’s outlook on life has been defined by the decisions that they made in previous stages of their life. The first decision that each person was forced to make was the decision between trust and mistrust as an infant (Erikson, 1993). According to Piaget, another greatly influential psychologist, young babies are in the sensorimotor stage, a stage where their world is defined by what they sense and what they feel (Coon, 2018). Thus, when a baby is mistreated or neglected, they develop a mistrust for their caregiver and, as a result, in the world. This trust or mistrust in the world remains with the person for the rest of his life.
The struggle between trust and mistrust may be one of the most important decisions that the people I interviewed had to face, but young childhood also brings other dilemmas that primarily revolve around becoming more and more independent. When children are approaching three years of age, they are dealing with the struggle between autonomy and shame (Coon, 2018). When they are allowed to dress themselves, they feel victorious and want to continue making decisions, but when they are forced into their parents’ idea of a good outfit, it may lead to them feeling ashamed or embarrassed that they could not do it on their own. Next, during the preschool years, children are met with more independence, and they begin to want to help out around the house or take on other tasks, facing the dilemmas of initiative versus guilt (Anderson, 2016). When children are allowed to take on such tasks, they develop more initiative, but if parents discourage such behavior or restrict play, their child may form sense of guilt about initiating activities (Coon, 2018). One last dilemma that all my interviewees had previously navigated was the dilemma between industry and inferiority (Erikson, 1993). This struggle normally comes between seven and twelve years old, and it revolves around a child’s desire to investigate hobbies or become successful at something, with success now being defined by teachers and peers, not only his parents. When a child’s skills or desires are criticized or discouraged, it can leave a child feeling inferior, making him think that he is not able to take on future tasks either.
The next stage in Erikson’s (1993) psychosocial theory is the adolescent stage which is defined by the struggle between identity and role confusion. My first interviewee, Riley, a junior in high school, agreed that the primary struggle for people his age is the struggle to fit in, but he believed that fitting in can lead to a bad path. Erikson would agree that it is important to find one’s own identity and not allow the world to tell oneself who he is. Riley believed that an important part of being his age was the responsibility that came along with it as well as the ability to spend a lot of time with long-kept friends. Such relationships and history of independence will reinforce his sense of self and will help him make his own decisions in the future. Thus, his decision to not just try to fit into the crowd would be considered the positive decision by Erikson.
The next stage of Erikson’s (1993) psychosocial theory is the young adult stage where people are expected to struggle between isolation and intimacy. Elizabeth, one of my interviewees who fits within this age bracket, agreed that one of the greatest struggles for people in the young adult age range is comparison, the greatest competition being relationships. At this stage in life, Elizabeth believes that many people want their lives to appear wonderful and better than high school when many people are actually lonely. Such insight is in great concordance with Erikson’s theory, as Erikson points out that isolation doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is not in a relationship; although a young adult may be married, if they have resorted to isolation during this stage of their life, their relationship may be empty and unfulfilling.
Following the young adult stage, a person enters the middle adulthood stage where he is expected to struggle between generativity and stagnation (Erikson, 1993). Generativity is a concern for the future, and stagnation is a lack of desire to pour into the future generations (Anderson, 2016). Many people call this period of one’s life the mid-life crisis, and it is the bud of many jokes, but this struggle can greatly alter a person’s mindset. I believe that the effect of one’s decision in this dilemma has greater effect, however, because many times these people have children, and I believe that the decision someone makes at this stage can affect their children as well. To study this stage of life, I decided to interview my mom, Saxon Reasons. Saxon stated that at this point in her life, a lot of people are starting to settle in, and they are seeing more wear and tear on their bodies, but she believes that an important part of staying happy is staying active and developing deep relationships, specifically with those younger than oneself. Erikson would believe that Saxon is facing this dilemma with the correct mindset of generativity, and because she is deciding to pour into future generations, she will not grow stagnant and depressed that she is no longer able to do as much as she used to be able to do. When a parent decides to pour into future generations instead of growing upset that their bodies are degenerating, it encourages their children to also not grow satisfied, and that can result in their children also seeking generativity over stagnation later in life.
My final interviewee was an older adult who Erikson (1993) would have expected to go through the struggle between integrity and despair. Integrity in this dilemma is the decision to have self-respect and look back on one’s past with pride, and despair is the decision to dread the coming death and be filled with regret (Anderson, 2016). Ira, my interviewee in this stage, stated in his interview that he found the greatest emotional challenge to people his age to be finding contentment in what they have achieved. He also found this aspect of life to be the greatest thing about his age because for those who have set themselves up well financially, they don’t have to worry about that as much. In this stage of life, there is less preparation for oneself and more introspection as well as time spent with younger people, and after these interviews, I have seen how crucial this input to the next generation can be.
Through this experiment, I not only learned about Erikson’s psychosocial theory, but I also developed a deeper appreciation for the influence of those older than us on our lives. I asked each of my interviewees, “What do you believe would be a great thing for you to achieve in the next ten years?” I wanted to see if they were already preparing themselves for the next dilemma that they were about to face. It turned out they were, and some of their answers were so spot on with what Erikson would consider that positive decision, that it was clear that each of my interviewees has watched their predecessors face these struggles and choose a wise path or possibly choose the wrong decision.
Two of the most profound responses to my question concerning the next ten years came from Elizabeth and Saxon. Elizabeth, a young adult, responded that she wanted to work directly with victims of human trafficking as a psychologist. Elizabeth was already looking out for how she was going to pour out into others, demonstrating generativity. The other striking response to this question came from my mom, Saxon, when she responded that she would like to find a new outlet for encouraging people of younger generations and generally live life to the full. I believe that this response comes from a foresight of knowing the next dilemma she will face will be one of integrity and despair, and she would like to have lived well to be able to have integrity and self-pride about what she has accomplished. Knowing my mother well, I know that this desire to pour into the next generation also comes from advice from her father who has spent his older adulthood ministering to those younger than him.
Erikson’s psychosocial theory has great implications not only in the way that we observe life, but it should also affect the way we live our life. As I was interviewing, I was inspired by some of the responses, as many were focused on ministering to others and putting others before oneself. I believe that this is how we can be truly content, and it leads us to make the right decisions based on Erikson’s psychosocial theory as well. When we are looking out for others more than ourselves, we do not seek isolation, generativity is our natural instinct, and we don’t have despair at the end of life because we can look back and see the result of our efforts in future generations.
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