Erikson and Freud are two of the few theorists who have developed a lifespan approach to development. Freud’s approach to development was psychosexual while Erikson’s was psychosocial. Even though Freud’s theory is better known, Erikson’s theory remains a leading and very much applied model in personality and developmental psychology today.
When considering these two stage-oriented theories, you can directly compare the majority of their stages. These are matched in the following table:
| Approximate Age | Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development | Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial development |
| Infancy (Birth to 1 year) | Oral stage | Trust versus mistrust |
| Early childhood (1–3 years) | Anal stage | Autonomy versus doubt |
| Preschool (3–6 years) | Phallic stage | Initiative versus guilt |
| School age (7–11 years) | Latent period | Industry versus inferiority |
| Adolescence (12–18 years) | Genital stage | Identity versus role confusion |
| Young adulthood (19–40 years) | Intimacy versus isolation | |
| Middle adulthood (40–65 years) | Generativity versus stagnation | |
| Older adulthood (65–death) | Integrity versus despair |
When considering Erikson’s eight stages of development, the way a person moves through each stage directly affects their success in the next stage. Their personality is being built and shaped with each stage. At each stage, there is a turning point, called a crisis by Erikson, which a person must confront.
In this assignment, you will observe or interview two different people, each at a different stage of development. For a third observation, take a look at yourself and the stage that you are in (this stage must be different from your other two observations).
- Record your three observations in a template. Include the following information:
- Name
- Age
- Gender
- Current developmental stage
- Status within the stage (i.e., identity achievement or role confusion)
- Events that have lead to this status
Download a Development Template from the Doc Sharing area to record your observations.
- Summarize what you have learned about psychosocial development through these observations/interviews.
- Summarize the trends you see in your observations/interviews regarding psychosocial development.
- How does movement through Erikson’s stages influence personality development? Again, be specific.
- How do Erikson’s stages of development compare to Freud’s stages? How are they similar? How are they different?
- Between these two theories, which one do you feel best explains your own personality development? Justify your answers with specific examples.
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