Personal Portrait

Personal Portrait

Introduction

Each person deals with different conflicts according to the stage in which they are. Erikson's theory was based on biological maturation and societal expectation. Both of these aspects create a crisis that has to be solved in order to progress to the next one. Both Freud and Erikson agree that every individual is born with a number of basic instincts, that development occurs through stages, and that the order of these stages is influenced by biological maturation.

Biological maturation refers to the biological changes that occur in our body during a certain time in life; as an example the segregation of hormones in puberty or the ability to walk in childhood. Social expectation refers to the new aspect added by Erikson in which he mentions that our developed is also influenced by what the people expect from us in our culture. Social expectation limits the behavior of an individual; for example an adult is expected to behave properly in public places. The crisis created by these two aspects is called life crisis. Erikson suggested that in order to pass from one stage into the next stage successfully, one must resolve the crisis or conflict within that stage (Sheehy, 1996). Each of Erikson's eight stages is represented as a pairing of the most positive and the most negative aspects of the crisis of that period. Each crisis is never resolved completely, but must be done sufficiently so that we will be equipped to deal with demands made during the following stage of developmental life crisis is the crisis that has to be solved in a specific time of life.

Discussion

I am going through the stage called "competence vs. inferiority. In this stage the life crisis has to do with self esteem. This stage is important because the child acquires the necessary skills to perform well in society. The danger of this stage is the inferiority that a child may gain if I feel that my work is not good enough. the main concern of my life is to be a good student which is the preparation for the future. I am also aware of the importance of helping at home. This period of times gives the child more independence because we spends most of the time at school and not with his parents. Biological maturation at this age doesn't play an important role. According to Freud, there is no sexual zone for this stage. We can mention though, that the child still has its limits because of his size. The societal expectations for this boy are clear since the stage is very well defined. I am mostly responsible to learn, to go to school and give my best. I am also responsible for the organization of my room and even for the care of his little brother. Freud mentioned that jealously can become a problem in this age; however this is not the case.

The participants showed some similarities in the way they affronted his/her ...