Stages of Development
The Patterns of Life
“When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.” - Patrick Rothus. Life is full of twists and turns, highs and lows, hopes and dreams. The beginning of life starts in pure innocence, with every individual trying to figure out who can be trusted and how the world functions. Life concludes with memories of all one has experienced, along with feelings of pride in what has been accomplished and regrets at what has slipped by. Growing up, however, is done in a series of stages. Each stage of life is filled with relationships, new experiences, issues, and challenges. In order to move into the next stage of life, it is vital for individuals to accomplish certain tasks and attain different points of view through the information that is gained. Every human being is made uniquely in the image of God; however, in order to examine and determine whether something is wrong, or abnormal, there must be a set standard of normality to compare individuals to. Throughout the years, there have been many theorists with philosophies on how to determine the growth and development of the human race in relation to the cycles of life one embarks on. One theorist who made a significant contribution to this branch of Developmental Psychology was Erik Erikson. Through his work of the Development to Theory, he was able to change people’s view on the aging process. Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages encountered by humans throughout life. These stages were known as crises and are based on age, physical and sexual development, and how long it takes the individual to navigate through each stage (Brown, 2008). The eight crises that humans undergo throughout their psychosocial life cycle are: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role
“When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.” - Patrick Rothus. Life is full of twists and turns, highs and lows, hopes and dreams. The beginning of life starts in pure innocence, with every individual trying to figure out who can be trusted and how the world functions. Life concludes with memories of all one has experienced, along with feelings of pride in what has been accomplished and regrets at what has slipped by. Growing up, however, is done in a series of stages. Each stage of life is filled with relationships, new experiences, issues, and challenges. In order to move into the next stage of life, it is vital for individuals to accomplish certain tasks and attain different points of view through the information that is gained. Every human being is made uniquely in the image of God; however, in order to examine and determine whether something is wrong, or abnormal, there must be a set standard of normality to compare individuals to. Throughout the years, there have been many theorists with philosophies on how to determine the growth and development of the human race in relation to the cycles of life one embarks on. One theorist who made a significant contribution to this branch of Developmental Psychology was Erik Erikson. Through his work of the Development to Theory, he was able to change people’s view on the aging process. Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages encountered by humans throughout life. These stages were known as crises and are based on age, physical and sexual development, and how long it takes the individual to navigate through each stage (Brown, 2008). The eight crises that humans undergo throughout their psychosocial life cycle are: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role
References: Brown, Carol. Developmental psychology. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2008. Print. Craven, Ruth F., and Constance J. Hirnle. Fundamentals of nursing: human health and function. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007. Print. Prescott, Zachary. "Robert Havighurst: Developmental Theorists." ezrana. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. . The Holy Bible containing the Old Testament and the New Newly translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compar 'd & revised by His Mats special command appointed to be read in churches[.].. Oxon: Printed by Thomas Baskett printer to the University, 1750. Print.