Erikson s Theory, Ego Integrity Versus Despair - 1209 Words

According to the psychoanalytic perspective, people move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. How these conflicts are resolved determines the person’s ability to learn, to get along with others, and cope with anxiety. Erik Erikson has been a very influential contributor to the psychoanalytic perspective (Berk, 2010). Erikson proposed that an individual moves through a series of stages which resolve in either positive or negative outcomes and determine healthy or maladaptive behavior. (Berk, 2010). The final psychological conflict in Erikson’s theory, ego integrity versus despair, involves coming to terms with one’s life. Adults who arrive at a sense of integrity†¦show more content†¦My second participant who has finished rearing her children does not have very close relationships with them, which encouraged me to determine that she might be headed toward the negative outcome of despair. The woman with grown children felt that a few of her children were not doing well for themselves, and she currently has full custody of one of her grandchildren. She felt defeated by her children’s negative outcomes, and hope was almost nonexistent. Despair occurs when an aging adult feels they have made many wrong decisions and there is no time left to choose another route (Berk, 2010). I think that since the childless woman did not experience the challenges of rearing unruly children she enjoyed healthy relationships with nieces and nephews, she displayed a more favorable psychological well-being. The childless woman seemed content while speaking about friendships, as she made great attempt to keep in touch with her lady friends, went on lunch dates, and even enjoyed having a pen pal, which allowed me to believe that she had reached integrity. A sign of integrity is reaping great benefits from friendship bonds and leisurely activities (Berk, 2010). My second participant did not acknowledge having special friendships and said that she did not have time for leisurely activities, she said that it was very difficult to form positive friendships because she has a hard time trusting people, more signs of despair. The childless womanShow MoreRelatedErik Erikson s Psychosocial Theory Essay1641 Words   |  7 PagesErik Erikson’s psychosocial theory states that we go through 8 developmental stages in life. Erikson states that these stages are necessary in the progression and development of human growth from infancy into adulthood. Each developmental stage presents a crisis that must be resolved during that stage for a healthy development. Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory outlines that we develop in psychosocial stages instead of psychosexual ones. I agree with Erikson because one might not get through theRead MoreErickson888 Words   |  4 PagesErikson s theory of personality Main article: Erikson s stages of psychosocial development Erikson was a Neo-Freudian. He has been described as an ego psychologist studying the stages of development, spanning the entire lifespan. Each of Erikson s stages of psychosocial development is marked by a conflict for which successful resolution will result in a favourable outcome, and by an important event that this conflict resolves itself around. Favorable outcomes of each stage are sometimesRead MoreErik Erikson s Psychosocial Development1629 Words   |  7 PagesReflection Paper #4 Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages theory suggests that people pass through eight distinctive developmental stages as they grow and change throughout their lives. Integrity versus despair is the eighth and final stage of Erikson’s stage theory of psychosocial development. This stage begins at approximately age 60 and ends at death. The crisis represented by this last life stage is integrity versus despair. Erikson proposed that this stage begins when the individual experiencesRead MoreErikson s Third Stage Of Life Essay1360 Words   |  6 PagesAlthough I am not the typical age (a young adult) in Erikson’s sixth stage of life (Intimacy versus Isolation) I feel I am currently stuck in this crisis. In the past couple of years I have made some major life changes, got out of what could be considered an abusive relationship, decided what â€Å"I want to be when I grow up† (an Occupational Therapist, OT) so applied and was accepted into the graduate program, h ave moved out of my parents after several years of being stalked feeling brave enough myRead MoreTheories And Theory Of Psychosocial Development Essay1255 Words   |  6 Pages 1 Theories Theorist Tiffany Leaf Walden University Dr. Thomas Russo RSCH – 61007-6 Research Theory Life is full of many experiences and challenges which help individuals to grow and become better people. There has been tons of research to better understand how and why humans develop and grow the way they do. Among the many theories and therapist in the field of psychology, I have chosen psychosexual and psychosocialRead More A Comparison Between Freud and Erikson Essay1955 Words   |  8 Pageshistory many theories have been used to attempt to explain the complex process. Two of those theorists, Freud and Erikson, were instrumental in creating a foundation for child-psychology to build on. From a Freudian perspective, human development is centered on psychosexual theory. Psychosexual theory indicates that maturation of the sex drives underlies stages of personality development. Alternatively, Erikson is considered a neo-freudian scholar who developed psychosocial theory. In Erikson models thereRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development969 Words   |  4 Pagesconstantly e xpanding. Erikson and Piaget are two of the ealier well known theorist, both being significant in the field. Their belief s are outlined in Piaget s Cognitive Development Theory and Erikson s Psychosocial Development Theory. These theories, both similar and different, have a certain significance as the stages are outlined.Erikson and Piaget were similar in their careers and made huge progressions in child development and education. With the same goals in my, their theories still had manyRead MoreErik Erikson s Theory Of Human Development Essay1750 Words   |  7 Pageseight stages of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of human development is a theory which describes different stages of a person’s life and the challenges which they must overcome in that specific stage (Arnett, 2016). There will be two interviews conducted with individuals that are in age groups ranging from early adulthood to middle adulthood and that are in different stages of Erikson’s theory. The interviews will be connected to the stages Erikson said they should be in according to their ageRead MoreErik Erikson s Theory Of Psychosocial Development1818 Words   |  8 Pagesinfluential theories in developmental psychology, which is Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. It is a very interesting theory, and although it was influenced by Sigmund Freud, it centers more on the social component rather than the psychosexual stand of Freud. According to Erikson, our personal development occurs as we interact daily with others and have new experiences that shape us throughout our lives. This paper will review the eight stages of the psychosocial theory: 1. TrustRead MoreEssay on The Psychoanalytic Perspective on Infant Development1350 Words   |  6 PagesSigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was the first to develop a theory of human development with a focus on unconscious processes and instincts. Freud believed unconscious conflicts in early childhood can determine who a person will be in adulthood. He also believed that the mind contains three parts known as the id, ego, and superego, which govern a person’s judgment (Frank, 2013). The id, which Freud believed to be present at birth, is viewed as the childlike part of the unconscious. It

Rwanda s Divided History Rwanda - 2233 Words

Rwanda’s Divided History Similar to the Apartheid in South Africa, the genocide in Rwanda was not a random event. It was instead the result of generations of discrimination and abuse based on ethnic groups. In the early 19th century during Rwanda’s colonial period, there already existed a divide between the elite Tutsi cattle herders and the majority of the population who were peasant farmers, known as Hutu.[i] In 1918, Rwanda came under Belgian control, â€Å"during which the ruling Belgians favored the minority Tutsis over the Hutus, exacerbating the tendency of the few to oppress the many.†[ii] In 1933, the Belgians then proceeded to institutionalize this system of discrimination by mandating ethnic ID cards, while still favoring the Tutsi†¦show more content†¦Later that year the Security Council also established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) to support the peace process but limited their involvement to peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and general s upport.[iv] Despite these attempts to create peace and ease rising tensions in the region, plans to exterminate Tutsis and moderate Hutus were already being created by the Hutu extremists and Interahamwe (militia), literally meaning â€Å"Those Who Attack Together.† Ultimately on April 6, 1994, following the plane crash killing the Presidents of Burundi and Rwanda, violence erupted across Rwanda as Hutus began to massacre Tutsis. Again the radio was instrumental in the coordination of attacks and encouraged Hutus to massacre Tutsis. RTLMC would often use coded language to communicate messages such as â€Å"go to work† which â€Å"everyone knew [that] meant get your machete and kill Tutsis.†[v] The radio that once featured pop music, disc jockeys, and phone-ins became a â€Å"powerful medium† in motivating Hutus to kill their fellow man. Despite efforts from the Belgian ambassador to shut down the broadcasts, they

The Changeling -Fate Essay Free Essays

The Changeling Essay Question – Choose a novel in which the fate of a main character is important in conveying the writers theme. Robin Jenkin’s downbeat meditation on the nature of pity, ‘The Changeling’ has a tragic ending; it emphasizes that the ‘Good Samaritan’ Charles Forbes fails to redeem the life of his pupil Tom Curdie. He sees himself as the boy’s saviour and makes the decision to take him on holiday, to show another side of life from the slum in which he grew up. We will write a custom essay sample on The Changeling -Fate Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Yet Tom’s stealing and strangeness set him apart from the family and finally the pain of the experience pushes him over the end. The opening chapter reveals that Charlie’s interest in Tom is self-righteous: At last he spoke, in his most pontifical tones: ‘Tell me, Curdie, have you ever seen the sea? ’ ‘Pontifical’ has overtones of pomposity, and suggests Forbes’ religious nature; the first meaning is supported by the headmaster’s opinion of Forbes as a ‘pompous bore’. It is ironic that a boy who has never seen the sea can write eloquently about it; and Forbes takes him on holiday in order to ‘improve’ him. Yet this decision is to lead to Tom’s suicide. In some ways, Tom is a character we should pity; however, in chapter three we learn that he is a strong character who lives by a matter-of-fact set of ‘principals’: Never to whine; to accept what came; to wait for better; to take what you could; to let no-one not even yourself know how near to giving in you were. One therefore has to ask – why would someone like this need Charlie’s help? It is only when he is taken away from Donaldson’s court that he feels the gulf between his circumstances and those of ‘decent’ people. When he tries o ‘take what you could’ to please them, the estrangement begins. The turning point of the novel is where Tom calls the Forbes family and introduces himself as ‘Tom Forbes’: ‘I mean, Tom Curdie,’ he said; but it was really that mythical person Tom Forbes, he still thought he was. At this point in the book, he is in a phone box with the hapless Peerie pressing his face up against the glass. It is as if Tom’s background is crowding round him as he tries vainly to keep contact with the ‘decent’ family who have given him a temporary home. However, the trouble with being a ‘mythical person’ is that one has to live in the real world. The distance between myth and reality is explored in one of the turning points of the novel, when Tom steals so that he can afford the brooch for Mrs Forbes. The chapter is seen through the eyes of Gillian, who sees a truth about Tom before anyone else: â€Å"She began to realise that this suit of armour, of calmness and patience, forged somehow in the dreadful slum where he had been born, must be heavy and painful to wear. † Yet she does not tell as she wants to avoid ruining the ‘presentation’; Gillian is torn between jealousy and pity towards Tom; her sympathy grows for him throughout the book and it is she who discovers him after his suicide. The ‘suit of armour’ continues the idea that he is a figure out of a myth who doesn’t belong in her world, which indicates that she feels the stirring of respect for him, even though he is a thief. Their relationship provides a note of optimism before the bleak climax. From her point of view, Tom has a kind of nobility, even when he strikes the tree in anguish: His face was hard and aloof, like a young Prince’s out of a story book. His hand red with blood was like an emblem of eerie distinction. These continue the idea that he is someone who doesn’t belong to the time in which he lives, with the allusions to being a Prince and wearing an ‘emblem’ he has won through pain and violence. This impossible dilemma is finally solved by Tom’s tragic end. Therefore I would argue that the book considers the suffering of others and asks what we can really do for them; it explores this theme through the fate of Tom. How to cite The Changeling -Fate Essay, Essay examples