Psychology: Eight Stages of Development.

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Psychology: Eight Stages of Development

Erik Erickson developed a theory that deals with eight stages of development, and covers the whole life span.  According to Erickson, the first sage is from birth to one year old, and is the time when you develop your basic trust, which he states is being the cornerstone of a healthy personality.  This trust or mistrust depends on the love and care you receive at this time.  The second stage, from the ages of one to three, is when you begin doing things for yourself and begin to make your own choices.  The third stage, age’s three to six, is when you being to plan and initiate activities and express the want to do things on your own.  You need to succeed at this stage of development, or you might develop guilt.  The fourth stage, from ages six to about 12 or 13, is when you take pride in being able to accomplish a task by yourself.  Parents might see this as you just making a mess or being mischievous and getting into things.  When this happens, and parents tell their children to stop, then the children begin to feel inferior, and that in turn will slow down their development in this area.

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        The fifth stage occurs during adolescence.  This is when you will start to establish your identity, and find a sense of self.  During my years of adolescence, I was unsure of who I was, or what I wanted to do with my life.  This in turn caused problems for me, when everyone around me seemed to have dreams and visions of their futures.  This stage for me took a while to accomplish.

Next, during young adulthood, this is the time when it is very important for you to establish a close relationship with another person.  This is the stage when ...

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