(To direct behaviour
outward or be
retentive. Of course
very Freudian...)
progression through this period. The significance of parental reaction is
not limited to bottoms and pooh - it concerns all aspects of toddler
exploration and discovery while small children struggle to find their
feet - almost literally - as little people in their own right. The 'terrible
twos' and 'toddler tantrums' are a couple of obvious analogies which
represent these internal struggles and parental battles. The parental
balancing act is a challenging one, especially since parents themselves
are having to deal with their own particular psychosocial crisis, and of
course deal with the influence of their own emotional triggers which
were conditioned when they themselves passed through earlier
formative crisis stages. What are the odds that whenever a parent
berates a child, "That's dirty.." it will be an echo from their own past
experience at this very stage?
3. Initiative v Guilt
'To make (= going
after)'
'To "make like" (=
playing)'
(To make and
complete things, and
to make things
together. To pursue
ideas, plans)
Initiative is the capability to devise actions or projects, and a
confidence and belief that it is okay to do so, even with a risk of failure
or making mistakes. Guilt means what it says, and in this context is the
feeling that it is wrong or inappropriate to instigate something of one's
own design. Guilt results from being admonished or believing that
something is wrong or likely to attract disapproval. Initiative flourishes
when adventure and game-playing is encouraged, irrespective of how
daft and silly it seems to the grown-up in charge. Suppressing
adventure and experimentation, or preventing young children doing
things for themselves because of time, mess or a bit of risk will inhibit
the development of confidence to initiate, replacing it instead with an
unhelpful fear of being wrong or unapproved. The fear of being
admonished or accused of being stupid becomes a part of the
personality. "If I don't initiate or stick my neck out I'll be safe.." (from
feeling guilty and bad). Parents, carers and older siblings have a
challenge to get the balance right between giving young children
enough space and encouragement so as to foster a sense of purpose and
confidence, but to protect against danger, and also to enable a sensible
exposure to trail and error, and to the consequences of mistakes,
without which an irresponsible or reckless tendency can develop.
This crisis stage correlates with Freud's psychosexual Phallic stage,
characterised by a perfectly natural interest in genitals, where babies
come from, and as Freud asserted, an attachment to the opposite sex
parent, and the murky mysteries of the Oedipus Complex, Penis Envy
and Castration Anxiety, about which further explanation and
understanding is not critical to appreciating Erikson's theory.
What's more essential is to recognise that children of this age are not
wicked or bad or naughty, they are exploring and
4. Industry v
Industry here refers to purposeful or meaningful activity. It's the
Inferiority
'To make (= going
after)'
'To "make like" and
complete things, and
to make things
together'
(To initiate projects
or ideas, and to
collaborate and
cooperate with others
to produce
something.)
development of competence and skills, and a confidence to use a
'method', and is a crucial aspect of school years experience. Erikson
described this stage as a sort of 'entrance to life'. This correlates with
Freud's psychosexual Latency stage, when sexual motives and concerns
are largely repressed while the young person concentrates on work and
skills development. A child who experiences the satisfaction of
achievement - of anything positive - will move towards successful
negotiation of this crisis stage. A child who experiences failure at
school tasks and work, or worse still who is denied the opportunity to
discover and develop their own capabilities and strengths and unique
potential, quite naturally is prone to feeling inferior and useless.
Engaging with others and using tools or technology are also important
aspects of this stage. It is like a rehearsal for being productive and
being valued at work in later life. Inferiority is feeling useless; unable
to contribute, unable to cooperate or work in a team to create
something, with the low self-esteem that accompanies such feelings.
Erikson knew this over fifty years ago. How is it that the people in
charge of children's education still fail to realise this? Develop the child
from within. Help them to find and excel at what they are naturally
good at, and then they will achieve the sense of purpose and industry
on which everything else can then be built.
5. Identity v Role
Confusion
'To be oneself (or not
to be)'
'To share being
oneself'
(To be yourself and to
share this with others.
Affirmation or
otherwise of how you
see yourself.)
Identity means essentially how a person sees themselves in relation to
their world. It's a sense of self or individuality in
the context of life and
what lies ahead. Role Confusion is the negative perspective - an
absence of identity - meaning that the person cannot see clearly or at all
who they are and how they can relate positively with their
environment. This stage coincides with puberty or adolescence, and the
reawakening of the sexual urge whose dormancy typically characterises
the previous stage.
Young people struggle to belong and to be accepted and affirmed, and
yet also to become individuals. In itself this is a big dilemma, aside
from all the other distractions and confusions experienced at this life
stage.
Erikson later replaced the term 'Role Confusion' with 'Identity
Diffusion'. In essence they mean the same.
6. Intimacy v
Isolation
'To lose and find
oneself in another'
Intimacy means the process of achieving relationships with family and
marital or mating partner(s). Erikson explained this stage also in terms
of sexual mutuality - the giving and receiving of physical and
emotional connection, support, love, comfort, trust, and all the other
elements that we would typically associate with healthy adult
relationships conducive to mating and child-rearing. There is a strong