Stage model of psychosocial development

The step model of psychosocial development is a developmental psychological model of the psychoanalyst Erik H. Erikson (1902-1994) and his wife and spiritual companion Joan Erikson (1903-1997).

In this step model, Erikson describes the psychosocial development of humans. This unfolds in the area of ​​tension between the needs and desires of the child as an individual and the constantly changing demands of the social environment in the course of development.

Erikson's development theory assigns the relationships or the interaction of the child with his personal (and objective) environment an essential role for psychological development. Compared to Freud's model, he gives the unconscious of the psychosexual dimension less space. Erikson thus expanded psychoanalysis on the basis of the Freudian phases of infantile instinct development to include the psychological dimension of ego and identity development throughout life.

The eight stages

Each of the eight levels represents a crisis that the individual is actively dealing with . The sequence of steps is irreversible for Erikson. Successful mastering of a development stage lies in resolving the conflict on the positive pole. It is not absolutely necessary for coping with the next phase, but it is helpful. The previous phases thus form the foundation for the next phases, and accumulated experience is used to deal with the crises of older people. A conflict is never completely resolved, but remains topical for a lifetime, but was also present as a problem before the respective stage. For development, it is necessary that it is sufficiently processed at a certain level so that the next level can be successfully mastered.

Stage 1: basic trust vs. Basic distrust (1st year of life)

"I am what I am given."

The feeling of primal trust referred Erikson (1973) as a "feeling of self-abandonment-are they allowed" (ibid: 62). For this, the child is dependent on the reliability of the caregiver. The bond with the mother and the associated food intake play an important role, as she represents the world as the first caregiver. If the child is denied demands for physical closeness, security, security, food, etc., it will develop feelings of threat and fear (e.g. of fire or certain animals), since it is vital to meet these needs to a large extent. It also internalizes the feeling of not being able to influence its environment and of being helplessly at its mercy. Here there is a risk of a basic distrust being established. Infantile fears of “being left empty” and “being abandoned” can arise (ibid.). Fixation due to excessive oral frustration is shown in oral character traits such as thirst for stimulation, greed, feelings of emptiness, depression, primal mistrust, strong addiction desires.

Stage 2: autonomy vs. Shame and doubt (1st to 3rd year of life)

"I am what I want."

Erikson describes this stage as "decisive for the relationship between love and hate, willingness and defiance, free self-expression and depression". The child's increasing development of autonomy and its importance for the manifestation of a positive self-concept or identity are described. The condition for autonomy is rooted in a firm trust in the caregiver and in oneself, so it presupposes the mastering of the phase “trust versus mistrust” (cf. stage 1). The child must have the feeling of being able to explore or get his way through without endangering the "treasure" of trust and security he has acquired. According to Erikson, the emotion of shame plays an important role here. The extensive or permanent restriction of the child's exploratory behavior leads to the fact that he perceives his needs and desires as dirty and unacceptable. What is established in the child is ultimately shame and doubts about the correctness of their own desires and needs. Fixations result from strict upbringing and show up in compulsive character traits: petty or stingy about love, time and money; Emphasis on law and order, punctuality and diligence; perfectionist claims; precocious strict conscience, very self-critical; Uncertainty and doubt about oneself; Compulsory cleaning or washing compulsory.

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Feeling guilty (4th to 5th year of life)

"I am what I can imagine becoming."

According to Erikson, if the child does not find a permanent solution to their autonomy problems at the age of four or five, they are already facing the next crisis. Here he focuses heavily on coping or not coping with the “ Oedipus complex ”. The symbiotic relationship between mother and child opens and the child realizes the importance of other people in the mother's life. First and foremost, it is about a healthy mastery of the child's moral development. The foundation for the development of conscience has been laid, the child feels ashamed and uncomfortable regardless of the discovery of his "wrongdoings". “But from a mental health standpoint, we must point out that this great achievement must not be overwhelmed by overzealous adults; this could be bad for both the mind and morality itself. Because the child's conscience can become primitive, cruel and rigid, as can be observed in the example of children who had to come to terms with a constriction of their instincts through prohibitions. If necessary, the child internalizes the conviction that he himself and his needs are inherently bad. ”In return, Erikson describes the child, who can cope with this crisis, as accompanied by the feeling of“ unbroken initiative as the basis of a high-tension yet realistic pursuit Performance and independence ”(ibid: 87f). Fixations can arise through fear and feelings of guilt, which then lead to a self-restriction to live according to one's own abilities, feelings, and desires. There can also be overcompensation for constantly having to be proactive, as if your value only lies in your own performance. Guilt complexes, over-conscientiousness and hysterical symptoms can also arise here.

Stage 4: factory sense vs. Feeling of inferiority (6 years of age to puberty)

"I am what I learn."

Children of this age want to watch, observe, participate and participate; they want to be shown how to do something and work with others. Erikson describes the child's need to do something useful and good as a sense of skill or competence. Children no longer want to “pretend” - now the feeling of being able to participate in the adult world plays a major role. They want to make something (e.g. with modeling clay ) and receive recognition for it, as well as for their cognitive performance. In this phase, the child can develop a feeling of inadequacy and inferiority, for example if the child's sense of work is overused. Overestimation - regardless of whether it comes from the child or his environment - can lead to failure, underestimation to a feeling of inferiority . Fixations can arise: on the one hand, fears (fear of working and performing, fear of failure) and, on the other hand, overcompensation (obsession with work and duty in order to receive recognition through work and performance).

Stage 5: I-identity vs. I-identity diffusion (adolescence)

"I am what I am."

Identity means knowing who you are and how you fit into this society . The young person's task is to put together all of their knowledge about themselves and the world and to form a self-image that is good for them and the community . It is important to find its social role . If a role is too strict and the identity is too strong, this can lead to intolerance towards people with other group inclinations, who then basically have to be "eliminated" because the pressure from one's own peer group becomes too great and "the other [ Strangers] ”cannot accept. With a not yet established own identity, the young person can in the rarest of cases distance himself from the opinion of his peer group and form his own opinion. If young people fail to find their role in society and their identity, this leads to rejection, according to Erikson. People with this tendency withdraw from society and may join groups that offer them a common identity. If this conflict is successfully balanced, it leads to the ability to be faithful . Although society is not perfect, one can live in it and do one's part to improve it. (The same applies to interpersonal relationships.) Fixations show in unsatisfactory identity through restlessness, eternal puberty, and hasty enthusiasm.

Stage 6: intimacy and solidarity vs. Isolation (early adulthood)

"We are what we love."

The task at this stage of development is to achieve a certain level of intimacy instead of remaining isolated. The identities are established and there are two independent egos facing each other. There are many things in modern life that stand in the way of building intimacy (e.g. career emphasis, metropolitan life, increasing mobility ). If too little value is placed on building intimate relationships (which also includes friends etc.), this can lead to exclusivity, according to Erikson, which means isolating oneself from friendships , love and communities. If this stage is successfully mastered, the young adult is capable of love . Erikson means the ability to let differences and contradictions take a back seat. Fixations can show up in: self-relatedness and social isolation; Self-sacrifice and merging with others.

Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation and self-absorption (adulthood)

"I am what I am ready to give."

Generativity means to carry love into the future, to take care of future generations, to raise your own children. Erikson is not only about fathering and caring for children, he also includes teaching , the arts and sciences, and social engagement . So everything that could be "useful" for future generations. Stagnation is the opposite of generativity: taking care of yourself and no one else. Too much generativity means that you neglect yourself for the benefit of others. Stagnation leads to others rejecting us and us others. Nobody is as important as we are. If the phase is successfully completed, one has acquired the ability to care without losing sight of oneself. Fixations can show up: in excessive mothering, in emptiness and boredom or in interpersonal impoverishment.

Stage 8: I Integrity vs. Desperation (mature adulthood)

"I am what I have appropriated."

The last phase of life confronts people with the task of looking back on their life. To accept what he has done and become and not to fear death as his end. Fear of death or the belief that you will have to live again, for example to do it better, lead to despair . If the person does not deal with old age and death in this phase (and does not feel the despair in doing so), this can lead to presumptuousness and contempt for life (one's own and that of everyone). However, if this phase is successfully mastered, a person will attain what Erikson calls wisdom - facing death without fear , accepting his life and still being able to see the mistakes and happiness in it. Fixation shows itself in disgust for oneself and other people or unconscious fear of death.

History and reception

In his work, Erik H. Erikson tried above all to expand the classical framework of interpretation of psychoanalysis - the psychosexual life story - to include the psychosocial and psychohistorical dimensions. This effort took place in the context of the development of psychoanalytic ego psychology .

The first version of the step model according to Erikson was published in 1950 in the book Childhood and Society under the name " Symposium of the Healthy Personality " ("Growth and crises of the healthy personality"). Initially, the model was headed “The eight phases of man”, in a later version with “Epigenesis of Identity”.

Erikson's phase theory of psychosocial development was received intensively from the perspective of the 5th level, the conflict between identity and confusion of identity. Pedagogy and sociology in particular have taken up and discussed the identity approach . The empirical operationalization of Erikson's concept of identity by James E. Marcia is pioneering in developmental psychology . However, Marcia focuses on processes of identity construction , which come about on the basis of individual decisions in that someone deals with who and what he wants to be . Marcia emphasizes the importance of two pillars of identity formation and construction: exploration and commitment . Exploring possible identities requires cultural capital. Insufficient exploration leads to identity foreclosure . H. to the premature exclusion of identity patterns, to a low durability of the chosen identity and thus to later crises. A lack of commitment (obligation to a certain identity) leads to identity diffusion , postponed commitment to the status of the moratorium . Marcia describes successful identification as achievement .

Classical psychoanalysis largely ignored Erikson's approach until the 1990s, both because of its delimitation from the Freudian model and because of the fuzziness of the concept of identity. Only since then have there been approaches to bring identity approaches, ego and self psychology into exchange. An exception is the work of the psychoanalyst Arno Gruen , who has made Erikson's concept of autonomy the focus of his therapeutic and cultural-critical reflections on the development of the self since the late 1960s.

Lothar Krappmann , who himself contributed to the popularity of Erikson's identity theory in Germany, questioned the validity of the model in view of postmodern living conditions. These conditions jeopardized the success of Erikson's central concern for identity and continuity. Furthermore, Krappmann questioned Erikson's thesis about the social careers on which young people can enter a collective future and trust in continuity. This development is nostalgic in view of the dissolution of traditional roles, the change in values ​​and the individualization of living conditions. The release of the individual from the traditional context of life, the “disentanglement” ( Anthony Giddens ) and the delimitation of space and time led to the formation of identity becoming a problem; it imposes a constant, unstructured "reflection burden" on the individual ( Niklas Luhmann ), which is often too much for him.

In his popular publications, Michael Winterhoff follows on from the Erikson model and sees the cause of the increase in child development disorders diagnosed by him largely in deficits in the upbringing by the parents (renunciation of upbringing) or in their personality disorders caused by changed social conditions.

See also

• Ego development
• Kohlberg's theory of moral development

literature

• Erik H. Erikson (1959): Identity and the Life Cycle. New York: International Universities Press.
  • Translation: identity and life cycle. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, ​​1966, pp. 55–123.
• Erik H. Erikson (1968): Identity, Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.
  • Translation: Youth and Crisis. Stuttgart: Klett, 1970.
• Gail Sheehy (1976): Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life. New York: EP Dutton.
• Richard Stevens (1983): Erik Erikson: An Introduction. New York: St. Martin's.
• Werner Bohleber (1992): Identity and Self. The importance of recent developmental research for the psychoanalytic theory of the self. In: Psyche , vol. 46, pp. 336–365.
• James E. Marcia et al. (1993): Ego identity. A handbook for psychosocial research. New York: Springer.
• Juliane Noack (2005): Erik H. Eriksons Identity Theory. Oberhausen: Athena.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Erikson, Erik H. (1993) [1950]: Childhood and Society . New York, NY: WW Norton & Company. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-393-31068-9 .
2. ↑ James E. Marcia: Development and validation of ego identity status. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 5 (1966), pp. 551-558.
3. ↑ James Marcia: Identity and Self-Development. In Richard Lerner, Anne Peterson, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Adolescence , Vol. 1). New York: Garland 1991.
4. ↑ Cf. Arno Gruen: The betrayal of the self . Munich (dtv) 1986, foreword by Gaetano Benedetti , pp. 7–9.
5. ^ Lothar Krappmann: The identity problem according to Erikson from an interactionist point of view. In: Heiner Keupp , Renate Höfer (Hrsg.): Identity work today: Classic and current perspectives of identity research. Frankfurt 1997, pp. 66-92.
6. ↑ Anthony Giddens: Consequences of Modernity. Frankfurt 1995.
7. ↑ N. Luhmann: The social differentiation and the individual , in: Ders .: Sociological Enlightenment. Volume 6. Opladen 1995, pp. 15-141, here: p. 132.
8. ↑ Michael Winterhoff: Why our children become tyrants. Or: the abolition of childhood. Gütersloh 2008.