Erickson’s stage of development

Discussion In this third module, we are discussing the human socialization process and how it influences our psychosocial development. After you have read the reading assignment and lecture for the module, please respond to all parts of the discussion by Saturday, December 7, 2013: 1. Identify and describe Erikson's stages of development as each applies to your own personality formation. How did success at one stage prepare you for meeting the next challenge? What do you anticipate for stages you have not yet reached? 2.As you progressed through each stage, how did the agents of socialization change as to their level of influence? For any stages you have not yet reached, which agent(s) do you predict will be the most influential? 3. Look in the Argosy University online library and the Internet for information on â€Å"feral children. † Explain why feral children are used as examples of young people for whom the socialization process has been stopped. Stage 1: Infancy†the challenge of trust (versus mistrust). Between birth and about eighteen months, infants face the first of life's challenges: to gain a sense of trust that heir world is a safe place.Family members play a key role in how any infant meets this challenge. I believe I was very well nurtured at this stage of my life. I have a very loving and caring family. I felt very comfortable with the ones who showed me the love I needed to blossom. Even at this early age I was ready for stage two. Stage 2: Toddlerhood†the challenge of autonomy (versus doubt and shame). The next challenge, up to age three, is to learn skills to cope with the world in a confident way. Failure to gain self-control leads children to doubt their abilities. My family never howed any doubts as to my abilities on any situation.Stage 3: Preschool†the challenge of initiative (versus guilt). Four- and five-year-olds must learn to engage their surroundings†including people outside the family†or experienc e guilt at having failed to meet the expectations of parents and others. At this stage of my life I did struggle at first. I was not sure how to interact with different people. My family always assured me that being myself would benefit me in the long run. I remember feeling guilty after making a project for my mother. I did not believe it turned out as ell as the others, which made me feel a little inferior to the rest.Again, my mother and family assured me all was well. Stage 4: Preadolescence†the challenge of industriousness (versus inferiority). Between ages six and thirteen, children enter school, make friends, and strike out on their own more and more. They either feel proud of their accomplishments or fear that they do not measure up. I guess at this stage of life I felt proud and yet fearful I did not measure up. Even though I was always proud I still felt like I had to be a chameleon and blend in with a variety of ifferent people. Stage 5: Adolescence†the challe nge of gaining identity (versus confusion).During the teen years, young people struggle to establish their own identity. In part, teens identify with others, but they also want to be unique. Almost all teens experience some confusion as they struggle to establish an identity. Through my teen years I was all over the place with my identity, I was a Jock, stoner, the losing end. I quit school because I loved to party with the stoners and whatever other crowd was partying. Stage 6: Young adulthood†the challenge of intimacy (versus isolation). The challenge for young adults is to form and keep intimate relationships with others.Making close friends (and especially, falling in love) involves balancing the need to bond with the need to have a separate identity. I struggled with this part of my life. You never know who your true friends are. Girlfriends came and went. I lived to party and didn't care about serious relationships. I became a father at 21 with my first of four. That did not slow me down at this stage either; I battled addiction and was not very reliable at all. The one who suffered the most was my daughter. So I was not really prepared to move on in ife. Stage 7: Middle adulthood†the challenge of making a difference (versus self- absorption).The challenge of middle age is to contribute to the lives of others in the family, at work, and in the larger world. Failing at this, people become self-centered, caught up in their own limited concerns. In this stage I started to see the light but still back peddled at times. I got married to the love of my life, had two beautiful girls with her. Things went well for a while but the old mike reared his ugly head causing mistrust and a lot of heartache and anguish in the house. I could not hold a Job. Partying became my life again. I sought help and rekindled the flame with the wife and then BAM, right back to the old ways.I had a son during a brief break up with the wife. This caused more strain and str ess. The story could go on and on. I finally got myself right, but it was too late. The people who loved me still loved me but would not trust me again. I am still doing very well at this point, going to school, working etc. Stage 8: Old age†the challenge of integrity (versus despair). Near the end of their lives, people hope to look back on what they have accomplished with a sense of integrity and satisfaction. For those who have been self-absorbed, old age brings only a sense of despair over missed opportunities.My anticipation at this point for this stage is too Just continue doing what I am doing and complete everything I start. Will I be a success? Who knows, only time will tell. A feral child is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and has no (or little) experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language. Some feral children have been confined in isolation by other people, usually their own par ents. In some cases, this child bandonment was due to the parents rejecting a child's severe intellectual or physical impairment.Feral children may have experienced severe child abuse or trauma before being abandoned or running away. Depictions of Feral Children Myths, legends, and fictional stories have depicted feral children reared by wild animals such as wolves and bears. Legendary and fictional feral children are often depicted as growing up with relatively normal human intelligence and skills and an innate sense of culture or civilization, coupled with a healthy dose of survival instincts. Their integration into human society is also made to seem relatively easy.These mythical children are often depicted as having superior strength, intelligence, upbringing they represent humanity in a pure and uncorrupted state, similar to the noble savage. Feral Children in Reality In reality, feral children lack the basic social skills that are normally learned in the process of enculturati on. For example, they may be unable to learn to use a toilet, have trouble learning to walk upright, and display a complete lack of interest in the human activity around them. They often seem mentally impaired and have almost insurmountable trouble learning human language.The impaired ability to learn anguage after having been isolated for so many years is often attributed to the existence of a critical period for language learning at an early age, and is taken as evidence in favor of the critical period hypothesis. It is theorized that if language is not developed, at least to a degree, during this critical period, a child can never reach his or her full language potential. The fact that feral children lack these abilities pinpoints the role of socialization in human development. https:// www. boundless. com/sociology/understanding-socialization/the-role-of-socialization/ feral-children/