Development is defined as the movement from one situation to another. Change is understood to have a permanent impact. One of the most significant ways of explaining the idea of development is through the fact that people undergo various development stages. People make systematic headway in a specific order through several phases. Step by step they reach certain adult status. This change can be observed through involvement of advancements in physical and intellectual powers. People undergo changes in expertise, intelligence and reasoning ability (Sigelman, & Rider, 2011).
In this case, we will consider Erik Erikson and how he developed to maturity. This will mainly focus on the cognitive development for the individual. Like any other child, Erik was exposed to various factors that would have influenced his behavior and social wellbeing of the individual. He is a summary of the fact that once an individual is born in an environment with people of a certain character, he is likely to tap traits of the society surrounding him.
Erik Erikson was born in 1902 in Germany. His parents had separated before he was born, making Erik be brought up of his mother only. This was a truly vital stage in the growth of Erik. As a boy child, he lacked the fatherly presence, which would have assisted him developing more as a young man. It is at this point that the environment is said to impact the development of an individual. Erik did not have a father from whom he could have inherited social traits as a young man. As a result of leaving with his mother for the best part of his childhood, he copied most of his cognitive traits from his mother. When he got of age, Erik discovered that his real father had abandoned him and the mother before his birth. This developed massive confusion in Erik exposing him to massive pain and mental torture (Sigelman, & Rider, 2011).
This was a stage for his emotional rupture. He felt abandoned and neglected by his real father. This developed massive pain in him and was hard for him to forgive his father if he ever met him. This experience exposed Erik to the need of development of a theory on identity, which would aid young people in discovering whom they are.
In his early age, Erik went to school. This means that he was exposed to adverse social elements, which would have assisted him in his cognitive development. In school, he was exposed to different types of children who had variant social and cognitive behaviors (Sigelman, & Rider, 2011). This means that he would learn different behaviors. The traits he gathered from school were different from what he was taught in the family. It is at school that he learnt of his career. He developed an interest in understanding human psychology, which has formed the success of his career.
During his career, he met his wife Joan Serson who also played a critical role in the development of Erik. As a family man, he was exposed to more responsibilities, which were lesson-filled leading to extensive growth of the individual.
Psychological development is the real definition for personality development. This may be mainly explained by application of theories that influence cognitive development. There are several theories, which may be used to define the development of individuals (Welchman, 2000). Erik Erikson has also been through different phases of development, which are defined in the given theories.
Mischel’s theory of personality is one of the main theories that define how people undergo change and settle on certain behaviors. According to Mischel, certain actions of individuals in given situations are dependent of the characteristics of the situation and how they undertake these situations. Mischel argued that individuals will behave consistently on certain situations only if consistent actions may lead to similar consequences (Engler, 2009).
Erik was brought up by his mother in his early childhood. The exposure to birth and growth under one parent exposed him to serious psychological development. He could not have avoided being confined to the situation and adopt the traits that went along with the situations (Welchman, 2000). This theory defines why he developed the theory of identity.
The theory has also been able to define how Erik was in a position to develop his relationship in school and influence the direction of his career. The theory defines competencies, cognitive strategies, expectancies, subjective values and self-regulatory systems and plans as its main variables. In school, Erik was a competent student who inspired other students to hard work. As the theory defines, Erik was unique in his how he conducted himself. He was able to coin challenges into opportunities. Erik was very keen in choosing his career (Welchman, 2000). He did so under independent mind. As a psychologist, Erik had to make right choices that would influence his role as a reliable psychologist in the society.
The second personality theory that is very applicable in the development of Erik Erikson is the Big Five personality theory. This theory aims at defining why people respond differently to similar situations. This theory is built on five main traits which include openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Engler, 2009). Each of these traits has unique definition on how Erik has developed to the current status.
Openness defines the thirst of an individual to learn new things from time to time (Engler, 2009). Erik is an innovative individual who would like to learn new things from time to time. It is through openness that he developed the theory of identity.
Conscientiousness is proper definition of Erik. He was an organized individual. At school, he was able to define his goals accordingly as well as determine his career at his early age.
Erik was full of extraversion. This means that he was a social individual who was able to extract massive information from his interaction with other people in the society (Engler, 2009). Through his willingness to learn, Erik would talk to different people, who have brought him up as a resourceful psychologist.
As a psychologist the trait of agreeableness clearly defines Erik. He was a friendly, cooperative, and compassionate. He was a kind, sympathetic, and affectionate psychologist (Engler, 2009). He was of massive assistance to the psychology fraternity.
Emotional stability also referred to as the neuroticism is a definition of the traits that Erik stood for in his lifetime. This trait defines the emotional stability that was exposed by Erik Erikson.
The Big Five personality theory has a concrete definition of Erik Erikson. Through the theory traits, the life of Erik and different transformations that he has undergone has been defined. Erik was born of a challenging environment of his single mother. This did not deter him from becoming a competent individual in the society. He was open to changes and through proper integration of conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, the theory defines Erik Erikson as a fully developed being (Engler, 2009).
Psychological development is very crucial in the growth of a human being. It is usually determined by hereditary and environmental factors. However, personal choices also have massive impacts on how one develops to maturity. Theoretical approach may also give clear outline on how one develops to maturity.
References
Engler, B. (2009). Personality theories: an introduction (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Sigelman, C. K., & Rider, E. A. (2011). Life span human development (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Welchman, K. (2000). Erik Erikson: his life, work, and significance. Buckingham: Open University Press.
