Erikson believes that the childhood stages are extremely important in the overall development of a person , his theory comprises of 5 childhood stages and 3 adult stages from a total of 8.
Stage Years Conflict
Infancy 0-1 Trust V Mistrust
Toddlerhood 1-3 Autonomy V Shame/Doubt
Pre-school 4-5 Initiative …show more content…
It is said that this is the period where a child will develop a level of independence through positive support and encouragement from parental figures, leading to a sense of confidence in life. If the child isn’t supported and encouraged at this stage then shame and doubt will develop into a normal response to life’s events. Erikson also describes that development of willpower and self-control will come from a positive resolution of this conflict stage. From my understanding of Ronnie’s life experiences in the infancy stage, I can presume that again, his development in this stage was poor, that he received little to no positive support and encouragement from his parents who were involved in a chaotic life. This would explain the feelings of shame that Ronnie developed in school, he recognised he was different from his peers because of the attention and affection they received from their parents, unlike his own …show more content…
It is suggested that this develops a feeling of guilt for any thoughts of instigating an idea of their own. Ultimately this supresses any important adventure or exploration in life development – leading to a poor outcome in future life development stages.
Ronnie never gained any qualifications at school. I presume that this is due to the conflict of Initiative V Guilt not being addressed during the pre-school stage. Ronnie has been exposed to a lack of encouragement in his life to this point, he presumably wants to avoid any feelings of failure or embarrassment which he may have suffered previously, leading to the avoidance of any academic capabilities in school. The case study describes how he had never made any plans or thought about his future, this leading from lack of purpose and direction which is a direct symptom of the non-resolution of the