TYPICAL RESPONSE TO ILLNESS ACCORDING TO ERIKSON:

INFANCY PHYSIOLOGICAL IRRITATION, FEAR OF ENVIRONMENT

TODDLER FEAR OF THREATS TO THE BODY & PAINFUL PROCEDURES,
STRESS OF SEPARATION FROM MOTHER
EARLY CHILDHOOD EQUATION OF ILLNESS WITH BEING BAD, GUILT
MIDDLE CHILDHOOD ANGER OVER RESTRICTIONS DUE TO ILLNESS, GUILT
OVER CAUSING FAMILY CRISIS
ADOLESCENCE ANGER OVER DEPENDENCY DUE TO ILLNESS
YOUNG ADULTHOOD FEAR OF POSSIBLE CHANGE IN THE INTIMACY
RELATIONSHIP, DEPRESSION OVER THE INTERRUPTION OF PLANS
MIDDLE YEARS DEPRESSION OVER THE INTERRUPTION OF WORK &
SEPARATION FROM FAMILY
LATER YEARS FEELINGS OF NO LONGER USEFUL, FEAR OF THREAT TO LIFE,
DESPAIR

A. Conduct a developmental analysis of your own life by creating a

developmental autobiography. Be creative in your approach. However,
regardless of the style, it is important that you divide your activity into
two phases. In phase I, do some background work; attempt to discover
information about your past development. Do not exclude seemingly
insignificant or trivial happenings in your life. In Phase II, use your
background research to construct an autobiography. Be as
comprehensive or as focus as you want.
B. Factual chronology- use this to assemble facts of your life. You may
begin with your birth but you could also include information about your
conception & prenatal development. From birth onward, record
important facts from each stage of your physical, cognitive &
psychosocial development. A partial listing might include answers to
the following questions:
a. What were the conditions of your mothers pregnancy?
b. What were your vital statistics at birth?
c. Were you aneasy or difficult baby?
d. Were you breast- or bottle-fed?
e. When were you weaned, toilet trained, etc?
f. When did you sit up, crawl, walk, talk, etc?
g. What childhood illnesses did you have, & when did you have them?
h. Who were your first playmates?
i. When did you have growth spurts?
j. What were your most favorite & least favorite subjects in school?
k. How would you rate your progress in school? Was school easy or
difficult?
l. Who were your friends in the 5th grade?
m. What are your best & worst memories of school?
n. When did puberty begin for you? when did your voice change?

o. When did your body shape change? when did your menstruation
begin?
p. When did the changes that accompany the onset of adolescence
stabilize?
q. Are you still growing, & is your body still changing shape?
r. Have you found making friends easy? Do you consider yourself a
shy person?
s. When did you begin dating? What were the circumstances of your
first serious romance?
t. Who are your idols or models?
u. Where are you now in your development?
C. Begin your development analysis by applying one or more theories.
You may be able to apply such as those of Kohlbergs, Eriksons,
Freuds, Piagets to draw a clearer picture of the factors that influenced
your development.
From the biological perspective, what has been the impact of
inherited characteristics on your development?
From the behavioral perspective, how have you been influenced
by your parents use of specific rewards & punishment?
You now have what you call a psychobiography.
Begin with the idea that this will be an enjoyable experience.
Have fun exploring your development. Do not be conscious about
making correct analyses, instead, view the project as an opportunity
for further growth & development.
GOOD LUCK & ENJOY!