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Case Study Using Erikson's Developmental Stages

Thesis · May 2013

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.4458.1122

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Delante Lee Bess

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Delante Lee Bess
May 19, 2013

Case Study

R is a 23-year old woman who was raised in a middle-to-upper class suburban household.
She is the second born and the only girl out of three, where the oldest is nine years her
senior, and the youngest boy is four years apart from her. Now, the major gap between
the oldest brother and her made for an interesting dynamic. In fact, R once told the older
brother that, “I looked at everything you did growing up, anytime you got in trouble for
something, I made a note not to do that, and when there was something you did that
received praise, I wanted to outdo it!”

During R’s infancy, her mother, grandmother, and Mrs. Cook—the babysitter, cared for
her. Mrs. Cook was introduced into R’s life later in her toddler period, but her mother and
grandmother took shifts in raising her during infancy. The grandmother would be the
caretaker during the day, while her mother would nurse her at night. In fact, R often slept
in the same bed with the mother, which provided for immediate response and care
anytime R wanted it. R’s mother reported mastering a schedule throughout some nights
whenever she had to bring work home (which was quite often).

Fortunately, both her parents remained together throughout her lifetime with the intent on
making her the brainchild protégé. There is not as much known about her father’s
participation during the infancy period. However, it was said that when she was wet, he
would change the diaper, when she would cry, he picked her up, and when she was
hungry, he would prepare the Similac; however, before R was born, it was reported that
you “would never see him in the kitchen—the guy could barely boil and egg!”
Nonetheless, she was “Daddy’s little girl,” and he would do anything in the world for her.

Her father, a very hardworking, militant man, not only provided heavy protection of his
only daughter, but he instilled in her to have an independent personality. He wanted her
to break all gender typecasting when it came to occupational or recreational work. His
philosophy was a distortion of Plato’s concept—“the only thing you know is that you
don’t know everything”—but, you damn sure better strive to know everything, was his
spin on it! Nevertheless, from infancy to young adult hood, R was given anything she
asked for from her father. “There was never a time when Daddy wasn’t there,” she
proclaimed. R recalled a time when her car broke down around 2:00am, after coming
back from a party. None of her friends knew anything about cars, including the
gentlemen with her, so without a second guess she called up her father who was an hour
away. “He was a little upset, of course, especially since I didn’t bring my AAA card, but
once he knew I was safe and met my nice friends, he calm down,” she claimed. Her
father eventually bought her a new car.

Moreover, being the only cute protégé girl of that family generation (all her cousins in
her generation bracket are male), she was focused on with great detail. Every one of the
family members stressed the necessity for her to read and become proficient in arithmetic
at five or six years old.

Now, as a young toddler, her family hypothesized that she would be a talented and gifted
individual. R was walking, speaking structured sentences, and even reading teenage
books by the age of five. In addition, she became easily acquainted to playing the violin
and piano, while gracefully mastering ballet—her passion. Now, although R would try to
stray away from these activities, because of peer pressure or disappointments, her family
was insistent on her maintaining these goals.

R received great attention from the individuals in her family nucleus. She embraced the
attention from her elders and took pride in fulfilling their expectations. What were their
expectations? Some version of Hillary Clinton or Condoleezza Rice, or a combination of
both it was said around the dinner table. There was an emphasis for her to become a
lawyer, doctor, or financial broker, whatever suited her preference, but as long as it made
a lot of money.

When asked, her mother recalled taking her several times to her job on days that school
was out and having no babysitter, “I remember when R said: ‘Mommy, why do you tell
people what to do?’ and I just chuckled,” her mother relayed. R recollected on those
moments, and said she only remembered “sitting in a room with a big long table and
people talking mumbo jumbo…and someone was laughing through a phone…and
Mommy was at the easel one time!”

R’s aunt, a well opinionated, boisterous, but upstanding registered nurse would always
lecture R when she was a young adolescent. She would preach about the standards of
dignified womanhood, along with the life of a professional. As if she did not hear this
already at home, R’s aunt would forcefully make the point of how she wanted R to be a
successful accountant or doctor. “My first discussion about making money, actually was
with my aunt,” R recalled, “…and I can remember when I opened my first savings
account, this somehow lead to a discussion about stocks and bonds…I didn’t know what
the heck she was talking about, but it was actually interesting to see her passionate about
it.” Now, R later realized that the discussion at her mother’s board meeting was of a
similar nature.

“Daddy never took me to his office job,” R recently said, “but he did take me to his
client’s houses while he fixed their computers, it was kinda cool that he made his own
hours.” Actually, this was not out of luxury or fun, but this was her father’s second job,
the one he needed to help put her through private school and later college. Nevertheless,
R admitted that she learned a great deal about consulting and business interactions.

Her grandparents (both sides) had a similar tendency to hint at their career expectations
for her, but they found it necessary for her to have a strong religious footing. Each
Sunday and sometimes throughout the week they would consistently demand for her
participation in the church service. “Grandma Vi still today recites to me bible verses and
wants me to pray with her over the phone,” R explains. “She wants me to be at church all
the time, but I had to tell her that I’m trying to juggle all kinds of things, sometimes I
have to miss it…She ain’t listening though!” This was the first time R really pushed
against any authority to take control of her own life. In all, her immediate family
continued to be encouraging and was persistent in pushing her along a set direction.

Now, the parents expected the very best with little room for failure; and, anything less
that an A-grade in academia was unacceptable in the household. Although to the parent’s
credit, the academic standards were applied to all the children, not just to R. Now, unlike
a good portion of the representatives in R’s generation, she has become a reliable,
responsible, and a fairly mature adult. She is a bit of a purist, leaning on an almost “nun-
like” piousness by never getting into trouble—staying away from drugs, alcohol,
premarital sexual relations, and mostly all the un-Godly sins that young people partake in
today.

The parents never really had anything negative to say about R when asked about her
childhood, other than she would jump from one extracurricular activity to another, and
they had to make her stick to certain activities beyond her own will. The family
mentioned that from her toddler age to the present day, R was rather firm on what she
wanted and didn’t want. If she did not want to play with a particular toy in “her time,”
she would throw it and say “no fun!” R was given a Barbie once and threw that into the
wall, because she wanted to play with her stuffed animal Tigger instead. Her love for
Tigger never ceased; because when R was a bachelorette she plastered the walls of her
room with different types of Tigger stuffed animals and posters.

Her finicky decisiveness with toys and food as a toddler, carried over to her
extracurricular activities as an adolescent. Again, when R was disappointed or “bored”
with her activities (violin, piano, and dancing), she wanted to jump into something else
instantly, such as Taekwondo, gymnastics, or basketball. Although, she was the most
passionate about dancing, there were times she wanted to quit because of the level of
difficulty. She states, “…there were times I just wanted to give up, but my parents,
especially Daddy kept pushing me to make a breakthrough…that’s the only way I will be
the best, he said.”

Now, since her parents thought they made a mistake of allowing the first child to stop
certain activities because of his request, they wanted to prevent that from happening
again. Therefore, beyond R’s own impulsive desire, they encouraged her to minimally
sustain her dancing, because she could become “rich and famous like Jennifer Lopez or
Beyoncé.” Now, although the parents stooped so low to use popular celebrities as idols,
this did work in everyone’s favor to keep R motivated to dance. In addition, R had
immense trust in her parent’s decisions and saw fit to follow their advice.

One thing her mother noted, was that R was extremely inquisitive, and when she was
confident in knowing something, she had a knack for teaching others. R eventually
tutored the next-door neighbor’s daughter in mathematics, while attempting to train her
little brother as well. Unfortunately, it was exposed later, that when she didn’t know
something, she had a difficult time admitting she was unknowledgeable about the subject.
This was a point of crisis for R as she transitioned to her adolescent stage. The question is
how would she resolve it.

Throughout her adolescence, she continued to show promise in her private school,
becoming a favorite amongst her teachers, meanwhile setting the standards high for her
younger brother that followed her. She attended a private religious academy from
Kindergarten to Middle school (Junior-high school). Her teachers clouded her with praise
and inspiration, pushing her parents to permit skipping grades and try-out for outside
extracurricular programs, especially in dancing. According to her parents, the education
was decent, but the private school gave her a “smothering” atmosphere, and perhaps a
little too much micromanaging with very little freedom to let her breathe. “They were
going to force me to join their congregation if I wanted to continue throughout high
school there, and I said hell no…what if I have commitments to other churches,” she
explained.

With that said, R’s parents wanted her to have exposure to the “real world,” and never to
live in some type of bubble. So, they placed her into a public high school, with the idea of
preparing her for everyday realities she might encounter in college and the work force.
As was expected, she was in for a cultural shock, but she was trained enough to brace
herself for the wild ride. Now, with the egregious display of the counterculture that her
generation gravitated toward, she held a strong resistance “against all pressure,” she said.

Although R claimed to resist most of the pressure from uninspiring people, she felt the
pressure of deciding on what college she was going to attend. This for her was based on
her career pursuit and if she wanted to stay in close vicinity to her family. “I had to make
a decision in 11th grade, although I had some idea already by 9th” she claimed. She
figured dancing would not be a long-term plan, even though she was purported to be very
good.

Now, all throughout high school she breezed through the courses with honors and won
the attraction of a professor, whom she calls her mentor. This mentor pointed R in certain
directions to get into a particular college program and finish quickly. Additionally, R
surrounded herself with people of like-minded interest and goals and continued to take
advantage of the support from her family. She claimed that all her friends were in her AP
honors classes or either extracurricular activities. “I decided early-on that I did not want
to hang with the hoochie mamas or knuckle heads…even in IBA [Independent Baptist
Academy]!” R for certain kept that promise, by sustaining a long-term relationship with
some of those same friends.

R’s chose of school was close enough to family, but far enough away to move out. “It
was perfect, I can go see my parents when I want to, or for emergencies, but at the same
time, it is far enough away where they won’t just show up at my doorstep,” she excitedly
explained. R’s college years were described as excessive freedom away from home and
family. However, she kept close contact with those individuals who had provided the
intellectual and emotion support, while meeting new people on the way. Now, R worked,
went to school, and danced most of the time to stay in good health. Her predetermined
path of being a lawyer, doctor, or financial broker was going according to plan. However,
R dropped the lawyer and doctor idea, because she was dreading the long-term schooling
that went beyond the undergraduate level. So, she stuck to a timelier route of finance and
business. She recalled always talking to her parents about running her own business some
day. Additionally, she wanted to have a deeper understanding of how the financial system
worked, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. “I really wanted to understand the stock
market,” she said. Hence, her major in Economics and History.

R’s pathway was seemly on the right track, she was on the fast pace to graduate early and
she eventually met her future husband, which she now lives happily with.

Up until that point, there were no real bumps in the road for R, and life seem to be a
textbook fairy-tale; until her father unexpectedly passed away in his sleep at the young
age of fifty-two. Now, even with all the respect and support she had from others, with her
“Daddy” leaving forever that was a major emotional blow. “It did feel like the end of the
world,” she cried. Who does she go to when the car or computer is acting up? Who will
be there for on-the-spot personal advice? Who will walk her down the aisle in her
wedding? These were pressing questions as she moved on pass undergraduate college and
jumped into the real world. This was a major turning point in her life, she said.

Justifiably, there was a “downbeat” in R’s life. She performed poorly on her MBA test,
which was a new experience for her, and she had excruciating pressure from all angles of
the family to hold off marriage, to allow herself to mourn and reflect on her life. In
addition, her fiancé was off training for the military in another state, which did not make
matters any better. Moreover, her new job at Merrill Lynch was performing a mass lay-
off. “Would I be one of the victims too?” she asked.

These were times that try women’s souls.

Nevertheless, after some time of relief, R retook the MBA test and scored reasonably
well enough for graduate school, she eventually eloped and married her fiancé in the state
he was training, and she not only outlasted the mass lay-off by her job, but was promoted
to a higher position in short order.

End Case Study.

R is a 23-year old female who was raised in a suburban town 15 miles southeast of
Washington, D.C. She was fortunate enough to have two loving parents throughout her
development, along with two siblings. R is the “middle child” of the three and happens to
be the only girl. That is important to note, because she understandably received different
attention than the other two children, not out of favoritism, but from natural biological
reasons. However, R’s father always taught her that she could break all gender
boundaries, if she put her mind to it.
Her mother, maternal grandmother, and baby-sitter were the primary caretakers during
her infancy to adolescence period. All of which, were strong independent women in their
own right. Now, although the father wasn’t a major caretaker in the true sense of the
word, he played a major part as well in developing her independent identity. The father
pushed her to overcome all odds and hurdles of life. For example, when a difficulty came
up in academia or a sport, he insisted that she persevere to figure out the solution and
never give up. R’s mom nurtured the respectful, upstanding and loving side of her,
whereas her father instilled the competitive hubristic edge in her. He eventually got what
he asked for because his nickname for her was KIA—Know It All.

Her grandmother demonstrated a true sense of faith and spirituality to R, inoculating her
with religious disciplines, while the oldest brother was the demonstrable example of what
to-do and not-to-do in life.

In analyzing R’s life, Erik Erikson’s epigenetic psychological theory seemed to be the
most appropriate to detail R’s life cycle from her infancy to adulthood. According to
Erikson, the psychological growth of any individual is similar to that of the growth
process of an embryo. In the simplest terms, an embryo is an organism (e.g. a human
being) in its earliest stages of development. In this stage, the organism is unrecognizable
until a period of time passes by, and throughout that time period, each stage of its
development is dependent on the previous stage.

Again, Erikson likens this embryonic biological process to the human psychological
process. However, in his model of human development, each stage has not only
biological qualities, but psychological and socio-cultural components as well. Erikson
specifies eight distinct but interrelated stages of human psychological development. Each
stage is characterized by a specific developmental task, or crisis, as Erikson called it. A
crisis in his sense is more so a crucial moment in someone’s life—a turning point. For
example, R’s father passing away was a critical turning point in her life. R had to make a
decision to either resolve the tension by moving on and progressing with life or
potentially regressing, by mourning and feeling sorry for herself. So, that period of crisis
must be resolved in order for the individual to proceed to the next stage of their life. The
question of resolving a crisis is critical to the human development, according to Erikson.
Erikson states that the successful resolution of a crisis at each stage fosters what he calls a
virtuous strength.

The strength of virtue is one of two preliminary concepts I will discuss here, because of
the relevancy of it for all the developmental stages. The term “virtue” Erikson refers
more to the notion of competency, or better yet— potency of an individual, more so than
the idea of morality. In other words, witnessing an individual’s capacity to overcome
their crisis and proceed with an even stronger sense of clear mindedness, inner strength,
or functionality, is a remarkable feat—this is virtuous. Often, while going through the
crisis, the individual doesn’t recognize until after the resolution that they made a
tremendous breakthrough.
This leads me to the second preliminary concept—ratio and balance. Erikson suggests
that the ability for an individual to resolve a crisis is always in result of a dynamic
balance. In other words, an individual’s emotional structure could be “see-sawed”
between two extremes, either too much or too little of something.

For example, if you take the sense of trust: According to Erikson, trust is developed in
infancy, an individual like R perhaps developed trust in her mother for placating to her
every demand when sleeping next to her. The mother offered her services to nurse her
instead of others and R, in fact, happily took those services to relieve her hunger pangs.
As mentioned above, R’s father broke from his macho routine and was responsible for
the cooking and hygienical matters. He maintained that sense of responsibility to pamper
his daughter with the care she needed. In every case, the parents maintained all comfort
for R, by providing unconditional positive regard to her, which gave her an opportunity to
develop a trusting relationship with them. “If I didn’t trust them [parents], I don’t know
who to trust and what to do,” R recently said.

The trust took another form in adolescence, where R trusted individuals enough to allow
them to mentor her. Additionally, she only trusted those people who were intellectually
like-minded with similar career goals and chose not to be around those “hoochie mamas,”
as she put it.

Erikson states that trust can manifest itself in yet another way, as one gets older.

Effectively, a person could have too much trust, which results in gullibility and naivety,
or a person could have very little trust in anything, and become out of touch with reality.
No matter which extreme, it develops an unhealthy-unbalanced individual that Erikson
calls a “Pollyanna” figure. Therefore, a healthy individual is someone who can
consciously balance his or her emotions, i.e. know how to gauge the level of their
emotions in relationship to the real world.

This balance will be further demonstrated in the example for stage number one.

In R’s case, Erikson would describe her as a “syntonic” or harmonious character, rather
than a “dystonic” figure. Erikson would attribute the syntonic character to R, because at
each stage of her development there was positive support to help her function in the
world competently. Essentially, R was an easy-going baby, who is now a happy, mature,
and motivated young adult who was willing to be challenged and driven forward by her
dynamic changing environment.

Stage 1: Basic Trust vs. Mistrust

This stage is an enhancement on Freud’s oral stage of development. Erikson states that
every newborn child goes through a stage where that child naturally has to decide to have
trust or mistrust for people or things. This is the stage when a person is entirely
dependent on other people for emotional, intellectual, and physical nourishment. Mostly,
the earliest demonstration of this period is witnessed between the mother (or primary
caregiver) and child. For instance, when the child demands to be fed by the mother, or
when the child cries for attention (for compassion or hygienical purposes).

Erikson claims that the sense of trust is implicitly communicated from the mother’s own
sense of security and confidence. In other words, the mother is sensitive and responsive
to her child enough to which it produces a child’s own sense of security and confidence
that someone will be there for their basic needs.

Now, the virtue that results from the resolution of this crisis Erikson attributed to hope.
According to Erikson, hope emerges from three sources: 1. The manifestation of the hope
within the mother/caregiver and transmitted to the child. 2. The mother-child bonding
itself. 3. Mentorship, altruistic cause, or religious creeds; in fact, Erikson asserts that the
mature form of a child’s hope is faith, which religion/spirituality is designed to generate.

In the case of R, she developed a sense of trust in her infancy period, as was mentioned
above, her mother would serve to the request of R’s every demand. The ability for her
mom to balance a schedule of her work and nursing at night is a remarkable feat. Her
mother claims that she was an easy baby and had almost a set clock, unlike her other
children, who had a more erratic circadian clock. Additionally, R’s dad broke from any
previous traditions and bowed to the whims of his infant daughter. He claimed she
seemed to stop crying most of the time that he picked her up.

Consider the time R called her father at two in the morning to help fix her car, so she
could get back to campus safely. The father went and hour out of his way on a weeknight
to provide the safety and comfort of his daughter. When all failed, she trusted that
“Daddy” would always be there if things went wrong; she trusted that she would have the
emotional and financial support.

As R got older she developed an insight of who to invite into her life and who to keep at a
distance. For example, R had enough trust in some of her professors and peers to utilize
them as mentors. However, she also had insight on whom not to trust. For instance, when
R bought her first house she placed the basement portion up for rent. Upon meeting and
reviewing the applicants, she had “a nose” to smell out the problematic people. As her
instincts told her not to trust certain applicants, she would in fact legally check their
backgrounds, and lo and behold, her judgment was usually 99% right. In this case,
Erikson would consider this a healthy balance of trust and mistrust. In other words,
knowing how far to go in expressing trust and mistrust for someone, and certainly not
tending to one extreme—R would not be label a Pollyanna.

Now, R’s parents demonstrated a sense of spiritual discipline within the household, but
her grandmothers, especially her maternal grandmother, develop a true sense of religious
consistency in her life. The grandmother recommended the baptismal of R as an infant,
gave R her first bible, taught her how to pray, as well as suggest weekly participation in
the church. In fact, still to this day, no matter where R is visiting in the country, she finds
a church to join. Erikson believes that faith is a mature form of an infant’s hope, and hope
is developed and maintained through social institutions such as church. It is suggested
that all these qualities promoted at R’s infant stages fostered her capability to have a
healthy balance of trust and mistrust. Moreover, with such a supportive and future-
oriented family structure, her life, even to this day, is determined by the forethought and
indoctrination of her loved ones.

Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

This stage comes at a time when the child (2 to 3 years old) begins to desire some level of
autonomy, i.e., the child wants to be free to exert its own control in the world. This is a
mature step up from the dependency that was needed during a child’s infancy. Often, in
this stage, a child is grabbing onto things, whether in a negative way or a compassionate
way. Holding or grabbing on to someone or something no longer is the reflexive process
that occurs in the newborn infant stage, but it is a conscience deliberate act. Most
children can walk and climb on top of items at this stage. Now that the child can transport
around without so much dependence from anyone, they often want to explore the
boundaries of the external world.

The notion of Shame and Doubt stems from the child’s insecurities of their small physical
stature in a world of giants. The child perhaps feels shameful when they realize that they
cannot walk straight without falling, or that they are too weak to climb or grab on to
something. Erikson claims the sense of doubt is generated from the child’s inability to see
both sides of their body. Unfortunately, the child realizes that because they cannot see
their own backside they have no control over it and now has to submit to the will of the
giant powerful people, i.e. adults!

Erikson states that the virtue acquired at this stage is will. However, not will in the
generic sense of being willful, but the idea of controlling one’s inner drives with sensible
judgment and lawful discrimination. This gets at the fact of why most societies have
laws. The laws serve as a social institution to temper, moderate, and control our bestial
drives. Will forms the acceptance of law and is intended to foster a sense of organization
for the society. Hence, an infant growing up within a law-enforced society has the
potential ability to moderate his or her own impulses as an adult in that society.

There was a case when R was learning to walk, she attempted to climb onto a mirror
coffee table, and as she looked a bit surprised at the image reflective on the other end, she
startled herself enough to collapse and bump her little head on the corner of the stand.

Although R cried excessively after this incident, she attempted this seemingly difficult
endeavor many times over, with the determination to be triumphant. Incidentally, the
small scar from the fall remains present, moving from her forehead as a child, to the top
of the head as a young adult.

Not surprisingly, R maintained her feistiness and demonstrated her willful control over
her life, most indicative by this statement, “She [Grandma Vi] wants me to be at church
all the time, but I had to tell her that I’m trying to juggle all kinds of things, sometimes I
have to miss it…She ain’t listening though!” This was the first time R really pushed
against any authority to take control of her own life, but this would not be the last.

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt

This is an interesting stage for the child, because they develop a conscience about their
moral limits in the world. This is the time when a child is curious, imaginative, and
inquisitive, usually around the preschool age of three to five years old. They often ask
themselves or others the critical scientific question—‘Why?’— Therefore, the child tends
to be into everything and perhaps wants to do (master) everything, such as paint or draw,
build puzzles, fly a kite, etc. With that, the child begins to develop an idea of planning
ahead (on a small scale), with an intention or a sense of purpose. In fact, purpose is the
virtue of this stage, which is led by imagination and playfulness.

Now, since the child develops a conscience and begins a mastery over the environment,
the child will observe, critique, and judge his or her own self. Therefore, Erikson asserts
that this new sense of curiosity and mastery is tempered by a guilty feeling, if the child
does not accomplish a goal. He claims that the newly realized freedom and authority of
the child is inevitably met with anxiety, especially when the child experiences their
shortcomings.

In R’s case, she had her older brother and cousins who invited her into their activities.
R’s cousin E, who is six years her senior, was a very good dancer and would often
showcase her talents at family gatherings and other extracurricular events. R would often
mimic E and repeatedly ask her to “do that thing again!” and it was always followed up
with R saying, “Look, I can do it too!” The family would witness R prancing around the
house or jumping off furniture, sometimes without the presence of an audience (at least
she thought). In fact, her parents had a deep appreciation of the arts and music, where at
one point they individually told her they wanted to be artists until practical necessities
arose. Nevertheless, they played different genres of music almost daily in the household
during their leisure time. To this, R would spin and flip as if she were a solo ballerina.
R’s behavior suggested that she had a liking for music and dancing. What child doesn’t?
Additionally, she would always try to play with her older brother’s instruments when he
brought them home from school, consistently asking, “how the sound comes from the
object.”

R’s parents eventually placed her into dancing school as well as provide her with private
violin and piano lessons. She took each activity up with great strides leading into high
school, where she was encouraged by professionals to take up dancing and violin as a
career.

However, when she got older her musical pathway took a different direction. There was a
time (adolescence) when R’s ambition got the best of her, when her father relayed a story
about R’s humiliating experience with her piano recital. She virtually froze on stage, after
deliberately leaving her musical score at home, because she “knew it by heart.” Needless
to say, R said she felt “horrible,” and gave up on the piano from that day on. Watching R
blushing with a feeling of guilt as her father recalled that story was an interesting
surprise.

As said in the case study above, R continues her passion toward music and dancing as a
young adult. Although, she does not compete at this stage in her life, she participates in
regular dance sessions every weekend for the joy and health benefits. Erikson claims that
the development of fantasy and imagination at the early stages forms the basis for
dancing, drama, and ritual in one’s adult period. This certainly was the case in R’s
colorful life.

Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority

At this stage of a child’s life he or she begins an independent streak by entering life
outside of just the mere family circle. By law in the United States, children by the age of
six must enter school, which is where the child faces a new social situation. Therefore,
children between the ages of six to eleven no longer are dedicated to just playing, but
they are expected to fulfill task and master certain skills valued by society. Now, because
there are expectations placed on the child (and the child realizes this), everyone’s opinion
and recognition is important to the child.

However, if the child does not accomplish certain things branded by society as important,
the child will feel a level of inferiority, according to Erikson. The same goes for the child
that does not receive positive recognition or respect from the family, teachers, or peer
group.

Now, Erikson associates the idea of competence, as the virtue of this stage—more
specifically, an individual’s capacity to accomplish a practical or creative task at a high
level.

Erikson’s analysis for this stage is a near perfect match for R’s case. R was placed into
private school at the age of five and she was expected to master the fundamentals of
reading, writing, and arithmetic, beyond a mediocre level. For example, when R was
seven she was not allowed to go outside and play until she mastered her times tables. She
had to relay them out loud to her parents each day until she got them. This was a standard
practice within the household. This was fruitful, because later in her teenage years, her
mastery over the subject brought request from the family, neighbors, and peers for her
help in tutoring them. Similarly, with her reading comprehension, she was expected to
read a lot and report back to her parents the literature she had read.

R was showered with praise in her academic surroundings, and since she advanced so
well in school, her teachers suggested that she skip grades to increase her challenge.
Interestingly, although R did well in school she strayed away from mathematics and
completely rejected any field that required higher levels of it. On the other hand, she
continues to read a great deal and went on to pursue a major in Economics and a minor in
History. After graduating with honors, she is currently finishing her Master of Business
Administration degree with a plan of managing her own business.

Stage 5: Identity vs. Identity Confusion

This is the transitional stage between childhood and adulthood—also known as

adolescence. Erikson believes this is the most crucial stage in a person’s life, where a
person takes his or her past experiences and integrates them, while simultaneously
thinking in the future of which path they will take and who they will become. In fact, the
most common question to an individual at this stage is “Who am I?”

According to Erikson, an adolescent takes a critical period of time through this process to
experiment the different roles socially available through society. The individual’s attempt
to find where their place is in society or what they can offer to the world is a difficult
process. Moreover, without a cultural role model or inspirational advisor for the
adolescent, this can potentially lead to a period of insecurity and role confusion.

During this period an individual develops his or her own belief system in conjunction to
their culture’s ethical values. Throughout extended Western culture, this is demonstrated
by each generation preserving some traditions and changing others. Now, according to
Erikson, when an individual pushes against the grain of current and past traditions, they
are branded as revolutionary people.

Erikson really takes the time to expound on the Identity stage, he additionally shows how
each of the stages of development is engaged during the period of identity crisis. I shall
attempt to reflect on the stages of development that are engaged during the period of R’s
identity process:

Harkening back to R’s early childhood, one could infer that she was developing an
independent identity. On the one hand, most children at an early age, liberally threw
around the word ‘No,’ however, for R, she seemed to make clear why she refused
something not of her taste. For example, R told her mother that she didn’t want to play
with the kid at the playground they regularly attended, “because he cries too much!” This
statement is not too far from her recent expression of disgust with hanging out with the
“hoochie mamas” and “knuckleheads.” Remember, R made it clear that she wanted to
surround herself with only academically honorable people. In fact, her decision to
socialize with individuals with an intellectually progressive mentality marked a strong
point of forming her identity.

As R moved throughout childhood and entered private school she decided that she
wanted to be an excellent student in order to get into a “good” college. Ironically, R said
“my best years were actually in elementary school, where I decided I wanted to teach and
run my own dance studio when I got older!” Those plans have not panned out precisely
the way she imagined yet, but her business mentality continues to stand. Again, R’s
 reflection on her discussions with her aunt, the ad hoc board meeting babysitting that
occurred with the mother, or the father’s business professionalism with his clients may
take credit for her fascination with business management. R said she is not only content,
but also happy at where she stands thus far. “Looking back, I always wanted to be my
own boss,” R asserted. This is who R wanted to be and what R wanted to do in her life.

As said above, R’s high school years made a deep impression on her. Her parent’s
deliberate plans to remove her from private school to a public school created an
interesting process. It was in high school where R said, “I resisted all pressure.” Her
remarkable ability to buffer the youthful temptations came from her attitude to learn from
other people’s mistakes, and be the best in all facets of life. Remember, she said to her
older brother, “I looked at everything you did growing up, anytime you got in trouble for
something, I made a note not to do that, and when there was something you did that
received praise, I wanted to outdo it!” By these statements alone, this suggests that R is a
competitive overachieving individual. In addition, R pays debt to her parents for
instilling in her a hard-working ethic, matched with unbridled resilience. This, today, is
what has formed her motivated personal identity.

Lastly, R is finishing up her Master of Business Administration degree, with the intent on
starting her own café business. She has bought her first home and claims to be happily
married. Not surprisingly, R continues to dance with the same academic friends for fun,
and now she is giving back financially and intellectually (as a mentor) to her friends,
family, and community. In all, she is a mature and dedicated young adult that will more
than likely develop to have the positive qualities of Erikson’s later stages.

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