Personality Theories
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Personality Theories
February 28, 2010
I chose the Erik Erikson theory to apply my personality development paper because I believe his eight stages of life all coincide with my personal life better than the other theorist. Erikson has eight stages that he describes and in this paper I will be showing comparison on how each stage relates to my personal upbringing. The stages that I will be going over are Trust versus Mistrust, Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt, Initiative versus Guilt, Industry versus Isolation, Generatively versus Stagnation, and Ego Integrity versus Despair.
Trust versus Mistrust is the first ego crises that Erikson talks about. It’s the stage where infants begin struggling for attention, love and protection. If they don’t receive it then they feel lost and alone. With this stage, I can definitely understand how a baby could feel lost or alone at such an early age. When I came into this world it was the beginning of October. It wasn’t too cold, but not too hot at that time. My mom and dad had me living out of a car that was parked in a garage. At six weeks, my grandmother came and got me and raised me from there as her own child. The environment was against me from the day I was born. Having a sense of hope and trust was gone before it could even start. From the point I was able to know right from wrong, I knew I couldn’t trust my parents to do right by me. I lived with my grandmother up to my eighth grade and decided I wanted to see what living with my parents would be like. Boy was I wrong. During that time they had two more children four years apart. I thought over time I would be able to gain my trust back, but I was wrong. I had become the stepchild instead of the oldest one. My trust factor was never regained with my parents. And needless to say, I returned home to my grandmother within the month.
The second ego crisis is Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt. At this stage parents are teaching their children right from wrong. Children...
February 28, 2010
I chose the Erik Erikson theory to apply my personality development paper because I believe his eight stages of life all coincide with my personal life better than the other theorist. Erikson has eight stages that he describes and in this paper I will be showing comparison on how each stage relates to my personal upbringing. The stages that I will be going over are Trust versus Mistrust, Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt, Initiative versus Guilt, Industry versus Isolation, Generatively versus Stagnation, and Ego Integrity versus Despair.
Trust versus Mistrust is the first ego crises that Erikson talks about. It’s the stage where infants begin struggling for attention, love and protection. If they don’t receive it then they feel lost and alone. With this stage, I can definitely understand how a baby could feel lost or alone at such an early age. When I came into this world it was the beginning of October. It wasn’t too cold, but not too hot at that time. My mom and dad had me living out of a car that was parked in a garage. At six weeks, my grandmother came and got me and raised me from there as her own child. The environment was against me from the day I was born. Having a sense of hope and trust was gone before it could even start. From the point I was able to know right from wrong, I knew I couldn’t trust my parents to do right by me. I lived with my grandmother up to my eighth grade and decided I wanted to see what living with my parents would be like. Boy was I wrong. During that time they had two more children four years apart. I thought over time I would be able to gain my trust back, but I was wrong. I had become the stepchild instead of the oldest one. My trust factor was never regained with my parents. And needless to say, I returned home to my grandmother within the month.
The second ego crisis is Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt. At this stage parents are teaching their children right from wrong. Children...