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The human mind is one of the most fascinating topicsthings to learn about, thereforeso investigating the basic stages of how it develops as one ages is especially interesting when reflecting progression upon oneself. No two individuals are raised the same withor under the same conditions as one another, helping to make each unique. The concept of personality is immensely complex, yet the German-American psychologist Erik Erikson managed to break down the sociocultural determinants humans face and overcome into eight separate stages.

The stages consist of trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and & doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, and identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ego integrity vs. despair. Of these stages, my observations are limited to stages one through five, due to the fact that I am only sixteen years of age.

The first stage of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is that of trust vs. mistrust. The premise behind this stage is that in the time between one’s birth and their first year there develops an instinctual sense of stability.

Naturally, an infant’s trust would be placed upon the mother, as they are typically the most intimate with the child and are the most concerned with the infant’s needs and emotions. An example of trust during stage would be an attentive mother who is consistently tending to her infant’s basic needs and demonstrating love, which would later allow the child to have traits in which they are joyful and trusting.

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An example of mistrust would be that of a mother who neglects their child’s basic needs and gives off a negative energy when interacting with them.

This in turn would lead to a distant and untrusting child in the coming years. As an infant I was told that I was a very needy and was very demanding of attention. Both of my parents never failed to give me this attention, allowing me to create a strong bond between my parents and myself. In addition to this, I also had several babysitters as a baby, and would hear that I was very wary of them until I would see my parents with them. This can be explained through the fact that the civil interaction between someone I trust with someone new would then lead to an extension of trust between the babysitters, my parents, and ultimately with myself.

Although I was very trusting of those my family of associate with, I was generally overly trusting of people in general, which sparked concern in my parents the in the following years; it was then that I was told to be more wary of people and to “never talk to strangers”. This was something that invoked a sense of uncertainty and neuroticism within myself, but created a mentality that became curious and questioning in the hopes of finding answers. As of now, I am still quite trusting of those I encounter, but I often see the worst in people first before I see the good in them. It is not necessarily a matter of being pessimistic, but rather a realist who looks for the negative things because they are often the root of who people are. It is only after seeing people’s worst that I determine how much of myself I give to them.

Stage two occurs between the ages of one and a half to three years of age and consists of autonomy vs. shame and doubt. During this age a child is in the midst of developing mobility and thinking individually, allowing them to be independent when it comes to their basic needs. Whether this is independently using the bathroom, eating, or dressing themselves, all are actions that should be taught at this stage. It is crucial to do so as a child will never gain a sense of accomplishment after challenging themselves and may depend on their parents too heavily, eventually forming a sense of shame when observing that others of the same age could do something they are unable to do. When a child is micromanaged and much of what they are able to do is done for them, the child’s confidence in their own capabilities is lowered and they will be afraid to challenge themselves later on.