Stages of Development

Paper Summary:

This paper details that five of Erikson's stages line up roughly with Freud's theory of human development, though they expand upon them and take much of the focus away from sex. The other three Erikson stages follow the continued course of an individual's psychological life, something that Freud seemed to think terminates at early adulthood. The author believes that, while Freud's work should be honored for its daring and its groundbreaking nature, Erikson's is a more realistic and complete model. The paper continues that Erikson appears less committed than Freud to the idea that all dreams are a form of wish fulfillment and tends to read a more symbolic nature into them.

From the Paper:

"The first stage of development according to Freud is the "Oral" stage. This stage lasts between one and two years, and during it the child's needs are most focuses around oral pleasure such as that derived from nursing or sucking. A child who is frustrated at this stage (not fed sufficiently, for example, or not allowed to breastfeed) will have a variety of future development problems stemming from his oral nature and characterized by sarcasm, envy, suspicion, and pessimistic ideas about the world and relationships."

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