-
Stage 1: Bottle
David is 3 weeks old. David would cry for his bottle due hungry and the nanny would come feed him. The nanny would miss his feeding times due to sleeping through his crying. Soon, David would cry for his bottle, feel hungry and learned that the nanny was inconsistent and feeding times became unpredictable. David started developing fear and mistrust. Trust vs. Mistrust. The crisis is between developing trust and security or mistrust and insecurities of the world around him. -
Stage 2: Eating
David is learning to eat with silverware. Everytime he drops food on the floor his nanny yells at him. Due to events like this, David has grown up being overly dependent on his caregivers and has a low self-esteem. Erickson: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. The crisis is between becoming independent, willful, confident child or overly dependent, insecure, and doubting their own abilities. -
Stage 3: Questions
David asks his teacher many questions to learn about the world around him. His teacher responds patiently and openly. This gives David a sense of initiative and security in his abilities to make decisions on his own. Erickson:Initiative vs. Guilt. The crisis is between feeling too much criticism and developing a sense of guilt and insecurity or feeling initiative and abilities to lead and make decisions. Feeling purposeful. -
Stage 4: Homework
David is 7 and learning to do homework. He started his homework on his own and missed a page. His mother arrived to help him and praised him for choosing to start his work without her and praised him on his effort, even though he missed a page. Erickson's stage 4 Industry vs. Inferiority. The crisis is between David feeling compentent in his abilities to achieve his goals or feeling inadequate and never reaching his full potential.
