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Erikson's Stage 2 Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Mackenzie (age 3) has started picking out and putting on her clothes by herself. Sometimes her outfits end up inside-out or backwards, but her parents encourage her independence and don't criticize her failures. By supporting her autonomy, Mackenzie's parents will help her to be more self-reliant, independent, and self-confident. If her parents did not encourage her independence, or if they criticized her failures, then Mackenzie would have a lot of self-doubt coming out of this stage. -
Stage 4 Industry vs. Inferiority
Mackenzie (age 5) has just started school. She is struggling with math, but her parents and teachers help her and encourage her to keep trying. This encouragement helps Mackenzie build confidence and competence (industry) in math, and helps her to have belief in her own abilities. If her parents and teachers did not encourage her, she would likely feel inferior to her peers, which would potentially prevent further development by discouraging her desire to try new things out of fear of failure. -
Stage 6 Intimacy vs. Isolation
Mackenzie (age 24) decides to spend the rest of her life with the love of her life because they have a strong relationship filled with honesty and love. Her strong relationships with family and friends have all helped show her the strength in her relationship with her life partner. Between choosing to have strong, close relationships and choosing to keep more to herself (isolation), Mackenzie felt the former option was better, and thus she will likely have a life full of love.
