Erickson’s underlying principles of his theory were to fully understand and grasp how the human’s behavioral developments develop. And it also explains at what stage in their lives people start to assess certain feelings, virtues and challenges about their own lives. For example developing an identity for yourself, loving someone and knowing if you lived a meaningful life to be remembered for who you are and what you have done.
Stage 1: Trust VS. Mistrust.
As an infant comes into the world helpless and defenseless, they depend on their parents guardians or caregivers to take care of the. For the first two years of their lives its beneficial to learn that the parents/ caregivers can be trusted for their needs to be met. When a child is properly cared for the child develops a sense of trustworthiness for the world. If this stage is completed with success the child will blossom with a virtue of hope. If a child is robbed of this experience they would go through life having trust issues. For the child to overcome this they must learn that the initial person who betrayed their trust for example their parent, they must learn to slowly get to know who a person is and be treated how their parents should’ve gained their trust by always trusting a person will come back, tell truth and stay with them.
Stage 2: Autonomy VS. Shame
As the infant enters their toddler years they become more independent, as they enter this stage they want to make more choices that influence their lives. Such as which foods to eat and what clothes to wear. Developing these actions help a child determine a sense of doubt about their abilities. Infants who succeed through this stage develop a virtue of will, meaning they can make meaningful actions that highly influence their outcomes. Infants who develop autonomy tend to feel self- confident and comfortable about themselves. Parents can help by