Child Development
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When Erikson talks about instincts, he relates them in terms of a division of instincts, or division of labors, as between males and females. His observations come from his work with children, where he saw, from a very early age, and across different cultures, "divisions of labor" played out in games, where, given the same toys (building blocks), the children played out given gender roles in their constructions. Boys tended to build towers, buildings, and streets, whereas girls tended to build interiors with simple designs and using far fewer blocks. This was interpreted by Erikson as boys reacting to their instincts of their role in life, aiming high in an effort to overcompensate for doubts and fears about their masculinity, because tall towers and buildings in these games were more likely to come tumbling down. Girls only occasionally built towers, and then had them leaning against something for support, and most girls built houses with open interiors. A common theme in the games was for an intruder (always male, even if in animal form), but this did not cause fear in the girls, but pleasure and amusement. Again, the games of the children were a mirror of their roles in life: the males being strong and aggressive, and the females being supportive and comforting. Erikson thus sees instincts as all leading towards the main goal in life - reproduction, and the accepted roles of males and females in these capacities. He finds differences ac
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identity is being lost, and the adult one is not yet formed: the adolescent falls between these two stages, and is at a critical point for developing a stable ego identity which will carry them through life, or suffering life-long ego impairment. They have a need to fit into society, to be accepted, to be a part of the whole again. The security of their childhood is gone, and they have to establish it anew in the adult world. It is a time of doubts and uncertainties as the adolescent struggles to establish an ego identity which will carry them through a successful life.
3. Process of Organismic Organization; Time-Space and the Life-Cycle; Social Organization of Ego Organisms in Geographical-Historical Units
As the infant (organism) first starts to develop, there are processes of organization which are inherent to the individual by which it sorts out experiences of its ego which it has encountered in its interactions with the world. This gives the person a sense of individual identity. At all times, an individual exists as an ego, an organism, and a member of society, and part of all three processes of organization. The person as an organism is organized to survive as an individual; the ego is organized by virtue of it
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Geographical-Historical Units, Drives Erikson, Impairment Ego, ego identity, sense trust, organismic organization, ego impairment, ego organisms, ego identity comes, , trust vs mistrust, erikson instincts, vs mistrust, ego identity carry, role life, rely mother, towers buildings,
Approximate Word count = 1607
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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