Childhood and the Modalities of Social Life
In this section, Erikson addresses early childhood development. He prefers to focus upon the role of nurture in a child's development, crediting environment and parenting for determining the success of most a child's major milestones, each of which are related to identity. Borrowing from Freud, Erikson lists eight stages of identity development which are essential to the full maturation of a child. Originally Freud proposed five stages, but Erikson tweaks those five and adds another three of his own conception. These are the 8 stages:
1)Infancy-2: Hope is the main concern of infants. They rely upon their bond with their mothers to figure out whether or not the world in which they find themselves is trustworthy.
2)2-4: These kids are testing their willpowers. They're learning the boundaries of self, I vs. you. Coupled with this sense of autonomy, they are questioning whether or not they should be ashamed of being themselves.
3)4-5: At this interval children are figuring out why they exist. They explore their world by first looking at where they fit into their families. This question often leads to struggles with guilt.
4)5-12: Now children are figuring out whether they are competent to fufill their purposes or not. They look to teachers, peers, and neighbors outside of the family to learn skills.
5)13-19: As adolescents, they are questioning their fidelity. They begin to identify places where they have mistaken their roles for their identities. At this stage, they look to their social relationships, mostly peers, to make sense of who they are and who they could be.
6)20-35: Young adults are solving the problem of love. They are trying to figure out why they feel lonely and whether they can successfully love other people.
7) 36-65: This stage is about care. Adults become once more concerned about the meaning of their lives, attempting to shake up the habits and systems which they adopted many years ago in order to make the most of their time.
8)65+: Finally, mature adults look for wisdom. They struggle to accept themselves in light of death. They must solve the problems of despair and inner integrity.
Childhood in Two American Indian Tribes
In this section Erikson relates his work studying the Yurok and Oglala Sioux tribes in North America. He brings his theories about childhood development along for an extended stay with the tribes, focusing on their children. He uses his first-hand experience to verify his theories.
The Growth of the Ego
Erikson tackles the concept of ego by showing it preferential treatment. He believes that the ego is formed almost entirely by environmental influence from a young age. Agreeing with Freud, he presents the Id, Ego, and Superego as the dominant psychological components of the mind. He does not, however, believe that the Id is the one which controls most of a person's thought process. Instead, he argues that the Ego acts as an intermediary between the Id and the Superego.
Youth and the Evolution of Identity
Here again environmental factors are given the most influence in the development of a young person's identity. Erikson believes that identity is the central concern of all people, but specific questions related to ego surface in adolescence. He asserts that a person's social and physical environments are the most dominant force in reshaping their identity. If they learn to control those influences, then they will most likely be successful in accepting themselves and thus solving the crisis of identity.
