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How does movement through Erikson’s stages influence personality development?

Similar to Freud, Carl Rogers developed his theory from his extensive work with his patients. However, unlike Freud, he believed that people are typically healthy; being mentally healthy is the normal state. Although there are unhealthy people, they are not the norm or what one has to accept and live with throughout one’s life. Furthermore, Rogers believed that each person has one primary motivation—to realize his/her full potential or to be self-actualized. Finally, he posited that neurosis stems from incongruence between one’s real self and one’s ideal self. He applied this to his theory of counseling in the development of three therapeutic criteria that he felt were both necessary and sufficient to help the patient. These three qualities are now the foundation for modern person-centered therapy.

The three qualities that form the foundation of Rogerian therapy are empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. These will be relatively easy to express for people you naturally like but can be difficult to express for people whom you do not like nor agree with.

Imagine that you are a psychologist working with a population of individuals that tend to be more difficult to work with, such as sex offenders, elderly patients with dementia, or mentally challenged children. Use the Internet, Argosy University library resources, and your textbook to research the concepts of Rogerian therapy and respond to the following questions:

• Realistically, do you think it is possible to be congruent and to extend empathy and unconditional positive regard to these clients in a psychotherapeutic context? Why or why not?
• How do you think clinicians practicing Rogerian therapy would approach these concepts for these clients?
• How might Rogerian therapy be a helpful strategy for these clients?
• Is it possible these concepts of Rogerian therapy could hinder treatment?

Write your initial response in 4–5 paragraphs. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By Saturday, January 31, 2015, post your response to the appropriateDiscussion Area. Through Wednesday, February 4, 2015, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Assignment 2: LASA 1: Development Throughout the Lifespan

Erikson and Freud are two of the few theorists who have developed a lifespan approach to development. Freud’s approach to development was psychosexual while Erikson’s was psychosocial. Even though Freud’s theory is better known, Erikson’s theory remains a leading and very much applied model in personality and developmental psychology today.

When considering these two stage-oriented theories, you can directly compare the majority of their stages. These are matched in the following table:

When considering Erikson’s eight stages of development, the way a person moves through each stage directly affects their success in the next stage. Their personality is being built and shaped with each stage. At each stage, there is a turning point, called a crisis by Erikson, which a person must confront.

In this assignment, you will observe or interview two different people, each at a different stage of development. For a third observation, take a look at yourself and the stage that you are in (this stage must be different from your other two observations).

• Record your three observations in a template. Include the following information:
  • Name
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Current developmental stage
  • Status within the stage (i.e., identity achievement or role confusion)
  • Events that have lead to this status

Download a Development Template from the Doc Sharing area to record your observations.

• Summarize what you have learned about psychosocial development through these observations/interviews.
• Summarize the trends you see in your observations/interviews regarding psychosocial development.
• How does movement through Erikson’s stages influence personality development? Again, be specific.
• How do Erikson’s stages of development compare to Freud’s stages? How are they similar? How are they different?
• Between these two theories, which one do you feel best explains your own personality development? Justify your answers with specific examples.