Erikson Case Studies 5 and 6

Case Study #5 Erikson

1. The crisis in Erikson’s first stage of psychosocial development (Trust vs. Mistrust) was when Chrystell would have to depend on her mother to feed her when she was hungry.  Her mother would feed her on demand and eventually found out that Chrystell did not demand to be fed too often.  Chrystell trusts her mother to feed her because her mother was consistent with feeding.  However, Chrystell did cry a little, but not hysterically, in the mornings for food.  This means that that Chrystell did develop the basic strength of hope (belief that desires will be satisfied), but that Chrystell also developed a little bit of the maladaptive mistrust, which is good.  By having this slight mistrust, a form of protection was developed.  This is a favorable outcome because she has developed trust, but it is not over the top.
2. The crisis in Erikson’s second stage of psychosocial development (Autonomy vs. Doubt and Shame) was when Chrystell was having to learn how to use the toilet to become potty trained.  Both of Chrystell’s parents did not rush or force her into potty training before she was ready.  Instead, her parents encouraged them to use the potty and to learn control on their own. Even though Crystell had a few accidents in the process of potty training, her parents did not embarrass her. Instead, they kept reminding her to use the bathroom next time.  Chrystell learned how to use the toilet through determination and her parents’ constant positive reinforcement.  Along with that, she developed the basic strength of will (determination to exercise freedom and restraint in face of societal demands.  This is a favorable outcome since she did develop will and since she was able to exercise independence by using the toilet and by making the choice to use the toilet.
3.  The crisis in Erikson’s third stage of psychosocial development (Initiative vs. Guilt) was when Chrystell was learning how to dictate her own activities.  Her parents did not want to dictate her own activities, so instead they gave her a couple of choices.  Chrystell was then able to choose which activity she preferred.  Sometimes her parents did not even have to give her options since she would go off on her own to amuse herself.  Chrystell was able to develop the adaptive initiative since she initiated her own activities and was able to know permissible behaviors.  She also developed the basic strength of purpose, which is the courage to envision and pursue goals.  This is a favorable outcome since she developed purpose and was able to pick her own activities with little to no guidance.
4.  The crisis in Erikson’s fourth stage of development (Industriousness vs. Inferiority) was when Chrystell was having to go to school, make friends, and do well in her classes.  Chrystell was able to make a lot of friends, and not only do well in school, but she was/is doing exceptionally well in her classes.  Chrystell’s parents were very quick to praise her accomplishments in school and to help her if she had difficulty.  She was able to develop the adaptive industriousness since she was able to surpass her classroom expectations and since she was reinforced by her parents for her positive behavior.  Chrystell developed the basic strength of competence, which is the exertion of skill and intelligence in pursuing and completing tasks.  This is a favorable outcome since she did develop strong social skills, and was able to develop the basic strength of competence.
5. Some guidance that Chrystell’s parents gave her was when her parents tried not to dictate her activity.  Instead, her parents gave her a couple of different activity options and let her pick.  However, her parents did not give her options sometimes because Chrystell would go off and do her own activities.  Another example of Chrystell’s parents showing guidance was when they encouraged her to reach milestones like walk, hold a spoon, and feed themselves.  The parents would guide her by doing certain activities with her or showing her how to do the activities.  

Case Study #6

1.  Betty is extremely externally motivated.  She married Cole because she thought it was expected of her and she did not think that guys would find her attractive or witty.  She really thought Cole was her last chance at getting married.  She lacks a lot of confidence to even think about divorcing her Cole and doing what she wants to do. Betty also let her parents really dictate what she did even in college.  She did not really do things because she wanted to do them, rather, wait for others to almost decide for her.  According to Erikson’s theory, Betty is motivated by her ego.  She does things that she does not really want to do (like marrying Cole and quitting her teaching job), but simply doing things to avoid a consequence.  She does things that she thinks she is supposed to do.
2. The crisis in Erikson’s fourth stage of psychosocial development (Industriousness vs. Inferiority) was when Betty attended school.  She did not have a lot of friends and did not do as well in her classes as her parents would have liked. She got mainly B’s and C’s and her parents were disappointed in her because of that. Her parents believed she should be doing better in school since her older brother and parents did well in school.  Betty really did not resolve this stage because she did not try to get better grades or be more diligent with her school work.  Instead, she seemed to let her parents scolding affect her.  She never really developed the basic strength from this stage (competence), which is described as exertion of skill and intelligence in pursuing and completing tasks.  Throughout her life she never really felt good enough in pursuing different things.  For example, when she was in college, she did not date a lot because she thought other girls around her were wittier and more attractive.  She never was able to resolve this stage, so she had a more difficult time resolving other conflicts, like her dating life in college and insecurities, later on in life. This is obviously an unfavorable outcome since she did not really attempt to resolve this crisis.
3. In Erikson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development (Identity Cohesion vs. Role Confusion), Betty experiences the crisis of being around girls whom she believes are wittier and more attractive than she is.  She also was still taking demands from her father because he forbade her to go to social functions held by another school even though they were well chaperoned. Betty did not really resolve this crisis.  She did eventually fall in love with a guy that she dated in college, but he did not have the same feelings for her as she did for him. By her not resolving this crisis, she has developed an identity crisis.  She has confusion of belonging, purpose, and direction.  Betty also did not really form a strong sense of self-image since she viewed others as being better than her.  Along with that, she did not develop the basic strength of fidelity, which is described as sincerity, genuineness, and a sense of duty in relationships with others. This, again, is not favorable since she did not resolve this crisis and does not have a positive outcome from this crisis.
4.  In Erikson’s sixth stage of psychosocial development (Intimacy vs. Isolation), Betty experiences the crisis of feeling like she has to marry and having to try to love her husband.  She ended up just marrying Cole because she felt that this was her only option to get a husband and a potential family. Along with that, she ended up quitting her job because she thought that is what was expected of her as a wife and a potential mother.  Cole had to travel a lot and she was left to take care of their two kids.  She ended up giving her husband very little attention and put all of her focus into her two kids.  She did not really have a social life of any kind because of the feeling like she was the sole caregiver to her child.  The only real form of attention that she did get from her husband was in the form of criticism.  She did not really resolve this stage at all because she did not develop the basic strength of love, which is the mutual devotion in a shared identity. Along with that, she did not really resolve any of the other stages so it is easy to predict that she will not really resolve this crisis. She also developed a maladaptive isolation of avoidance of social contacts and rejection of others.  This is not a favorable outcome since she did not resolve this crisis, or the others before this stage.
5.  The Erickson psychosocial development stage of Generativity vs. Stagnation crisis that Betty went through was when she was trying to figure out what to do with her life then on.  She is trying to figure out if she should stay with her husband as well since she doesn’t feel needed by him.  Betty wants to move away to be with her kids, but she is afraid that she will annoy them.  She also attended church social events out of boredom, not because she really had a true passion for it.  It sounds like she did some of this to avoid being with her husband at their permanent home as well. She did not really resolve this stage at all because she really is not doing anything for the betterment of the future generations, but simply because she has nothing else to do with her time.  She has developed the maladaptive stagnation of boredom, pseudo-intimacy, self-absorption and childlike behaviors.  She did not develop the basic strength of care, which is the broad concern for others and need to teach for others and one’s own identity.  This is obviously not a favorable outcome since she did not resolve this crisis.
6. According to Erikson’s theory, we would expect Betty’s eight stage of life (Ego Integrity vs. Despair) to have a non-favorable outcome like the other stages.  She did not resolve any of the crisis issues before, so there is no way to say that she will suddenly have a favorable outcome now.  I predict that she will regret marrying her husband, and most of her life decisions.  Along with that, I would think that she will be angry and frustrated with how her life has turned out and at some of her decisions.  I even think that she will begin to have a sense of disgust towards herself.  She could not fulfill any of her wants, and I see her still with her husband until she passes because she does not have the confidence to leave him.  If they do get a divorce, I see her husband making the decision and not Betty.  I also do not see her ever moving out by her two kids because she will think even less of herself and not want to annoy them or burden them with her problems.