Human Growth and Behaviour Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Growth and Behaviour - Research Paper Example Erikson expressed the notion that every stage of growth has its distinctive challenges, referred to as crises. He held that such egocentric crises offered challenges to the identity of an individual (Riley and Erikson, 1979). Successful psychosocial development or personality development relies on addressing and overpowering these responsibilities or crises. The first stage of development and the crisis faced by the child involves the basic trust versus basic mistrust of an infant, which emphasizes that when parents meet all the needs of an infant, trust develops automatically. â€Å"The basic strength of the first stage is hope or the expectation that difficulties in life, presenting whatever challenge they may, will eventually result in a positive outcome† (Archer, 2011). Accordingly, the infant would require this sense of hope at his subsequent stages of behavioral development to meet any impending challenges (Lawler, 2002). The weakness of this stage or rather the direct o pposite of hope is the hopelessness and withdrawal. Jimmy Lee felt hopeless during his infancy because both his parents worked at their restaurant for long hours, leaving their son under the care of other Scottish friends and relatives who looked after his interchangeably for the first two years of his life. The second stage, autonomy, and shame during toddlerhood involve parents who generate supportive and caring surroundings to let the toddlers study and apply independence and gain their personal confidence.