Essay Sample on Erikson's Last Development Stage

Introduction

The last stage of Erikson's development stage is ego integrity vs. despair. Like other stages of development, there is a conflict between two ideas that need to be resolved before a person can complete that particular stage. In the last step, the conflicting views are integrity and despair. Although Erikson & Erikson (1998) added a ninth stage, the ego integrity vs. despair is the universally accepted stage because many people fail to reach the ninth phase. Ego integrity vs. despair affects the oldest section of the population which is made up of those above the age of 65 years. However, it is important to note that the last stage of development can occur out of sequence. Other circumstances such as terminal illness can cause the step to happen much earlier in a person's life. As Cherry (2018), explains, the eighth stage begins when a person starts to get a realization of their mortality. The eighth stage of development is triggered by life events such as retirement, the death of a spouse, loss of friends, or terminal illness as described above.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

People in the ego integrity vs. despair stage of psychological development tend to contemplate their accomplishments in life and develop either integrity or despair depending on the conclusions that they will draw. The most important event for a person in maturity is life reflection. The psychological state that will win is dependent upon the virtues and values that a person developed in their previous stages. The conclusion that a person will draw is highly reliant on their definition of success. Others will look at the wealth that they accumulated and feel satisfied with their life. For most people, they care about the relationships they developed and the impact they had on other people's lives. In case the person values relationships, they will appreciate or regret the relationships that they had and the lives that they failed or succeeded to change. In some cases, people will look at both financial and social aspects as measures of their success in life.

According to McLeod (2018), if a person contemplates their life and sees it as successful, they will develop integrity. If a person observes their experiences and views them in terms of the missed opportunities and failures, they will build despair. A person needs to see their life as something that happened as it was supposed to happen so that they can develop integrity. Erikson describes integrity as a sense of coherence and wholeness where a person sees their life cycle as one that had to be Erikson (1982). Such views are what determine the chances of being successful at the ego integrity stage of psychological development.

The people who succeed in the last stage develop wisdom. They dedicate the final chapter of their life to inspiring other people, nurturing the younger generation, They also accept death without fear because they feel complete. However, McLeod (2018) is quick to remind people that the people who succeed in the last development stage don't have a continuous phase of ego integrity. These people still have episodes of despair and regret. The key is finding a balance between the two psychological states. It is impossible to maintain a constant ego, but it is possible to have continuous despair. Therefore, the final stage of development should have focused on suppressing depression to succeed at that stage.

References

Cherry, K. (2018, November 10). Integrity vs. Despair in Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from very well mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/integrity-versus-despair-2795738

Erikson, E., & Erikson, J. (1998). The Life Cycle Completed. New York, NY: Norton.

McLeod, S. (2018, May 3). Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from Simply Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html