Erikson & Super Development Theories

Erikson’s Psychosocial Development

• Lifespan model with $8$ sequential stages; each stage presents a psychosocial conflict whose resolution fosters a key virtue.

• Stages:

  • Infancy (ages $0!\text{-}!1$): Trust vs. Mistrust → Virtue: Hope.
  • Early Childhood (ages $1!\text{-}!3$): Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt → Virtue: Will.
  • Play Age (ages $3!\text{-}!6$): Initiative vs. Guilt → Virtue: Purpose.
  • School Age (ages $7!\text{-}!11$): Industry vs. Inferiority → Virtue: Competence.
  • Adolescence (ages $12!\text{-}!18$): Identity vs. Role Confusion → Virtue: Fidelity.
  • Early Adulthood (ages $19!\text{-}!29$): Intimacy vs. Isolation → Virtue: Love.
  • Middle Adulthood (ages $30!\text{-}!64$): Generativity vs. Stagnation → Virtue: Care.
  • Late Adulthood (ages $65+$): Integrity vs. Despair → Virtue: Wisdom.

Super’s Career Development Theory

• Life-span, life-space perspective; vocational behaviour evolves through identifiable stages and multiple life roles.

• Career stages:

  • Growth (birth – $14$): Forming self-concept, work attitudes, basic needs.
  • Exploration ($15!\text{-}!24$): "Trying out" via study, work, hobbies; tentative choices; skill building.
  • Establishment ($25!\text{-}!44$): Entry-level skill acquisition; work experience; stabilisation.
  • Maintenance ($45!\text{-}!64$): Continuous adjustment to preserve or enhance position.
  • Decline ($65+$): Reduced work output; retirement planning.

• Life-Space: Simultaneous roles—Child, Student, Worker, Homemaker/Parent, Citizen, Leisurite—depicted in the "Life Rainbow"; role salience shifts across ages.

• Determinants of career development:

  • Personal: Psychological, biological factors.
  • Environmental: Labour market, employment practices.
  • Situational: Historical and socioeconomic context.