Using information obtained from Jack’s autobiography, we can clearly see the application of Erikson’s theory on human development. As Jack goes through life as an individual with goals and aspirations in life, one can make distinct assumptions on when he goes experiences the stages depicted by Erikson.
Through his adolescent and young adulthood, he strives to be a good and accomplished student, a social activist and one who fears God as his creator. This shows the application of the theory of identity formation.
As a young person, Jack does things in life mainly because of a firm sense within himself that is molded around the instructions and words received from friends and family. He identifies himself with the theory of identity formation through his strong focus and commitment on his goals in high school as well as his opposition of negative things in his life using support from his parents and friends.
As an activist and a believer in God, he associated himself with students who fight for the good of all students in school. Jack portrays himself as one going through the stages where he needs to find his locus in the environment, purpose for his life and to cope with academic demands as well as maintain relationships with a girlfriend and colleagues.
As an adult, Jack creates a lasting change in the society and at his workplace through the many accomplished projects he undertakes. He remains committed to his family and has huge dreams for retirement after a bright and successful career.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory Case Study Two
An interview with Ken provided a firsthand insight into how he grew up. Ken a senior citizen due to retire next year built his life as a kid on the belief that his dad, a single parent, always told him what was right. This trust earned him a lot of respect from peers and his teachers in earlier childhood schooling due to his upright manners. Having lost his mum, he learned to take care of himself quite early in life. At school, Ken could manage his time better than most kids and was never an indiscipline case. He was a role model to many and was often referred to by teachers as having what every other kid should have. Ken was a friend to everyone. He was confident even to his tutors and could easily score good grades. He built his dreams as a student and worked hard to attain them.
In his later years, Ken was an astounding college student, one who headed his colleges’ student body and participated in numerous projects aimed at bettering his stay in college as well as that of other students. You could see his identity shaping itself and his life showing a purpose. He was destined to be a successful man.
Today, Ken is the father of two and is happily married to Jane, the woman of his dreams and college mate. Having worked for over thirty years in the public sector, Ken looks back at his life and smiles with a sense of fulfillment. He has been able to achieve a lot and can only hope that his kids live long enough to fill his shoes, a venture you would be told is almost impossible since Ken set the par too high for that.
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Case Study One
The activities Shebah took to undertake are analyzed to show the stages of cognitive development as argued by Piaget’s theory. Shebah tries to use a hoola loop just as she often sees her sisters do. She manages to hurl it around her waist but could not keep it going round. At the sensorimotor stage, children learn by taking in and adapting those things they can’t change. Here, a child learns the name the people in her environment use to call her and the names of the others. She/he realizes that she/he is not them, that she/he is her/his own self
The next stage characterizes the child’s ability to think better and express oneself better. After Shebah realizes she cannot do just as her sisters do, she looks around at the people present for help. This shows that she has the ability to solve a problem that is beyond her. This also shows that she is starting to understand other people. She attempts to engage another person in order to see from their perspective how it is supposed to be done. After instructions from her teacher, Shebah is able to fling the hoop and keep it in motion for much longer than the first time.
Shebah is able to realize that the other kids with her in the playground are not interested in her hoola hoop task. This shows that she understands that different people are interested in different things. The other kids would rather watch than join her. Her resolve to put it away shows that she is able to determine that not all goals can be achieved. It also shows her understanding that failing at something is socially undesirable. This is the stage where a person can think about those things that society expects of them. A person wants to do what is moral and socially acceptable. This is why Shebah takes pride in pointing out that she can zip her jacket on her own to try and win a good social rating.
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Case Study Two
A column on a magazine kept by a mother carries milestones covered by a newborn child as he grows. The mother records from the first few months how her kid could struggle to follow the movement of her fingers as she moved them across her face. His little fingers gradually developed a grasp that could wrap around any object that the palm comes into contact with.
After about two years, he was learning how to express himself by speaking and could assign symbols to objects in her environment. Here, he shows that he is developing the ability to understand his environment and the people in it. He could struggle to know his mother’s perspective of what some of the things in his environment were.
At school-going age, he could make out the logic behind most things in life. For instance, he uses a chair to boost his height in order to reach a switch after realizing that he is not tall enough to reach it. Given some information, he could build the bigger picture through reasoning out the principles which are based on.
He begins to define morally, ethically, and socially accepted ways of approaching issues from twelve years onwards. He is able to choose who to associate with a friend and how he is expected to behave in public. He can reason theoretically and in abstract to solve problems.