PSY 433: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

AURELLANO, ALEXA JAY J CLASS SEAT NO. 8

1P5/ MON & WED/ 8:30AM – 10:00AM/ ROOM 316 AUGUST 27, 2018

REFLECTION PAPER: ERIK ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY

Looking into Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory and viewing it alongside my own
experiences from childhood up to the present, I’ve come to realize how the process I
underwent growing up greatly influenced the person who I am today. As an infant, I was
kept in the hospital for over a month due to sepsis, a blood infection I contracted upon
birth. I had a twin sister, Alexa May, who was also infected with sepsis, and even though
she was the first to be allowed to be sent home, her immune system weakened far more
greatly than mine did, eventually leading to her death. Meanwhile my mother, during the
first few days my sister was still alive, stayed with her at home and resorted to breast-
pumping her milk for me to feed on and having it sent to the hospital through my father
before he would go to work. At that prominent event in my infant days, and the following
months after that (what with growing up with such a profound loss already, a loss that I
was still too young to comprehend), I was left with entrusting my upbringing to my parents,
an upbringing made more challenging due to my sister’s early death. I’d like to think that
trust laid the foundation of my awe and gratitude for my parents for their strength and
perseverance in raising me, and eventually, my younger brother. That foundation only
solidified as time went by.
As for my toddler years, I’ve been told I was a very carefree child, the type to end
up constantly followed and very closely observed by my parents due to my “wild” and
active tendencies. I remember one memory of me and my father during this early phase
in my life, where I was happily running on a field and he was chasing me, eventually
catching up with my pace, and him carrying me on his shoulders. This signifies my high
stance on autonomy, which was fueled by my parents’ indulgence of my amusements. In
the present, however, I’ve learned to control my impulsivity with rational thinking.
I was a very spoiled, quick-tempered child prone to tantrums during my
preschooler years. I remember crying in public when my mother wouldn’t buy me this one
toy I saw at a store. My father eventually bought the toy for me to stop my tantrums. I took
on that event and used it to develop my initiative with regards to knowing how to get what
I want. I rarely expressed guilt over such instances, because my parents were not that
strict in giving me what I wanted. Besides material things, however, I was very attached
to them, always wanting them to give me their time and attention so that they could play
with me. I was also initiative in the sense that I was a fast-learner as a child. I learned
how to count on my own, unfortunately, through watching my relatives play mahjong
during family gatherings. Up until now, I rely on my experiences to better understand
things and how it would best work out for me and my situation. Being observant and aware
helped me develop my initiative as a child to something better and more apt for present
times.
 My brother was born during my middle and late childhood years when I was nine
years old. At this time, I was an active child who loved playing outdoors. I mostly played
with guys and preferred playing with toy cars and guns instead of dolls. I was somewhat
settled with my preferences, and confident with my choices and my actions. However,
inferiority came in when my parents devoted less of their attention and time on me and
more on my brother – I was threatened with the fact that I was not the “favorite” child
anymore. Nowadays, I am still learning how to be more secure, ideally, in all aspects of
my life (i.e., decisions and actions), and I would ensure this progress by being more open
to criticism and changes.
I had trouble expressing myself when I was starting in my adolescent years. I was
a consistent honor student and it put a lot of pressure on my shoulders. During this time,
my father started working abroad, which eventually led me to become even more studious
and grade-conscious because I felt that I was left with such a huge responsibility. It
inevitably set the tone for my perspective on pursuing academic excellence in the
following years, particularly in senior high school, wherein I was left to adjust to a lot of
changes that come with transferring to a new school (i.e., the environment, the new K-12
education system, and peers). As I grew older, I have come to terms with being open to
mistakes that have become beyond my control, as well as not sacrificing my health and
well-being just to keep my grades up.
As a college freshman, I dealt with the first thing I knew I was having trouble
handling: making friends. I remember being intimidated by the fact that almost my whole
block consisted of senior high school graduates from UST, which led me to believe, one
way or another, that they all knew each other very well. Going through the orientation
week, however, my worries began to fade when I made good friends with some of my
block mates, which all began with me initiating small conversations here and there. I
learned to step out of my comfort zone, being more open to meeting new people and not
fearing talking first.
My parents are my greatest influencers. They taught me everything, gave me what
I wanted, what I needed, and more. As Erik Erikson’s seventh stage suggests, the thing
my parents created that would outlast them, besides me and my brother, was their
influence. Through them, I learned to value the essence and fruit of hard work. Due to
both of my parents coming from a not-so-well-off family, they made sure that I understood
the importance of being able to provide for one’s family, leading me to be more
appreciative of their efforts just to sustain me and my brother’s needs and wants. Through
them, I also became a firm family-oriented person.
Besides my parents and my brother, I live with my grandparents. As I grew older
and witnessed them do the same, after going through several conflicts that couldn’t be
helped, I’ve learned to accept and respect the differences in our views due to the gap in
our generations, as well as their firmness in their stance and beliefs.
Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory enabled me to understand how there is an
explanation, a logical reason, for everything. Growth and development is not just a linear
process, and using my own experience growing up as an example, it served to help me
realize that the process I went through was not that easy and all that positive. I had to
experience a negative to identify, strive for, and get a positive.