s psychosocial model consists of eight stages of development which continue thoughout the life-span of an individual. This idea of discontinuity suggests that development occurs via a series of abrupt changes that develop from one stage to another. Presumably Erikson believes that an individual experiences a rapid period of change and reorganisation before being elevated to a new and more advanced stage of development. Continuity theorists however, would argue that human development is a process that occurs in small steps, without sudden change. Physical growth and language development, for example, show smooth, gradual and continuous growth. But Erikson does not totally rule out this argument. He suggests that experiences in the early stages have a bearing on the experiences in the later stages, this indicates that earlier and later development are connected in such away as to suggest continuity. Erikson also stresses the importance of environmental influences which would place the emphasises on continuous development, however, he also highlights the influential role of maturation in the growth sequence (as highlighted earlier). This suggests that Erikson did not ally himself with either extreme point of view. He recognised that some aspects of development are continuous, whereas others show stage-like characteristics. What Erikson has produced is a sequence of critical periods in the human life cycle. However, he did not imply that the crisis was by any means catastrophic, but that they represent crucial developments in which a decisive turn, one way or another is unavoidable (Stevens 1983). Eriksons psychosocial model is very generalised and he himself acknowledged that no attempt was made to trace the differences in ego development between the sexes. Erikson justifies this decision by arguing that beyond childhood there are no consistent differences between the development of men and women. It has also been suggested that the model ...
