Question

Kathleen is 2 years old. she very much wants to do things for herself - dressing herself, brushing her teeth, and so on - in the morning. most of the time her mother will not let her do such things because she is so slow and clumsy. today mom tells kathleen she can dress herself, but before long mom is saying: "kathleen, you've got your pants on backwards again! can't you ever put your clothes on right? here, let me do it. you're making me late for work." if kathleen hears this kind of talk very often, erikson suggests that kathleen might be at risk for developing a sense of:

Answer 1

Erikson is known for his Stages of Psychosocial Development (the guy with all the ___ vs ___ stages).

Kathleen is two, so start by looking at the stages that she might go through at or around her age. At age 2, she is most likely to be in the Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt stage.

Since her mother is constantly criticizing her for doing things wrong while she attempts to be autonomous, she will develop a sense of shame & doubt, instead of a sense of autonomy.