Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development (Research Paper Sample)

Erickson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development
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Erickson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development
The Characters of Batman and Joker and the Psychosocial Theory
The characters of Batman and Joker are very similar to each other as both operate outside the embraced norms of the society. The two use fear, confusion and intellect to triumph over their enemies. They have their own values and beliefs; in the places where Batman shuns the societal values but does not consider them meaningless, the Joker looks upon all of it as a “joke”. The Joker is the true agent of chaos in Gotham. According to his principals the rules of the society are worthless and that justice and innocence do not exist. If these two characters are analyzed in the context of psychosocial stages developed by Erickson then both will appear to be in the later stages of adulthood (McLeod, 2008).
The Batman
The early life of Batman is well-known; he was child who witnessed the murder of his parents in a dark alley. Bruce Wayne, who adorns the disguise of Batman, was a son of a businessman and was loved by his parents. This alludes that he successfully passed through the early stages of personality development. Being nurtured as an infant he developed trust, he was encouraged to do things so he built up autonomy. Moreover, as an adult he takes initiative and assumes roles of leadership which suggests that he also acquired the traits of initiative and competence during childhood. It is the later stage of identity versus role confusion and the next stage of intimacy versus isolation where it seems that the personality of Batman deviated. His feelings of loss, unhappiness and confusion about the unknown future set him off to a journey of discovering his identity. Finally, he is unable to have intimate relationship with people since he lost his parents at an early age. There is some comfort with his butler but overall Batman prefers isolation and loneliness over companionship and is stuck in this stage (Langley, 2012).
The Joker
The past life of this character is shrouded in darkness. The origins of the early life of Joker as a child are kept a mystery. There is no reasonable explanation on “Why he exists, what he is?” However, the skill...