Plan of Three Generations

The psychosocial phases and how they are represented by people in different phases through interviews are easy to learn. This practice helps the researcher to self-evaluate the steps and refer to what theoretical literature holds, whatever the results he receives. By interviewing two groups of adolescents, I thus threw myself into a realistic study of the psychosocial stages. The first group I met with consisted of young children between the ages of one and a half and three. In any learning program, no one of them was enrolled. They were still in a period of autonomy versus guilt.I found them on a playing ground, and they were thrilled performing various sports. I threw myself into their game, and I took around thirty-five minutes doing what they were doing before I diverted their attention. The aim of my interview ranged from knowing whether the little kids understood who they were all the way to establishing if they knew what was going on around them. I also was intending to tell if they had adopted social life and if they cared about it. For instance, I was in need of responses relating to their dress, their friends, their pets, their playing skills and their view of their parents' role in their lives.

During the interview, I suspected that the kids could tell me about their gender and provide me with information about their social life in general. Having migrated recently from their very first stage, I expected that the kids could give the report on their experience in the early stage and perhaps intersperse their responses with numerous quotes on their expectations. The challenges I anticipated were equally more. Children in this stage are usually timid to divulge any meaningful information that can be easy to be deciphered. Also, the kids who might have taken the negative side of the first psychosocial stage might not be appropriate for an interview. The preceding requires that the sample to be interviewed should be more significant. It is however easy to identify the kids whose first psychosocial stage went in a negative way. The following interview is going to give a summary of the fascinating discussion I had with two kids in their second psychosocial stage.

I started by asking them their names. One, John, answered correctly and the other was unable to speak. Her inability to produce her identity was perhaps due to her extremely young age or probably her unfamiliarity with me. Having graduated from their first stage of psychosocial development, the kid could find it difficult to produce much information to improve my knowledge of the behavior. After some few minutes of our interaction, another kid developed an interest to join us and she served as a substitute for the other girl who could not talk appropriately. She was in her mid-second year and she appeared so social. Her name was Jane. My second question to them touched on gender. I wanted to know what their sex was. This was a little bit challenging to them as only one was able to answer. All the rest exhibited difficulties in providing reasonable responses to the question. The third question I asked was about their favorite meals and if they knew how to eat on their own. One jumped off the ground and shouted ‘yeeeees.' He then said his most favorite meal was rice served with hot chicken soup. In tandem with Erickson (1963), he affirmed that he could eat on his own and went on to demonstrate the same with imaginary food. Another who was a girl this time said that her favorite meal was rice served with beef. From how they responded it was clear that the boy was more assertive than the girl. He answered questions with high confidence and was able to maneuver answers for more challenging questions. He could even jump in to answer questions directed to Jane.

I went on to the last question. I wanted to know if the kids knew about pets. Pets are liked by kids at this stage because they appear so entertaining to them. I asked them to tell me their favorite pets. John spoke and said that he loved dogs. It was easy to notice the amount of satisfaction a dog gave to him. He talked with ecstasy. He even had his toy of a dog. He liked and wrapped it quite often. I went to Jane. Her most favorite pet was a cat. Her joy when responding to the question could also portray her great liking for cats. She also had her toy of a cat. John had his pullover hanging over his shoulder. I asked if I could help him put on his sweater, but he turned my offer down and insisted that he could do it on his own. The interaction I had with the kids offered some responses I needed, and some were not met correctly. I, however, discovered some funny issue with the kids yet it is important to note. Jane was shy. Despite the fact that she was a little bit younger than John, her shyness could be derived from another aspect altogether. Something else that I learned was that the first stage of psychosocial development has a significant impact on the formation of characters that are exhibited on the second psychosocial development. Kids in this stage take time to trust an individual. One must be able to convince them that he is harmless and cannot harm them. Thus, the second psychosocial stage of development is somewhat defined on the fundamentals of the first one. On this, however, I cannot rule out one's unfamiliarity with the kids. It also plays some role. The moments that followed, however, were characterized with more lively interaction than the one we had at the start. Nevertheless, she was able to talk and answer questions more lively.

Questions:

What is your name?

What is your gender?

What is your favorite meal?

What is your favorite pet?

Second Interview

Another group of individuals I interviewed comprised of two kids- a boy and a girl- who were between three and five years old. One was a boy, and the other was a girl. I did not meet them coincidentally, but I went for them. They were having lunch with their parents on a social ground, and I approached to them in a friendly manner. Their parents allowed me to interview them after seeking permission and explaining fully what mission I intended to accomplish. My goal was to establish if the kids understood who they were and if they showed the habits of children in the third stage of development. So, I was in need of information relating to their gender, their understanding of their environment and also their ability to mend their fans when they broke down.

I started by asking them their names. The first was Judy and the second was James. James was a little bit bolder than Judy. The next thing I asked them was about their gender. They both had knowledge about who they were. Judy replied that she was a girl and James replied that he was a male. They exhibited confidence in their gender. No one displayed any aspects of inferiority or shyness. Apparently, they just knew that there is nothing more than being a male or female. They only knew that a person was either male or female probably basing their knowledge on their biological aspects. I also sought to understand why they think they were male or female. This was, however, a little more challenging. Judy felt shy to answer this, but James said because he wore a trouser. Judy's behavior towards the above question portrayed her as having hidden much information as regards the knowledge she had about gender. I told them to throw their fans into the sky. They threw them, and when they hit the ground, they were broken. James embarked on mending his while Judy felt restless about the state of her fan. After some few minutes, James's fan was rotating. On realizing that James could fix him, she started trying to make hers too. When she was unable to accomplish her mission, James offered to mend it for her. In the end, both of them were fanning their fans. Then I asked them if it was possible to fly like a bird. They replied almost at the same time that it was not possible since they did not have wings. The preceding exhibits their knowledge of what they were able to do and what they could not do. Of course, it is at this stage that people start to form opinions about what they can do and what they cannot do. Mostly, the knowledge garnered at this point impounds general aspects of life. The experience is limited to human possibilities and impossibilities. I eventually gave them one dollar each and told them to go and buy anything they wished. They purchased different items. Their behavior towards usage of the money of their choice also communicates much. It demonstrates that at this stage, opinions have started forming. A kid can make a decision. This also talked about something else altogether. It showed that the kids were developing very fast and so they were prepared for the following psychosocial stage of development.

In the course of the interview, I had all the information I needed. The questions I intended that should be answered were answered. The kids were in their third stage of psychosocial development. In this step, the kids were trying to delineate their actions. In other words, they were trying to understand what they were able to do and what they were not able to do. The first thing I noted is that at this stage, most kids do not understand why they are male or female. But they know their gender. They know that they are different, but they cannot explain that phenomenon. To some extent also, a girl has started feeling that a boy is more powerful than her at this stage. This concurs with Erickson (1963) that on realizing that they are different, a girl starts to develop some feeling that is significantly different from a man. This is where femininity and masculinity begin to build. This is probably why Judy sought James to mend her fan. At this stage also, I learned that their preferences have begun to change. When I gave them a dollar each to buy anything of their choice they purchased different items. This is an apparent show that their aspirations differ. At this stage, I observed that when James and Judy were finally allowed by their parents to join others in the sport, they entered different sports. James joined a group who were playing soccer while Judy joined girls who were playing the roles of a mother. This demarcation of sports taught me that the kids in the third stage have started marking what they can do and what they cannot do.

The lessons I learned from the interview was essential. As Allen et al. (2003) assert, kids at this stage are always yearning to learn and are ever inquisitive (8-9). Most of them at this stage can attempt to try their hands on more complex and advanced activities. For the first learners, it dawned on me that they can even exhibit aspects of those kids in the next stage which usually begins from six years to twelve years. I learned that kids in this step should not only be allowed to try things on their own but they should also be allowed to choose what clothing to put on, what sport to join and even food to eat if possible. Many parents think that children at this stage are far too young to do anything on their own. It is however not advisable to embrace the thinking above. My friend tended to deny her kids at this stage a chance to try things on their own. She always felt terrible when her son chose a different sport from what she commanded. Thus, she could give the child a sense of being able to do something on his own (Franz & White, 1985, p. 232). This is when children will develop the ability to initiate.

Questions

What is your name?

What is your gender?

What would you like to get for 1 dollar?

References

Allen, Eileen; Marotz, Lynn (2003). Developmental Profiles Pre-Birth Through Twelve (4th ed.). Albany, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning

Erickson H (1963). Childhood and Society. New York, WW Norton.

Franz C, White K. (1985). Individuation and attachment in personality Development: Extending Erikson's theory. Journal of Personality 53 2, June 1985, Duke University Press CCC 0022-3506/85/$! 50.