The Development of Trust

"We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn."– Mary Catherine Bateson

Do you believe that you are trustworthy? Do you believe that you are trusting or do you believe that you have difficulty in this area? A man by the name of Erik Erikson employed a developmental approach in his psychosocial theory of man regarding the human life cycle. He believed that man goes through critical stages of psychological-social development from birth to death. His research comprised a detailed analysis of men, women and children employing a psychoanalytic approach. Briefly his model differs from Freud’s in the fact that he incorporated more of man’s institutions and relied less on Freud’s psycho sexual approach.

Erikson has been a prolific writer and has written books such as: Childhood and Society, Young Man Luther, Insight and Responsibility, Identity: Youth and Crisis and Gandhi’s Truth.  In Childhood and Society, Erikson expands about the first stage of psychosocial development. He believed that the child has an opportunity to develop a sense of trust depending upon child-mother or caretaker interaction. If there are problems or issues, then the child is more likely to develop a sense of mistrust.

Of course a lot of what happens to the baby is dependent upon the mother’s and father’s psychological and physical health during this critical period. If the mother or father are using drugs and / or alcohol and have psychological- physical problems of their own, they are less likely to be able to be there fully for the child. Can the parents provide familiarity, comfort, and continuity during the babies waking periods? Erikson believed that the baby’s first demonstration of social trust was related to the ease of his feeding, the depth of the sleep, the relaxation of his bowel movements and   his willingness to let his mother out of sight without undue anxiety or rage.

Briefly, this first stage of development is critical and clearly is based upon the parental environment in which the child is reared. Maybe more is needed in terms of education and training for all prospective parents regarding this critical period. Then perhaps the consequence might lead to a society of more trusting adults. I think trust can be a good thing. What do you believe regarding trust?  Follow this blog to learn more about Erikson’s model of ego identity development and the human life cycle.

On another note, yesterday’s TV interview was fun and hopefully was fun for Secretariat as well. Be sure to look for the link on our blog. Further, don’t forget the Leslie Yates Memorial Ride and Tie scheduled for October 13^th in Cool.

Today I ran on the trail for about an hour. Tomorrow, I see my physical therapist to evaluate further treatment. In any event, pay attention to your critical periods, and remember, keep moving.