So, how is personality formed and developed? The new school of psychoanalysis emphasizes the influence of cultural and social factors on personality, among which Eriksson, known as "the most outstanding representative of modern Freudian psychology", investigated the development of personality from three aspects: biology, psychology and social environment, and put forward a self-centered theory of personality development. Eriksson believes that personality is an independent force, a psychological process, a synthesis of people's past experience and present experience, which can integrate individual's internal development and social development, guide psychological development in a reasonable direction and determine individual's fate. Eriksson believes that the development of personality includes three inseparable processes: physical maturity, self-growth and social relations. Everyone experiences the development sequence of biological, physiological and social events in the process of growth, and develops in stages according to a certain degree of maturity. According to the evolution of these three processes, he divided his personality into eight stages, which developed gradually in a constant sequence, and combined his inner life with social tasks to form a staged and continuous psychological and social development process. Each stage consists of a pair of conflicting or bipolar personality traits, and a crisis (or an important turning point) is the main task of individual personality development in each stage. If we actively resolve the crisis, we will enhance our self-strength, develop our personality soundly and help individuals adapt to the environment. On the other hand, if the crisis is not solved, it will weaken self-strength, make personality unsound and hinder individuals' adaptation to the environment. Moreover, the positive resolution of the crisis in the previous stage will expand the possibility of solving the crisis in the later stage, and vice versa. Eriksson divided eight stages of personality development (the first five stages are consistent with Freud's): the first stage: infancy (0- 1 year)-the basic trust and basic distrust stages are equivalent to Freud's oral period. The main development task of individual personality at this stage is to meet physiological needs, develop trust and overcome distrust. Because the baby at this stage is the weakest, needs the care of adults very much, and is also the most dependent on adults. If parents and other caregivers (mainly mothers) can caress the baby regularly, take care of the baby and meet its basic physiological needs, the baby can have basic trust in the people around him, feel that the world around him and people are reliable, and get a sense of security from the satisfaction of physiological needs. On the contrary, if the baby's basic needs are not met, or the satisfaction is inconsistent and irregular, it will cause distrust to the people around him, and the baby will experience physical discomfort from the chaotic satisfaction of physical needs, resulting in initial insecurity. If the crisis at this stage is actively resolved, it will form the quality of "hope", and the personality of adults tends to be optimistic, trusting, positive and peaceful. If the crisis at this stage is solved negatively, fear will be formed, and the personality of adults tends to be pessimistic, suspicious, depressed, irritable and other negative personality characteristics. This basic trust of babies is the basis of forming a healthy personality, and it is also the starting point for the smooth development of personality in various stages in the future. At this stage, parents and other caregivers (mainly mothers) are required to fully and appropriately meet the physiological needs of children in the process of raising children, and should not be excessively satisfied and deprived; At the same time, we should maintain consistency and coherence as much as possible in the degree and way of satisfaction, and we should not change it at will. Even if it is a gradual and regular change, we should let the baby adapt quickly. The second stage: infancy (1-3 years old)-the stage of shyness and doubt of self-awareness, which is equivalent to Freud's anal stage. The main development task at this stage is to decide what to do or not to do, gain a sense of autonomy and self-control, and overcome shyness and self-doubt. Because children at this stage have learned to walk, push and pull, talk and so on. And they also learned to grasp and let go, especially the control of their own bodies and the excretion of urine and urine, which involved children in the crisis that their wishes conflicted with those of their parents and other caregivers. If parents and other caregivers appropriately restrict children's behavior and give them some freedom, children will establish a sense of autonomy and self-control; On the contrary, if parents and other caregivers restrict, criticize or even punish their children too much, they will make them feel shy and doubt their abilities. If we actively resolve the crisis at this stage, we will form the quality of "will", and the personality of adults tends to be strong, independent, restrained and self-disciplined. If this staged crisis is solved passively, it will form a sense of shyness, and adults tend to be weak-willed, attached, casual and perfunctory. Excessive indulgence can easily lead to dirty, wasteful and disorderly living habits in adulthood; If the restrictions are too strict, it is easy to form compulsive characteristics such as cleanliness, meanness and patience. The formation of children's autonomy and self-control enhances their self-awareness, self-control ability and ability to adapt to the requirements of socialization, which has an important influence on the attitude and handling of individuals' ideal relationship with social organizations and individuals in the future, and prepares for individuals' socialization and future order and legal life. At this stage, parents and other caregivers are required to be rational and patient with their children's behaviors, to control them moderately, to give them some freedom, to train them scientifically and to correct bad behaviors in time. The third stage: preschool (4-6 years old)-active guilt stage is equivalent to Freud's sex organ stage. The main development task at this stage is to gain a sense of initiative and overcome guilt. Because at this stage, children's physical activities are more dexterous, their language is more refined, and their oral expression ability is enhanced. More importantly, at this stage, children's thinking, especially thinking in images, develops the fastest and their imagination is extremely vivid and rich. They have begun to think creatively and plan the future. Therefore, children at this stage are full of fantasy, like fairy tales, anthropomorphic games and other things and activities, and tend to explain the world around them through their own imagination. If parents affirm and encourage children's positive behavior and imagination, children will gain positive autonomy and give full play to their imagination and creativity; If parents often limit their children's active behavior and laugh at their unrealistic fantasies, children will lose their initiative, become at a loss, and have doubts and guilt about their abilities. If the crisis at this stage is actively resolved, it will form the quality of "direction and purpose", and the personality of adults tends to be spontaneous, planned, purposeful and decisive. If the crisis at this stage is solved negatively, the personality of adults tends to be lack of progress, unplanned, indecisive and other negative personality traits. The purpose here means "bravely facing up to and pursuing value goals". Eriksson believes that the future work and economic achievements that an individual can achieve in society are related to the positive development of children at this stage. At this stage, parents and other caregivers need to fully encourage and affirm children's initiative and imagination. What is worth mentioning here is to actively organize and guide children to carry out various games, because: 0 1 game is the primary simulation form of human social activities, which solves the contradiction that children are eager to participate in adult activities but are limited by their physical and mental development level; 0 1 Game is a unique combination of imagination and real life. In the game, children can freely engage in various activities they yearn for by using imaginary situations, without being restricted by many conditions in real life. It can not only fully spread the wings of imagination, but also truly reproduce and experience the feelings and interpersonal relationships in adult life and know all kinds of things around; 0 1 Games are activities that children actively participate in and have a pleasant experience. It is neither mandatory nor compulsory, so it is deeply loved by children. 0 1 Therefore, the game is the most suitable form for children's character development in this period, and should become the leading activity of children, so this stage is also called "game period"; 0 1 Children learn and grow in games. Through various game activities, children not only develop motor organs, but also effectively enhance their cognitive ability and social communication ability. At the same time, games also help children learn to express and control emotions, learn to deal with anxiety and inner conflicts, and play an important role in cultivating good character. Another noteworthy feature of this stage is that Freud thought it was a special period to produce Oedipus/ Oedipus complex. But Eriksson's theory is more positive. He also believes that this is the embryonic period for children to identify with gender roles and establish contact with the opposite sex. Although boys and girls have a good impression on parents of the opposite sex, they can gradually realize the unreality of this emotion from the real relationship. On the one hand, in order to solve this conflict, boys and girls will begin to follow their fathers (mothers) as an example, imitate and gradually agree with their behavior patterns, so as to obtain indirect satisfaction of sexual impulses, thus prompting boys and girls to acquire gender role behaviors and form male and female personalities; On the other hand, boys and girls can find substitutes for heterosexual parents through their interaction with heterosexual peers, so as to finally solve the Oedipus complex in their development. At this stage, parents are required to treat the parent-child relationship correctly, mothers should deliberately weaken their importance in their children's lives, parents should pay attention to the correct play of their gender roles, set an example for their children, and encourage and guide their children to associate with heterosexual peers to establish a complete gender concept. The fourth stage: school age (7- 12 years old)-the stage of diligence to inferiority is equivalent to Freud's incubation period. The main development task at this stage is to gain a sense of diligence, overcome the sense of inferiority and experience the realization of "ability". Because most of the children at this stage go to primary school, the main social living environment of children has been transferred from family to school, and the scope of activities has expanded a lot. Learning has become the main activity of children. The most important thing for children at this stage is to "experience the pleasure of completing work from stable attention and tireless diligence", from which they can have a sense of diligence. If they can't develop this kind of diligence, they will lack confidence in whether they can become useful people to society, and thus feel inferior. If we actively resolve the crisis at this stage, we will form the quality of "ability"; If we solve the crisis passively, we will become incompetent. Eriksson believes that the formation of children's sense of diligence has a great influence on their social work and life as adults, and their attitudes and habits towards study, work and life in the future can all come from their sense of diligence at this stage. This is a relatively calm period in the process of personality development. As parents and teachers, they should educate their children to study hard, participate in social activities, try to discover, cultivate and develop their talents in various fields of interest, and at the same time cultivate their self-care ability, actively participate in various social welfare activities, and be a useful person to society. The fifth stage: adolescence (13- 18 years old)-the confusion stage from identity to role is equivalent to Freud's adolescence. The main development task at this stage is to establish a sense of identity and overcome the confusion of identity (role). Because children at this stage must think about their own and social information and determine the basic principles and strategies of life for themselves, if they can do this, they will gain self-identity (psychological and social identity), otherwise they will have role confusion, that is, individuals cannot correctly choose roles that adapt to the social environment and produce negative identity, that is, individuals form identity that deviates from social requirements. If we actively resolve the crisis at this stage, we will form the quality of "loyalty", that is, "stick to our beliefs regardless of the contradictions in the value system"; If the crisis is solved negatively, uncertainty will be formed. The formation of identity marks the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood, and marks the maturity of individual personality. Only by establishing positive identity can we successfully pass adolescence and successfully solve the personality development tasks in the three stages of adulthood (marriage, career and old age). The sixth stage: early adulthood (19-25 years old)-intimacy against loneliness. The main development task at this stage is to gain intimacy, overcome loneliness and experience the realization of love. Because individuals at this stage are influenced by physiological development, they begin to have an affair with the opposite sex. Only by consolidating their self-identity can they get a happy marriage and a sense of intimacy. If they don't establish self-identity, they will worry about establishing close relationships with others, losing themselves and feeling lonely. If we actively resolve the crisis at this stage, we will form the quality of "love", that is, mutual dedication; If the crisis is solved negatively, it will form a chaotic relationship between the two sexes. Eriksson believes that the development of intimate relationship plays an important role in whether an individual can enter the society satisfactorily. The seventh stage: middle adulthood (26-65 years old)-The main development task of the reproductive stagnation stage is to gain a sense of reproduction, overcome the sense of stagnation and experience the realization of care. At this time, both men and women have their own careers, get married, strive to create wealth that can improve the spiritual and material living standards of the next generation, and care for and guide the growth of the next generation. If this demand is met, there will be a sense of reproduction (that is, a sense of accomplishment), and people who lack this experience will have a sense of stagnation because they are too focused on themselves. If we actively resolve the crisis at this stage, we will form the quality of "care", and if we passively resolve the crisis, we will be selfish. The eighth stage: later adulthood (after the age of 65)-The main development task of this stage of self-integration is to gain a sense of perfection, avoid disappointment and boredom, and experience the realization of wisdom. At this point, life has entered the final stage. People who have successfully passed the first seven stages will have a sense of fullness and perfection only if they have a full and happy life and contribute to society, otherwise they will experience disappointment because the main goal of life has not yet been realized. If we actively resolve the crisis at this stage, we will form the quality of "wisdom". If the crisis is resolved negatively, it will be disappointing and meaningless. To sum up, individual personality is constantly developing and strengthening in the process of such a struggle of personality opposites. It can be seen that although personality development is a matter of an individual's life, the most important and basic characteristics of personality are formed in the first three stages of early life, that is, 0~6 years old, which has basically laid the tone of individual personality. Therefore, it is extremely important to cultivate the early personality of infants. Parents and early education institutions should grasp the key points of training in each period according to the law of personality development, carry out personality education and training in a targeted manner, help children successfully pass through each critical period, and better shape a healthy and successful personality. (The writer is Liu Haiyan, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology of South China Normal University.)