Basic trust

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Basic trust is an aspect of the social behavior of trust. It is a term used by a number of psychoanalytic writers to describe the sense of secure trust in other people that can develop as a result of good mothering. From a later perspective we might think that the trust in mother is [[generalised] to trust in others as the child develops. If there are limited disappointments in relationships as time goes on then a basic assumption of trust in others can be maintained and be a fundamental characteristic of a persons stance to their social interactions. Basic distrust can occur where the relationship with mother is not secure.

Erikson

So trust is believing that the person who is trusted will do what is expected. It starts at the family and grows to others. According to the psychoanalyst Erik Erikson development of basic trust is the first stage of psychosocial development occurring, or failing, during the first two years of life. Success results in feelings of emotional security, trust, and optimism, while failure leads towards an orientation of insecurity and mistrust.. Rycroft points out that this is the equivalent of the oral phase in classical psychoanalytic theory and to the notion of primary ontological security in existentialism.

See also

• Emotional maturity
• Emotional security
• Paranoia

References

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