SUMMARY OUTLINE
except that Erikson expanded the notion of
I. Overview of Erikson's Post-Freudian
Theory
Erikson postulated eight stages of psychosocial
development through which people progress.
Although he differed from Freud in his emphasis
on the ego and on social influences, his theory is
an extension, not a repudiation, of Freudian
psychoanalysis.
II. Biography of Erik Erikson
When Erik Erikson was born in Germany in 1902
his name was Erik Salomonsen. After his mother
married Theodor Homburger, Erik eventually took
his step-father's name. At age 18 he left home to
pursue the life of a wandering artist and to search
for self-identity. He gave up that life to teach
young children in Vienna, where he met Anna
Freud. Still searching for his personal identity, he
was psychoanalyzed by Ms. Freud, an experience
that allowed him to become a psychoanalyst. In
mid-life, Erik Homburger moved to the United
States, changed his name to Erikson, and took a
position at the Harvard Medical School. Later, he
taught at Yale, the University of California at
Berkeley, and several other universities. He died
in 1994, a month short of his 92nd birthday.
III. The Ego in Post-Freudian Psychology
One of Erikson's chief contributions to personality
theory was his emphasis on ego rather than id
functions. According to Erikson, the ego is the
center of personality and is responsible for a
unified sense of self. It consists of three
interrelated facets: the body ego, the ego ideal,
and ego identity.  interest in genital activity and an increasing
A. Society's Influence
The ego develops within a given society and is
influenced by child-rearing practices and other
cultural customs. All cultures and nations develop
a pseudospecies, or a fictional notion that they
are superior to other cultures.
B. Epigenetic Principle
The ego develops according to the epigenetic
principle; that is, it grows according to a
genetically established rate and in a fixed
sequence.
IV. Stages of Psychosocial Development
Each of the eight stages of development is
marked by a conflict between a syntonic
(harmonious) element and a dystonic (disruptive)
element, which produces a basic strength or ego
quality. Also, from adolescence on, each stage is
characterized 
by an identity crisis or turning point, which may
produce either adaptive or maladaptive
adjustment.
A. Infancy
Erikson's view of infancy (the first year of life)
was similar to Freud's concept of the oral stage,
incorporation beyond the mouth to include sense
organs such as the eyes and ears. The
psychosexual mode of infancy is oral-sensory,
which is characterized by both receiving and
accepting. The psycho-social crisis of infancy is
basic trust versus basic mistrust. From the crisis
between basic trust and basic mistrust emerges
hope, the basic strength of infancy. Infants who
do not develop hope retreat from the world, and
this withdrawal is 
the core pathology of infancy.
B. Early Childhood
The second to third year of life is early childhood,
a period that compares to Freud's anal stage, but
it also includes mastery of other body functions
such as walking, urinating, and holding. The
psychosexual mode of early childhood is anal-
urethral-muscular, and children of this age
behave both impulsively and compulsively. The
psychosocial crisis of early childhood is autonomy
versus shame and doubt. The psychosocial crisis
between autonomy on the one hand and shame
and doubt on the other produces will, the basic
strength of early childhood. The core pathology of
early childhood is compulsion.
C. Play Age
From about the third to the fifth year, children
experience the play age, a period that parallels
Freud's phallic phase. Unlike Freud, however,
Erikson saw the Oedipus complex as an early
model of lifelong playfulness and a drama played
out in children's minds as they attempt to
understand the basic facts of life. The primary
psychosexual mode of the play age is genital-
locomotor, meaning that children have both an
ability to move around. The psychosocial crisis of
the play age is initiative versus guilt. The conflict
between initiative and guilt helps children to act
with purpose and to set goals. 
But if children have too little purpose, they
develop inhibition, the core pathology of the play
age.
D. School Age
The period from about 6 to 12 or 13 years of age
is called the school age, a time of psychosexual
latency, but it is also a time of psychosocial
growth beyond the family. Because sexual
development is latent during the school age,
children can use their energies to learn the
customs of their culture, including both formal
and informal education. The psychosocial crisis of
this age is industry versus inferiority. Children
need to learn to work hard, but they also must
develop some sense of inferiority. From the
conflict of industry and inferiority emerges
competence, the basic strength of school age
children. Lack of industry leads to inertia, the
core pathology of this stage.

E. Adolescence
Adolescence begins with puberty and is marked
by a person's struggle to find ego identity. It is a
time of psychosexual growth, but it is also a
period of psychosocial latency. The psychosexual
mode of adolescence is puberty or genital
maturation. The psychosocial crisis of adolescence
is identity versus identity confusion.
Psychologically healthy individuals emerge from
adolescence with a sense of who they are and
what they believe; but some identity confusion is
normal. The conflict between identity and identity
confusion produces fidelity, or faith in some
ideological view of the future. Lack of belief in
one's own selfhood results in role repudiation, or
an inability to bring together one's various self
images.
F. Young Adulthood
Young adulthood begins with the acquisition of
intimacy at about age 18 and ends with the
development of generativity at about age 30. The
psychosexual mode of young adulthood is
genitality, which is expressed as mutual trust
between partners in a stable sexual relationship.
Its psychosocial crisis is intimacy versus isolation.
Intimacy is the ability to fuse one's identity with
that of another without fear of losing it; whereas
isolation is the fear of losing one's identity in an
intimate relationship. The crisis between intimacy
and isolation results in the capacity to love. The
core pathology of young adulthood is exclusivity,
or inability to love.
G. Adulthood
The period from about 31 to 60 years of age is
adulthood, a time when people make significant
contributions to society. The psychosexual mode
of adulthood is procreativity, or the caring for
one's children, the children of others, and the
material products of one's society. The
psychosocial crisis of adulthood is generativity
versus stagnation, and the successful resolution
of this crisis results in care. Erikson saw care as
taking care of the persons and products that one
has learned to care for. The core pathology of
adulthood is rejectivity, or the rejection of certain
individuals or groups that one is unwilling to take
care of.
H. Old Age
The final stage of development is old age, from
about age 60 until death. The psychosexual mode
of old age is generalized sensuality; that is,
taking pleasure in a variety of sensations and an
appreciation of the traditional lifestyle of people
of the other gender. The psychosocial crisis of old
age is the struggle between integrity (the
maintenance of ego-identity) and despair (the
surrender of hope). The struggle between
integrity and despair may produce wisdom (the
basic strength of old age), but it may also lead to
disdain (a core pathology marked by feelings of
being finished or helpless).
V. Erikson's Methods of Investigation
Erikson relied mostly on anthropology,
psychohistory, and play construction to explain
and describe human personality.
A. Anthropological Studies
Erikson's two most important anthropological
studies were of the Sioux of South Dakota and
the Yurok tribe of northern California. Both
studies demonstrated his notion that culture and
history help shape personality.
B. Psychohistory
Erikson combined the methods of psychoanalysis
and historical research to study several
personalities, most notably Gandhi and Luther. In
both cases, the central figure experienced an
identity crisis that produced a basic strength
rather than a 
core pathology.
C. Play Construction
Erikson's technique of play construction became
controversial when he found that 10- to 12-year-
old boys used toys to construct elongated objects
and to produce themes of rising and falling. In
contrast, girls arranged toys in low and peaceful
scenes. Erikson concluded that anatomical
differences between the sexes play a role in
personality development.
VI. Related Research
Erikson's theory has generated a moderately
large body of research, must of it investigating
the concept of identity. In addition, some
researchers have looked at Erikson's concept of
generativity.
A. Identity in Early Adulthood
A longitudinal study by Jennifer Pals and Ravenna
Helson found that identity established in early
adulthood is associated with stable marriage and
high levels of creativity. Additional research by
Helson and Pals found that women who had solid
identity and high creative potential at age 21
were more likely than other women to have had a
challenging and creative work experience at age
52.
B. Generativity in Midlife
People high in generativity should have a lifestyle
marked by creating and passing on knowledge,
values, and ideals to a younger generation, and
should benefit from a pattern of helping younger
people. Research by Dan McAdams and
colleagues found that adults at midlife who
contributed to the well-being of young people had
a clear sense of who they were and what life had
to offer them. Other research found that people
high in generativity are typically concerned with
the well-being of others.
VII. Critique of Erikson
Although Erikson's work is a logical extension of
Freud's psychoanalysis, it offers a new way of
looking at human development. As a useful
theory, it rates high on its ability to generate
research, and about average on its ability to be
falsified, to organize knowledge, and to guide the
practitioner. It rates high on internal consistency
and about average on parsimony.

VIII. Concept of Humanity

Erikson saw humans as basically social animals
who have limited free choice and who are
motivated by past experiences, which may be
either conscious or unconscious. In addition,
Erikson is rated high on both optimism and
uniqueness of individuals.