ERIKSON: POST-FREUDIAN THEORY
they are superior to other cultures.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Infancy
Erikson's view of infancy (the
first year of life) was similar to Freud's
concept of the oral stage, except that
Erikson expanded the notion of
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 psychosocial 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.
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 interest in genital activity and an
increasing 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Erikson's Methods of Investigation
Erikson relied mostly on anthropology,
psychohistory, and play construction to explain
and describe human personality.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.