Erik Erikson’s Ego Psychology

THE BASIC NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS

Biological Processes: Libido and Sexuality

Erikson remains true to Freudian psychoanalysis by including libido among his theoretical
constructs, but not without some significant reservations. On the one hand, he expresses a marked
appreciation for the “clear and unifying light… thrown into [the dark recesses of the mind] by the theory
of a libido, of a mobile sexual energy which contributes to the ‘highest’ as well as to the lowest forms of
human endeavor-and often to both at the same time.” Yet he also cautions against the literal acceptance
of what Freud himself regarded as only a “working hypothesis,” and warns that it makes little sense to
speak of energies that cannot be demonstrated scientifically.

Erikson is similarly reserved about the importance of instinctual drives. He credits Freud for
calling attention to the irrational aspects of personality, for discovering that sexuality begins with birth
rather than at puberty, and for orienting psychoanalysis in a biological direction. But Erikson also regards
our inborn sexual and aggressive instincts as vague drive fragments that are strongly influenced by
parental training and cultural factors (such as school), and he argues that psychoanalysis must pay
considerably more attention to innate adaptive forces. Thus Erikson retains, but deemphasizes, the
constructs of instinct and libido. He prefers to stress the role played by the ego and societal forces in
shaping personality.

Ego Processes: Identity and Mastery

Identity. To Erikson, the ego is far more than a sorely tried mediator among the insistent id,
punitive superego, and forbidding environment. The ego not only defends against illicit instincts and
anxiety, but serves important healthy functions as well. One of these constructive ego functions is to
preserve a sense of identity.

This complicated inner state includes four distinct aspects:

1. Individuality. A conscious sense of uniqueness and existence as a separate, distinct entity.

2. Wholeness and synthesis. A sense of inner wholeness and indivisibility. The growing child forms
a variety of fragmentary self-images: more or less lovable, talented, obedient, scholarly, athletic,
independent, and so forth. The healthy ego integrates these images into a meaningful whole.
3. Sameness and continuity. An unconscious striving for a sense of inner sameness and continuity
between who you have been in the past, and who you are likely to be in the future. A feeling
that your life has consistency, and is headed in a meaningful direction.
4. Social solidarity. Agreement with the ideals and values of some group; feeling that you receive
support and recognition from significant others.
 Although Erikson’s construct of identity is more complicated than Fromm’s, he agrees that it
represents a vital need of every human being. “In the social jungle of human existence, there is no
feeling of being alive without a sense of ego identity.

Deprivation of identity can lead to murder”. The state of identity confusion (or role confusion,
also often referred to as an identity crisis) involves feelings of inner fragmentation, little or no sense of
where one’s life is headed, and an inability to gain the support provided by a social role or vocation. The
sufferer may feel like an outcast or wanderer, or not quite somebody-as did Erikson himself during his
early twenties.

Every identity includes both positive and negative aspects, which result from parental and
societal rewards and punishments. Developing a primary positive identity is likely to be more difficult for
certain segments of a population, such as women in a patriarchal society or members of persecuted
minority ethnic and religious groups. Since even a negative identity is likely to seem preferable to the
inner turmoil of identity confusion, such individuals may adopt the debased role espoused for them by
the majority.

Mastery. In accordance with Adler and Fromm, Erikson concludes that we have a fundamental
need to master our environment. Like identity, mastery is an ego function that affords pleasures
unrelated to the satisfaction of id impulses, and its frustration also evokes intense rage.

As with identity, a sense of mastery depends on the expectations and support of society. A child
learns to walk for several reasons: to locate objects that will satisfy its drives, to feel stronger and more
effective in its dealings with the external world, and because the status of “one who walks” is approved
of by respected elders. “Children cannot be fooled by empty praise and condescending encouragement…
[But] their ego identity [does gain] real strength… from wholehearted and consistent recognition of real
accomplishment-i.e., of achievement that has meaning in the culture”.

Society and Culture

Because of his more positive view of human nature, Erikson rejects Freud’s conception of society
as an inevitable source of conflict.

A firm sense of identity or mastery requires the support of significant others, as we have seen.
Society also helps lighten the burdens of life by holding forth the promise of sanctioned roles, such as
laborer, doctor, lawyer, mother, or father, which confirm that an individual has found a workable and
effective life plan. In addition, mutually enhancing relationships (mutuality) fulfill a major human need.
Such recognition provides us with the feeling that we exist in the eyes of others, and the denial of this
need arouses intense hatred.

The Ego

The ego is the logical, self-preservative, problem-solving part of personality. It mediates among
the demands of the external world, the id, and the superego, and is largely unconscious. As in Freudian
theory, the ego guards against illicit id impulses and an overly severe superego by using various defense
mechanisms, including repression, reaction formation, projection, denial of reality, and fantasy. We may
attribute to our neighbors those faults of which we are most ashamed (projection), blithely ignore
warnings of such impending catastrophes as nuclear war or death (denial of reality), or try to make a
negative identity seem like an apparent virtue (reaction formation).

In contrast to Freud, Erikson argues that defense mechanisms may also be used in adaptive
ways. For example, fantasies may produce imaginative thoughts that help to solve important problems.
The capacities of the ego also include such essential constructive functions as identity and mastery.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY

Although Erikson occasionally devotes some attention to the Freudian concept of fixation, his
approach to personality development uses different constructs and principles. He also rejects Freud’s
“originological” efforts to explain personality wholly in terms of the first 4 or 5 years of life. Instead
Erikson stresses that personality development continues throughout the whole life cycle, and he posits
eight stages that extend from infancy to old age.

The Epigenetic Psychosexual Stages, or “Eight Ages of Man”

The development of our physical organs unfolds according to a predetermined genetic schedule,
and Erikson concludes that personality follows a similar course. A predisposition to adapt to each
developmental stage is present at birth, and emerges at the appropriate time. Since Erikson accepts the
existence of infantile sexuality, he regards these stages as both psychosexual and epigenetic (epi = upon,
genesis emergence).

Every epigenetic psychosexual stage is characterized by a specific problem or crisis (in the
medical sense of a crucial turning point for better or worse, rather than in the political sense of
imminent catastrophe). Each crisis is brought on by the child’s increasing physical maturity and by the
greater demands made by the parents and society, and must be resolved by the ego for personality
development to proceed successfully. However, the outcome of any stage is not necessarily permanent.
A severe later crisis may counteract previous successes (or even failures).

The Epigenetic Psychosexual Stages (Erikson)

Stage

Oral-sensory

Muscular-anal

Locomotor-genital

Latency

Adolescence
 Young adulthood

Adulthood

Maturity

Developmental Crisis

Basic trust versus mistrust

Autonomy versus shame and doubt

Initiative versus guilt

Industry vs inferiority

Identity vs role confusion

Intimacy vs isolation

Generativity vs stagnation

Ego integrity vs despair

Ego Quality That Denotes Successful Development

Hope: The enduring belief that one’s fervent wishes can be attained

Will power: The determination to exercise free choice as well as self-control

Purpose: The courage to visualize and pursue valued goals

Competence: The belief that important tasks can be completed, and a source of pride

Fidelity: The ability to pledge and maintain loyalty to a cause

Love: The mutuality of devotion that overcomes the conflict between the needs of individuals

Care: The increasing concern for others, especially the next generation

Wisdom: Not fearing death, because one has made the most of life.

Ritualizations

Erikson (1966; 1977) has devoted some attention to ritualizations, or interpersonal rituals that
help the ego to adapt to the standards and demands of society. Among the miserly Yurok Indians, for
example, the child is taught at mealtime “to put only a little food on the spoon, to take the spoon up to
his mouth slowly, to put the spoon down again while chewing the food-and, above all, to think of
becoming rich while he [enjoys and swallows] it”. Such a ritual would be inconceivable among the
generous and charitable Sioux, indicating once again the powerful influence of societal factors on the
development of personality.