Erikson - Post-Freudian Theory
Erikson - Post-Freudian Theory
Erikson - Post-Freudian Theory
The ego develops within a given From about the third to the fifth
society and is influenced by child-rearing year, children experience the play age, a
practices and other cultural customs. All period that parallels Freud's phallic
cultures and nations develop a phase. Unlike Freud, however, Erikson
saw the Oedipus complex as an early
model of lifelong playfulness and a psychosocial crisis of adolescence is
drama played out in children's minds as identity versus identity confusion.
they attempt to understand the basic Psychologically healthy individuals
facts of life. The primary psychosexual emerge from adolescence with a sense
mode of the play age is genital- of who they are and what they believe;
locomotor, meaning that children have but some identity confusion is normal.
both an interest in genital activity and an The conflict between identity and
increasing ability to move around. The identity confusion produces fidelity, or
psychosocial crisis of the play age is faith in some ideological view of the
initiative versus guilt. The conflict future. Lack of belief in one's own
between initiative and guilt helps selfhood results in role repudiation, or
children to act with purpose and to set an inability to bring together one's
goals. But if children have too little various self-images.
purpose, they develop inhibition, the
Young Adulthood
core pathology of the play age.
Young adulthood begins with
School Age
the acquisition of intimacy at about age
The period from about 6 to 12 18 and ends with the development of
or 13 years of age is called the school generativity at about age 30. The
age, a time of psychosexual latency, but psychosexual mode of young adulthood
it is also a time of psychosocial growth is genitality, which is expressed as
beyond the family. Because sexual mutual trust between partners in a
development is latent during the school stable sexual relationship. Its
age, children can use their energies to psychosocial crisis is intimacy versus
learn the customs of their culture, isolation. Intimacy is the ability to fuse
including both formal and informal one's identity with that of another
education. The psychosocial crisis of this without fear of losing it; whereas
age is industry versus inferiority. isolation is the fear of losing one's
Children need to learn to work hard, but identity in an intimate relationship. The
they also must develop some sense of crisis between intimacy and isolation
inferiority. From the conflict of industry results in the capacity to love. The core
and inferiority emerges competence, pathology of young adulthood is
the basic strength of school age children. exclusivity, or inability to love.
Lack of industry leads to inertia, the core
Adulthood
pathology of this stage.
The period from about 31 to 60
Adolescence
years of age is adulthood, a time when
Adolescence begins with people make significant contributions to
puberty and is marked by a person's society. The psychosexual mode of
struggle to find ego identity. It is a time adulthood is procreativity, or the caring
of psychosexual growth, but it is also a for one's children, the children of others,
period of psychosocial latency. The and the material products of one's
psychosexual mode of adolescence is society. The psychosocial crisis of
puberty or genital maturation. The adulthood is generativity versus
stagnation, and the successful resolution notably Gandhi and Luther. In both
of this crisis results in care. Erikson saw cases, the central figure experienced an
care as taking care of the persons and identity crisis that produced a basic
products that one has learned to care strength rather than a core pathology.
for. The core pathology of adulthood is
Play Construction
rejectivity, or the rejection of certain
individuals or groups that one is Erikson's technique of play
unwilling to take care of. construction became controversial
when he found that 10- to 12-year-old
Old Age
boys used toys to construct elongated
The final stage of development objects and to produce themes of rising
is old age, from about age 60 until death. and falling. In contrast, girls arranged
The psychosexual mode of old age is toys in low and peaceful scenes. Erikson
generalized sensuality; that is, taking concluded that anatomical differences
pleasure in a variety of sensations and between the sexes play a role in
an appreciation of the traditional personality development.
lifestyle of people of the other gender.
Critique of Erikson
The psychosocial crisis of old age is the
struggle between integrity (the Although Erikson's work is a
maintenance of ego-identity) and logical extension of Freud's
despair (the surrender of hope). The psychoanalysis, it offers a new way of
struggle between integrity and despair looking at human development. As a
may produce wisdom (the basic strength useful theory, it rates high on its ability
of old age), but it may also lead to to generate research, and about average
disdain (a core pathology marked by on its ability to be falsified, to organize
feelings of being finished or helpless). knowledge, and to guide the
practitioner. It rates high on internal
Erikson's Methods of Investigation
consistency and about average on
Erikson relied mostly on anthropology, parsimony.
psychohistory, and play construction to explain
Concept of Humanity
and describe human personality.
Erikson saw humans as basically
Anthropological Studies
social animals who have limited free
Erikson's two most important choice and who are motivated by past
anthropological studies were of the experiences, which may be either
Sioux of South Dakota and the Yurok conscious or unconscious. In addition,
tribe of northern California. Both studies Erikson is rated high on both optimism
demonstrated his notion that culture and uniqueness of individuals.
and history help shape personality.
Psychohistory