ERIK H. ERIKSON

1. "It is human to have a long childhood; it is civilized to have an even longer childhood. Long childhood makes a technical and mental virtuoso out of man, but it also leaves a life-long residue of emotional immaturity in him.” - Erik Homberger Erikson (1902-1994) ERIK H. ERIKSON • By: Arei Rahim & Zahra Rasoul 1

2. Background info: • Erikson was born in 1902 near Frankford, Germany. • Before Erikson was born, his Danish father had abandoned the family. • Raised by his young Jewish mother before she married a physician, Dr. Theodor Homberger. • The fact that Homberger was not his biological father was concealed from him for many years. • Left with feelings of confusion about who he really was, after learning about his father. • Interest in identity developed early on in life based upon his own experiences. 2

3. Career: • Spent time traveling throughout Europe. • Began to study Psychoanalysis with Anna Freud at Vienna Psychoanalysis Institute. • Moved to the US in 1933 and was offered a teaching position in Harvard Medical school. • Erikson possessed an interest in the influence of society and culture on child development. • This led him to study groups of American Indian children. • This research enabled him to correlate personality growth with parental and societal values. • Analyzed these changes on many aspect; the generation gap, racial tensions, juvenile delinquency, changing sexual roles, and the dangers of nuclear war. 3

4. Theory: • Erikson has made a contribution to the field of Psychology with his development theory. • Erikson was a follower of Freud, he synthesized both Freud's and his own theories to create what is known as the “Psychosocial" stages of human development. • Erikson believed that humans develop in stages. • Created eight Psychosocial stages in which humans develop throughout their entire life span. • Stages span from birth to death and focuses on “tasks” at each stage that must be accomplished to successfully navigate life's challenges. • Stages: • Trust vs. Mistrust • Autonomy vs. Shame • Initiative vs. Guilt • Industry vs. Inferiority • Identity vs. Role Confusion • Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation • Generativity vs. Stagnation • Integrity vs. Despair 4

5. Stage 1: Trust vs. MistrustInfancy: Birth – 18 Months • The first stage of the theory is the infants basic needs being met , which comes from the mother . For example, food , sustenance and comfort. • The child's understandings of the world comes from the parents and the interactions they have with the child at this point. • The major developmental task in infancy is to make sure the caregiver provides the basic needs so the child develops trust . Should the parents fail to provide a secure environment and to meet the child's basic needs the child will develop a sense of mistrust. While negative having some experiences with mistrust allows the infant to gain understanding of what constitutes dangerous situations later in life. 5

6. Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame Early Childhood: 18 Months – 3 years • At this age children begin to gain control over eliminative functions and motor abilities and begin to explore there surroundings. The parents patience and encouragement help foster autonomy in the child. • At this stage a child also develops their first interests. • Highly restrictive parents may instil the child with a sense of doubt and reluctance to attempt new challenges. • Toddlers gain increased muscular coordination and mobility and become capable of satisfying some of there own needs , such as washing , dressing and using the washroom themselves. • If caregivers encourage self sufficient behaviour then the child has a sense of being able to handle many problems on there own- autonomy. If they do not motivate self sufficiency then the child begins to form fear and doubt about there ability to handle problems. 6

7. Stage 3: Initiative vs. GuiltPlay Age: 3- 5 years • Initiative adds to autonomy the quality of undertaking, planning and attacking a task for the sake of just being active and on the move. The child begins to learn more about the world around them, learning basic skills and principles of physics. • At this stage the child wants to begin and complete there own actions for a purpose. • They are exposed to the feeling of guilt. They may feel guilty over things that logically should not cause guilt. They may feel guilt when this initiative does not produce desired results. Development of courage and independence is what sets in at this age. 7

8. Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority School Age: 6- 12 years • Children at this are becoming more aware of themselves as individuals. They work hard at being responsible, being good and doing it right. They become more reasonable to share and cooperate. This becomes the critical age for self-confidence. • Start recognizing there special talents and continue to discover interests as their education improves. If they are not allowed to discover own talents in their own time, they will develop a lack of motivation, low self esteem, and lethargy. They may become “couch potatoes” if they are not allowed to develop interests. 8

9. Stage 5: Identity vs. Role ConfusionAdolescence: 12- 18 years • In this stage, development depends primarily upon “what we do.” • This is a time when adolescents seek their true selves. • Adolescence is a stage at which we are neither a child or an adult, life is definitely getting more complex as we attempt to find our own identity, struggle with social interactions, and grapple with moral issues. • Our task is to discover who we are as individuals separate from our family of origin and as members of a wider society. • In this process many of us go into a period of withdrawing from responsibilities, called “Moratorium”, and if we are unsuccessful in navigating this stage, we will experience role confusion and upheaval. 9

10. Stage 6: Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation Young Adulthood: 18- 35 years • In the initial stage of being an adult we seek one or more companions and love. • As we try to find mutually satisfying relationships, primarily through marriage and friends, we generally also begin to start a family. • If completing this stage successfully, we can experience intimacy on a deep level. • If we are not successful, isolation and distance from others may occur. • Intimacy with other people is possible only if a reasonably well integrated identity emerges from stage five. 10

11. Stage 7: Generativity vs. StagnationMiddle Adulthood: 35-55 or 65 years • Middle age is when we tend to be occupied with creative and meaningful work and with issues surrounding our family. • The task is to perpetuate culture and transmit values of the culture through the family and working to establish a stable environment. • Strength comes through care of others and production of something that contributes to the betterment of society, called “Generativity.” When we are in this stage we often fear inactivity and meaninglessness. • In this stage, our children leave home and or our relationships and goals change, we may face major life changes – the mid-life crisis- struggle to find new meanings and purposes. 11

12. Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair Late Adulthood: 55-65 or death • Erikson felt that much of life is preparing for the middle adulthood stage and the last stage is recovering from it. • As older adults we can often look back on our lives with happiness and are content, feeling fulfilled with a deep sense that life has meaning and we’ve made a contribution to life, called “Integrity”. • At this stage, most accept death as the completion of life. • Some adults may reach this stage with despair at their experiences and perceived failures. • They may fear death as they struggle to find a purpose to their lives. 12

13. Contributions: • Psychosocial theory • Expanded the scope of Psychoanalytic theory by relating it with social, cultural, and other environmental factors. • Contributed to our understanding of personality as it is developed and shaped over the course of the lifespan. • Being a humanitarian, and a psychoanalyst, his theory is useful far beyond psychoanalysis – it’s applicable to anything involving personal awareness and development (of oneself or others) • Taking a different perspective than most psychoanalysts would, Erikson developed his theory by carrying out his research amongst human societies, not by the inward-looking world of the psychoanalyst’s couch. • This different way of researching helped for Erikson’s theory to become a powerful model for teaching, parenting, self-awareness, managing and coaching, dealing with conflict, and for understanding one’s self and others. Watch this !! 13

14. Contributions Continued... • Unlike Freud, who focused on early childhood, Erikson emphasized adolescence and adulthood. Erikson introduced the term identity and identity crisis to explain the psychological and social complexities faced by young people in attempting to find their place in a specific town, nation, and time. Adolescent development, in other words, is a complex answer to the question, "Who am I?" and requires organization of the individual's drives, abilities, beliefs, and history into a view of oneself. This focus reflects Erikson's own youthful wanderings before finding his place as a teacher, analyst, and writer. • In his work, Erikson went beyond the Freudian focus on dysfunctional behaviour to pursue the ways that the normal self is able to function successfully. His unique contribution to the applications of psychoanalysis, his inclusion of the effects of society and culture on individual psychological development, led to the designation of his perspective as psychosocial. Early examples are the study of the American Indian children, which combined anthropological observation and clinical analysis with tribal history and economic circumstances. • Although trained as a psychoanalyst, Erikson's scholarship, which included fourteen books, transcended the discipline in his interweaving of culture, history, and the individual across a variety of topics. Specifically, he applied psychoanalysis in addressing anthropological, religious, and historical questions in addition to developing a comprehensive life span model of psychological development. 14

15. The End  15