ERIKSON: POST-FREUDIAN THEORY

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.

What is the difference between Freud and Erikson?

Freud's psychosexual theory emphasizes the importance of basic needs and biological forces, while Erikson's
psychosocial theory is based upon social and environmental factors. Erikson also expands his theory into
adulthood, while Freud's theory ends at an earlier period.

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. While in Vienna, Erikson met and married Joan Serson, a Canadian-born dancer, artist,
and teacher who had also undergone psychoanalysis. The Eriksons had four children: sons Kai, Jon, and
Neil, and daughter Sue. Still searching for his personal identity, he was psychoanalyzed by Ms. Freud, an
experience that allowed him to become a psychoanalyst. Erikson sought his identity through the myriad
changes of jobs and places of residence. Lacking any academic credentials, he had no specific professional
identity and was variously known as an artist, a psychologist, a psychoanalyst, a clinician, a professor, a
cultural anthropologist, an existentialist, a psychobiographer, and a public intellectual. 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.

While undergoing analytic treatment, he stressed to Anna Freud that his most difficult problem was searching
for the identity of his biological father. However, Ms. Freud was less than empathic and told Erikson that he
should stop fantasizing about his absent father. Although Erikson usually obeyed his psychoanalyst, he could
not take Freud’s advice to stop trying to learn his father’s name.

This early experience helped spark his interest in the formation of identity. He would later explain that as a
child he often felt confused about who he was and how he fit into his community.

His post-Freudian theory extended Freud’s infantile developmental stages into adolescence, adulthood, and
old age. Erikson suggested that at each stage a specific psychosocial struggle contributes to the formation of
personality. From adolescence on, that struggle takes the form of an identity crisis—a turning point in one’s
life that may either strengthen or weaken personality.

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, a
sense of “I”. It consists of three interrelated facets: the body ego, the ego ideal, and ego identity.

The body ego refers to experiences with our body; a way of seeing our physical self as different for other
people. We may be satisfied or dissatisfied with the way our body looks and functions, but we recognize that it
is the only body we will ever have. The ego ideal represents the image we have of ourselves in comparison
with an established ideal; it is responsible for our being satisfied or dissatisfied not only with our physical self
but with our entire personal identity.

Ego identity is the image we have of ourselves in the variety of social roles we play. Although adolescence is
ordinarily the time when these three components are changing most rapidly, alterations in body ego, ego ideal,
and ego identity can and do take place at any stage of life.
 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. In past centuries, this belief has aided the survival of the tribe, but with modern
means of world annihilation, such a prejudiced perception (as demonstrated by Nazi Germany)
threatens the survival of every nation.

For example, Erikson (1963) found that prolonged and permissive nursing of infants of the Sioux
nation (sometimes for as long as 4 or 5 years) resulted in what Freud would call “oral” personalities:
that is, people who gain great pleasure through functions of the mouth. Erikson (1968, 1974) argued
that historically all tribes or nations, including the United States, have developed what he called a
pseudospecies.

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. Epigenetic development implies a step-by-step growth of
fetal organs. In similar fashion, the ego follows the path of epigenetic development, with each stage
developing at its proper time. One stage emerges from and is built upon a previous stage, but it does
not replace that earlier stage. This epigenetic development is analogous to the physical development
of children, who crawl before they walk, walk before they run, and run before they jump.

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.

Definition
 Epigenetic principle of maturation – The idea that human development is governed by a sequence of
stages that depend on genetic or hereditary factors.
 Crisis – To Erikson, the turning point faced at each developmental stage.
 Basic Strength – To Erikson, motivating characteristics and belief that derive from the satisfactory
resolution of the crisis at each developmental stage.
 Ego identity – The self-image formed during adolescence that integrates our ideas of what we are and
what we want to be.
 Identity crisis – The failure to achieve ego identity during adolescence.

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.

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.
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).
Basic Weakness
Similar to the way basic strength arise at each stage of psychosocial development, so may basic weakness –
the motivating characteristics that derive from the unsatisfactory resolution of developmental crises.

Erikson coined the term “maldevelopment” – a condition that occurs when the ego consists solely of a single
way of coping with conflict. When only the positive, adaptive, tendency is present in the ego, the condition is
said to be “maladaptive”. When only the negative tendency is present, the condition is “malignant”.
Maladaptations can lead to neuroses; malignancies can lead to psychoses.

Erikson believed that both conditions could be corrected through psychotherapy. Maladaptions, which are the
less severe disturbances, can also be relieved through a process of re-adaptation, aided by environmental
changes, supportive social relationships, or successful adaptation at a later developmental stage.

Questions about Human Nature

A personality theorist who delineates basic human strengths presents an optimistic view of human nature.
Erikson believed that although not everyone is successful in attaining hope, purpose, wisdom, and the other
virtues, we all have the potential to do so. Nothing in our nature prevents it. Nor must we inevitably suffer
conflict, anxiety, and neurosis because of instinctual biological forces.

Erikson’s theory allows for optimism because each stage of psychosocial growth, although centered on a
crisis, offers the possibility of a positive outcome. We are capable of resolving each situation in a way that is
both adaptive and strengthening. Even if we fail at one stage and develop a maladaptive response or a basic
weakness, there is hope for change at a later stage.

In general, Erikson believed that personality is affected more by learning and experience than by heredity.
Psychosocial experiences, not instinctual biological forces, are the greater determinant. Our ultimate,
overriding goal is to develop a positive ego identity that incorporates all the basic strengths.

Assessment in Erikson’s Theory

Erikson agreed with certain of Freud’s theoretical formulations, but he differed from Freud in his methods of
assessing personality. Erikson questioned the usefulness and even the safety of some Freudian techniques,
beginning with the psychoanalytic couch.

In dealing with his patients, Erikson relied less on formal assessment techniques than Freud. Erikson
occasionally used free association but rarely attempted to analyze dreams, a technique he called wasteful and
harmful. He believed that assessment techniques should be selected and modified to fit the unique
requirements of the individual patient.

Erikson's Methods of Investigation

Erikson relied mostly on anthropology, psychohistory, and play therapy 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 used the framework of his life-span theory of personality to describe the crises and the ways of
coping of significant political, religious, and literary figures, such as Gandhi, Martin Luther, and George
Bernard Shaw. In those cases, the central figure experienced an identity crisis that produced a basic
strength rather than a core pathology.

Erikson (1974) defined psychohistory as “the study of individual and collective life with the combined
 methods of psychoanalysis and history”. He used psychohistory to demonstrate his fundamental
beliefs that each person is a product of his or her historical time and that those historical times are
influenced by exceptional leaders experiencing a personal identity conflict.

Play Therapy
For work with emotionally disturbed children and in research on normal children and adolescents,
Erikson chose play therapy. He provided a variety of toys and observed how children interacted with
them. The form and intensity of play revealed aspects of personality that might not be manifested
verbally because of a child’s limited powers of
verbal expression.

Psychological Tests
Although Erikson did not use psychological tests for personality assessment, several instruments were
developed later based on his formulations. The Ego-Identity Scale is designed to measure the development of
ego identity during adolescence. The Ego Identity Process Questionnaire, also for adolescents, contains 32
items to measure the dimensions of exploration and commitment. The Loyola Generativity Scale is a 20-item
self-report inventory to measure the level of generativity or stagnation in adulthood.

Research on Erikson’s Theory

Erikson’s primary research method was the case study. He argued that case histories yield many insights into
personality development and can help resolve a patient’s problems.

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.

The Psychosocial Stages

When children aged 4, 8, and 11 were asked to make up stories based on several test pictures, their
stories were analyzed to determine which psychosocial stage they reflected. The results supported the
themes proposed in Erikson’s theory.

Adolescent Development
An extensive research program on the adolescent stage of development by James Marcia identified
five psychosocial types, or statuses, for that period (Marcia, 1966, 1980). These are identity
achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, identity diffusion, and alienated achievement.

 Identity Achievement describes adolescents who are committed to occupational and

ideological choices.

For example, Lei cast her vote for the presidential election the very first year she was allowed
to vote. But, she did so only after carefully researching all the different candidates and their
positions on issues that were important to her. First, she gave a great deal of thought by
considering her own beliefs and values system. Next, she figured out which issues were most
important to her based on her beliefs and values. And finally, she determined which candidate
best matched her beliefs and values on the issues she considered most important.

 Moratorium, the second adolescent status, describes people who are still undergoing their
identity crisis. Their occupational and ideological commitments are vague. They hold
ambivalent views toward authority figures, alternately rebelling and needing guidance from
them. Their behavior ranges from indecisive to active and creative, and they score high in
anxiety. They also tend to daydream, believe in supernatural phenomena, and enjoy behaving
 childishly.

For example, Arvan, 14, may suddenly begin to argue with his parents about going to the
Sunday worship service at the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral, even though he has
attended this service with his family since childhood. Instead, he likes to spend his timing
reading about all the different world religions and plans to visit several mosques, temples, and
churches around the area to see what their worship services are like. Or, he may question the
logic of religion altogether, and he may even wonder whether God exists at all. It is clear that
Arvan is not quite certain what he believes yet, but he is actively exploring and considering
what values, principles, and beliefs he wants to live by.

 Foreclosure describes adolescents who have not yet experienced an identity crisis but who
express commitment to an occupation and an ideology. However, these commitments often
have been determined for them by their parents and do not result from the adolescents’
deliberate choice. These teens tend to be rigid and authoritarian and have difficulty coping with
change. Those in the foreclosure status tend to be achievement-oriented, but they focus their
energy toward external rather than internal goals.

For example, Franchezka, 17, is applying to the same college that her mother and
grandmother both attended, and she has "decided" to major in elementary education. She
really hasn't thought about whether or not she wants to go to college, or what other colleges
she might like to attend. Nor has she considered any other career options besides elementary
school teacher. If asked about her plans she might say, "All the women in my family became
elementary teachers for a few years and then stayed home with their own children. My mom
and grandma seemed to do just fine, so it seems good enough for me." Franchezka has
accepted she will be just like all the other women in her family. She has not questioned
whether the life path chosen by the other women in her family is acceptable to her, but simply
accepts that her goal is to proceed according to the usual and customary path of the women
before her.

 Identity Diffusion characterizes people who have no occupational or ideological commitments

in adolescence and who may not have experienced an identity crisis. Their chosen lifestyle
may actively reject any kind of commitments and in the extreme may result in aimless drifting
and wandering, as Erikson did in his late teens. These adolescents have distant relationships
with their parents, whom they see as indifferent and rejecting.

By way of illustration, consider the example of Tyler, who stumbled his way through high
school and graduated last year (but just barely). Tyler still doesn't know what he wants to do
with his life. In fact, he hasn't really given much thought at all to what he'd like to accomplish.
He hasn't applied to any colleges or technical schools. He still works part-time at the pizza
shop; a job he started while in high school so that he could have a little extra spending money.
He doesn't earn enough money to live on his own so he lives with his parents, but he doesn't
pay them any rent or even pay for his own groceries. Nonetheless, he hasn't even considered
applying for a better paying, full-time job. Whenever his frustrated mother asks, "What are you
doing with your life?" he just mutters, "I dunno." Tyler hasn't even considered this question, and
has no goals or plans of any sort.

 Alienated Achievement The fifth and final status, describes adolescents who have
experienced an identity crisis, have no occupational goal, and cling to beliefs that are critical of
the social and economic system. Their strong commitment to this rationale precludes any
career that would entangle them in the very system they oppose. As students they tend to be
cerebral, philosophical, and cynical.

Achieving an Integrated Ego Identity Four of these statuses, in the following order (identity
diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and identity achievement), represent increasingly successful
 resolutions of the identity problem. Erikson predicted that people who have achieved an integrated
ego identity will have greater ego strength than those who are farther from resolving their identity
dilemma.

The Effect of Other Activities on Ego Identity A study of high school students found that those
who were more heavily involved in extracurricular and volunteer activities were higher in the ego
strength of fidelity than were those not so involved

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.

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.

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.

It is also through the theory of Erikson in which the study behind human conditions such as racial and ethnic
identity, maturity, sex differences, virtual identity, adolescence development were given light. Example of
which are the stages of identity that explains the development of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) identity. Researchers have proposed four gender of development; sensitization, identity confusion,
identity assumption, and commitment.

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. Though he knew that his concepts and terms were at some point ambiguous,
conclusions were drawn in the absence of supporting data, and an overall lack of precision, as 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.

Recognition and Influence

Erikson’s ideas have been recognized in both professional and popular circles. Time magazine called him the
“most influential living psychoanalyst” (March 17, 1975), and Psychology Today described him as “an
authentic intellectual hero” (Hall, 1983, p. 22). His concepts are useful in education, social work, vocational
and marriage counseling, and clinical practice with children and adolescents. His work “continues to prove
meaningful for contemporary psychology and social thought” (Clark, 2010, p. 59). The Erikson Institute for
Early Childhood Education was established for graduate training in 1966 at Chicago’s Loyola University.

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.