Erik Erikson Essay, Research Paper
Erik Erikson was born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany. His parents had
separated from each other before he was born and his mother wedded a Jewish doctor.
They raised Erik under the last name of Homburger, which belonged to his Jewish
stepfather. (Martin) His peers beheld him as Jewish, but his Jewish temple did not accept
him because of his appearance. Consequently, during his youth, Erikson had many
struggles with identity. (Boeree)
Erikson?s family very much wanted him to study science. Erikson did not do well
in school and did not continue on to university. Instead of pursuing the science degree, he
went to art school and enjoyed eight years of traveling Europe as a wandering artist.
(Martin)
After Erikson had graduated from art school, he began to teach at a private school
in Vienna. He attended the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. He also taught in a small
private school and educated himself as a Montessori teacher. Erikson studied
psychoanalysis with Anna Freud, the youngest of Sigmund and Martha Freud’s six
children. (Astor) He married a woman whose name was Joan M. Serson and had two
sons with her. (Boeree)
In the early 1930?s, Erikson moved his family to the United States. He became a
US citizen in 1939 and changed his last name from Homburger to Erikson. (Martin)
Erikson worked at Harvard Medical School, Yale University, and several private
appointments in their clinics for disturbed children. At Harvard he taught a course on the
life cycle that became very popular, especially during the untamed 60?s. (Martin)
In the year 1950, Erikson published a very influential book titled, Childhood and
Society. This book included Erikson?s famous Eight Stages of Psychosocial
Development. (Martin)
In 1951, Erikson began to work at a private mental hospital called the
Austen-Riggs Clinic, located in Stockbridge, MA. He also served as a consultant at the
University of Pittsburgh?s Western Psychiatric Institute. He continued to work at Harvard
until he retired in 1970. (Martin)
After retirement, the Erikson?s moved to the Bay Area of California, and
continued to work at training another generation of child workers at the Mt. Zion hospital
in San Francisco. He led many seminars on his Eight Stages and other psychological
topics. (Boeree)
The Erikson?s relocated to Massachusetts in the early 1990?s and Erik died in
1994. (Martin)The Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development
Erikson developed eight stages of Psychosocial Development. These stages were
built off of Sigmund Freud?s psychosexual theory of development. (Bukatko 20-23)
Erikson?s first stage is called the Basic Trust vs. Basic Mistrust. This is the stage
of the 1st year (infancy) when the baby is completely dependent on its caregiver for food,
warmth and love. Babies need to find constant stability in the behavior of their caregivers
in order to acquire a sense of trust in the world. If the caregiver does not tend to the
infant?s needs, then the infant will not have trust and feel that the world is not a safe place.
This is also what Freud called the ?Oral Stage?. This means that the libidinal energy is
focused on the mouth for chewing sucking and eating. (Bukatko 20-23)
The second stage is called Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. This stage occurs
between 1 and 3 years of age. This is when the child begins to explore things and make
choices. (Bukatko 23) The energies of the child are directed at developing physical skill.
This was based on Freud?s ?Anal Stage,? when the child is learning toilet training and
mastering rectal sphincter control. The goal in this stage is to help the child understand
what is socially acceptable without having the child lose his sense of will. At this stage the
child feels that the world revolves completely around him and he is very ego centric.
(Morrison 214-215)
The third stage is called Initiative vs. Guilt. This stage happens between the ages
of 3 and 6. This is the first time the child begins to set goals. (Morrison 214-215) The
child wants to achieve an understanding for living. Children need to express their
newfound independence but also need to have instruction on what is socially right and
wrong. If they are shamed about enacting this independence they will develop feelings of
guilt. During this stage, the child begins to take other people?s feelings into consideration
and is not so ego-centric. (Bukatko 23)
Industry vs. Inferiority is the name of the fourth stage. The age that this stage
occurs is about 6 years old, and it continues all the way to puberty. The child starts to
perform ?work? in the form of school and develops an idea of skills in their culture. If the
child does well in this stage, they will feel capable of having skills throughout life. If the
child fails, then the result is feelings of weakness and inadequacy. (Martin)
Stage five is called Identity vs. Identity confusion. It is also known as the
?Latency Period.? It starts at puberty and continues to young adulthood. At adolescence,
the teenager begins to bring together life experiences and makes decisions on who they
want to become. The teenager may try out many different roles in this stage, just to see
which one fits them. (Martin)
Intimacy vs. Isolation is what we call stage six. This stage is experienced in young
adulthood. Hopefully by this stage, the young adult has achieved a sense of identity and
wants to determine his or her function or role in society. Self absorption should have
disintegrated by this time, and the individual can now share his or herself with someone
else in relationships. (Bukatko 23) If they cannot form positive relationships, and have not
resolved the issue of self absorption, the individual may become lonely and feel that they
cannot love.
Stage seven is called Generativty vs. Stagnation. This stage occurs in middle
adulthood when the individual should become productive. This is the time where the
individual can care for the next generation, and usually has their own children to raise and
care for. If the individual is not productive, they develop a sense of boredom and
depression. (Bukatko 23)
Old age is when the last stage transpires. This stage is named Integrity vs.
Despair. This is when the elderly person reexamines his or her life and measures its
importance. Feelings of wisdom are usually attained by this stage. If life has not seemed
to meet goals and expectations, the individual may feel hopelessness and dispair. (Martin)
Erikson?s work has been very influential in respect to the psychology field. It
serves to help Psychologists, child caregivers, and just about every individual in
understanding the life processes.