Erikson also believed that a sense of competence motivates behaviors and actions. Each stage in Erikson's theory is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life. If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery, which is sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality. If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy in that aspect of development.
The first stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth and 1 year of age and is the most fundamental stage in life. Because an infant is utterly dependent, developing trust is based on the dependability and quality of the child's caregivers. At this point in development, the child is utterly dependent upon adult caregivers for everything they need to survive including food, love, warmth, safety, and nurturing.
If a caregiver fails to provide adequate care and love, the child will come to feel that they cannot trust or depend upon the adults in their life. If a child successfully develops trust, the child will feel safe and secure in the world.
Failure to develop trust will result in fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable. During the first stage of psychosocial development, children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection.
A lack of this will lead to mistrust. Erikson believed that successful development was all about striking a balance between the two opposing sides.
When this happens, children acquire hope, which Erikson described as an openness to experience tempered by some wariness that danger may be present. Subsequent work by researchers including John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth demonstrated the importance of trust in forming healthy attachments during childhood and adulthood. The second stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development takes place during early childhood and is focused on children developing a greater sense of personal control.
At this point in development, children are just starting to gain a little independence. They are starting to perform basic actions on their own and making simple decisions about what they prefer. By allowing kids to make choices and gain control, parents and caregivers can help children develop a sense of autonomy. The essential theme of this stage is that children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Potty training plays an important role in helping children develop this sense of autonomy.
Like Freud, Erikson believed that toilet training was a vital part of this process. However, Erikson's reasoning was quite different than that of Freud's. Erikson believed that learning to control one's bodily functions leads to a feeling of control and a sense of independence. Other important events include gaining more control over food choices, toy preferences, and clothing selection.
Children who struggle and who are shamed for their accidents may be left without a sense of personal control. Success during this stage of psychosocial development leads to feelings of autonomy; failure results in feelings of shame and doubt. Children who successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident, while those who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy and self-doubt.
Erikson believed that achieving a balance between autonomy and shame and doubt would lead to will, which is the belief that children can act with intention, within reason and limits. The third stage of psychosocial development takes place during the preschool years.
At this point in psychosocial development, children begin to assert their power and control over the world through directing play and other social interactions. Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to lead others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of initiative. The major theme of the third stage of psychosocial development is that children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment.
Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. When an ideal balance of individual initiative and a willingness to work with others is achieved, the ego quality known as purpose emerges. The fourth psychosocial stage takes place during the early school years from approximately ages 5 to Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and abilities.
Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.
Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence and belief in their skills.
Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their abilities to be successful. Successfully finding a balance at this stage of psychosocial development leads to the strength known as competence, in which children develop a belief in their abilities to handle the tasks set before them.
The fifth psychosocial stage takes place during the often turbulent teenage years. This stage plays an essential role in developing a sense of personal identity which will continue to influence behavior and development for the rest of a person's life. Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity.
Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self. During adolescence, children explore their independence and develop a sense of self. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will feel insecure and confused about themselves and the future. When psychologists talk about identity, they are referring to all of the beliefs, ideals, and values that help shape and guide a person's behavior.
Completing this stage successfully leads to fidelity, which Erikson described as an ability to live by society's standards and expectations. While Erikson believed that each stage of psychosocial development was important, he placed a particular emphasis on the development of ego identity.
Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction and becomes a central focus during the identity versus confusion stage of psychosocial development. According to Erikson, our ego identity constantly changes due to new experiences and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others.
As we have new experiences, we also take on challenges that can help or hinder the development of identity. Our personal identity gives each of us an integrated and cohesive sense of self that endures through our lives.
Our sense of personal identity is shaped by our experiences and interactions with others, and it is this identity that helps guide our actions, beliefs, and behaviors as we age.
Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.
Each phase was the potential root of later health and pathology. He advanced the idea that children are not simply biological organisms that endure, nor products of the psyche in isolation. Erik H. An ego psychologist who studied with Anna Freud, Erikson expanded psychoanalytic theory by exploring development throughout life, including events of childhood, adulthood, and old age.
Erik Erikson was born on June 15, , in Frankfurt, Germany. His young Jewish mother, Karla Abrahamsen, raised Erik by herself for a time before marrying a physician, Dr. Theodore Homberger. The fact that Homberger was not his biological father was concealed from Erikson for many years. When he finally did learn the truth, Erikson was left with a feeling of confusion about who he really was. He never saw his birth father or his mother's first husband.
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. While this may seem like merely an interesting anecdote about his heritage, the mystery over Erikson's biological parentage served as one of the key forces behind his later interest in identity formation. His interest in identity was further developed based on his own experiences in school.
At his Jewish temple school, he was teased for being a tall, blue-eyed, blonde, Nordic-looking boy who stood out among the rest of the kids.
At grammar school, he was rejected because of his Jewish background. These early experiences helped fuel his interest in identity formation and continued to influence his work throughout his life. It's interesting to note that Erikson never received a formal degree in medicine or psychology. While studying at the Das Humanistische Gymnasium, he was primarily interested in subjects such as history, Latin, and art. His stepfather, a doctor, wanted him to go to medical school, but Erikson instead did a brief stint in art school.
He soon dropped out and spent time wandering Europe with friends and contemplating his identity. It was an invitation from a friend that sent him to take a teaching position at a progressive school created by Dorothy Burlingham, a friend of Anna Freud's. Freud soon noticed Erikson's rapport with children and encouraged him to formally study psychoanalysis. Erikson ultimately received two certificates from the Montessori Teachers Association and from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute.
According to Erikson's obituary, he continued to work with Burlingham and Freud at the school for several years, met Sigmund Freud at a party, and even became Anna Freud's patient. My analysis, which gave me self-awareness , led me not to fear being myself. We didn't use all those pseudoscientific terms then— defense mechanism and the like—so the process of self-awareness, painful at times, emerged in a liberating atmosphere.
Erikson met a Canadian dance instructor named Joan Serson who was also teaching at the school where he worked. The couple married in and went on to have three children.
His son, Kai T. Erikson, is a noted American sociologist. Erikson moved to the United States in and, despite having no formal degree, was offered a teaching position at Harvard Medical School. He also changed his name from Erik Homberger to Erik H. Erikson, perhaps as a way to forge his own identity. In addition to his position at Harvard, he also had a private practice in child psychoanalysis.
He published a number of books on his theories and research, including "Childhood and Society" and "The Life Cycle Completed. Erikson was a neo-Freudian psychologist who accepted many of the central tenets of Freudian theory but added his own ideas and beliefs. His theory of psychosocial development is centered on what is known as the epigenetic principle , which proposes that all people go through a series of eight stages.
At each psychosocial stage, people face a crisis that needs to be successfully resolved in order to develop the psychological quality central to each stage.
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