Eirk Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

POST-FREUDIAN THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
Erik Erikson

BIOGRAPHY OF ERIK ERIKSON
 Born on June 15, 1902 in Germany.
 His father, a Danish Protestant, and his mother, a
Danish Jew, separated before he was born, and he grew
up in the home of his mother and German Jewish step,
father.
 Begins travelling throughout Europe in 1919.
 In 1928, he studied child psychology with Anna Freud,
who also psychoanalyzed him.
 In 1933, he immigrated to the United States.
 He worked at the Austen Riggs Center in Massachusetts
and conducted research at Harvard, Yale and University
of California.
 In 1950, he published his book Childhood and Society.
PREPAREDBY:SABASHABIR
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THE EGO IN POST-FREUDIAN THEORY
 Ego is a positive force that creates a self-identity, a
sense of “I”.
 During childhood, Ego is weak and fragile & during
adolescence, it gain strength and unifies
personality.
 Ego as conscious creates self-identity, and as
unconscious it organizes our present experiences
with the past self-identities.
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 Erikson defined the Ego as a person’s ability to
unify experiences and actions in an adaptive
manner.
 He identified three interrelated aspects of Ego:
1) The Body-Ego: physical self as different from
others, and our satisfaction or dissatisfaction with
our body looks and functions.
2) The Ego-Ideal: image of ourselves in comparison
with an established ideal.
3) The Ego-Identity: image we have in a variety of
social roles.
THE EGO IN POST-FREUDIAN THEORY
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SOCIETY’S INFLUENCE ON EGO
 Ego is a potential at birth.
 Ego is shaped by societies, with their variations in
child-rearing process, that fit the needs of that
culture.
 E.g., cross-cultural analysis on child rearing
practices.
---Sioux child rearing practices = oral
personalities = generous.
---Yurok child rearing practices = strict rules
for toilet training = compulsive neat,
stubborn, and miser personalities.
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ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY
 The developmental changes throughout the human
life span, also called Psychosocial Development
Theory.
 Much like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that
personality develops into a series of stages.
 Unlike Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages,
Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social
experience across the whole lifespan.
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WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT?
 Eight stages of human development.
 Each stage consists of a unique developmental
task that confronts individuals with a crisis.
 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 he sometimes referred to
as ego strength or ego quality.
 If the stage is managed poorly, the person will
emerge with a sense of inadequacy.
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BASIC POINTS
1. Epigenetic principle: step-by-step growth, but
any step doesn’t replace the accomplishment of
the previous step, e.g., children crawl before they
walk, walk before they run, and run before they
jump.
2. Interactions of opposites: conflict between a
syntonic (harmonious) element and a dystonic
(disruptive) element---people must have both
harmonious and disruptive experiences.
3. Basic strength: conflict b/w syntonic and dystonic
produces ego strength.
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BASIC POINTS
4. Core pathology: too little basic strength
5. Nature + nurture: biological and psychological
aspects have been focused.
6. Multiplicity of conflicts and events: Ego identity
is shaped by past, present, and future.
7. Identity crisis: from adolescence onward, major
modifications in identity at every stage.
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Erikson’s Stages Developmental Period
Trust vs. Mistrust Infancy (first year)
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Early childhood (2 to 3 years)
Initiative vs. Guilt Play age (3 to 5 years)
Industry vs. Inferiority School age (elementary school
years, 6 years to puberty)
Identity vs. Identity Confusion Adolescence (10 to 20 years)
Intimacy vs. Isolation Early adulthood (20s, 30s)
Generativity vs. Stagnation Middle adulthood (40s, 50s)
Integrity vs. Despair Late adulthood (60s onward)
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INFANCY (BIRTH-1ST YEAR )
 Erikson’s first psychological stage
 Parallel to Freud’s oral stage
 Oral-Sensory Mode: Infancy is the time of incorporation with
infants, not only through mouth, but through various sense
organs as well.
 Two modes of incorporation: receiving and accepting what
is given from the physical world and from other individuals.
 A sense of trust requires a feeling of physical comfort and a
minimal amount of fear and apprehension about the future.
 Trust in infancy sets the stage of a lifelong expectation that
the world will be a good and pleasant place to live.
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TRUST VS. MISTRUST
Life stage Infancy
Relationship Mother, care giver
Issues feeding and being comforted,
teething, sleeping
Syntonic &
Dystonic
Trust vs. Mistrust
Basic Strength Hope: future distress will meet with
satisfactory outcomes.
Maladaptation Sensory distortion, discrepancy b/w
sensory needs & environment
Core pathology Withdrawal: retreat from the world
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EARLY CHILDHOOD (2 TO 3 YEARS)
 Erikson’s second psychological stage
 Parallel with Freud’s Anal stage.
 Anal-Urethral-Muscular Mode: According to Erikson,
children not only gain pleasure from mastering bladder control
but also by mastering other body functions such as walking,
throwing, holding.
 Childhood is the time of self-expression.
 They start to assert their sense of independences, self-control,
or autonomy --- realizing their will.
 If infants are restrained too much or punished too harshly for
their self-expressions (cultural effects), they are likely to
develop a sense of shame and doubt.
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AUTONOMY VS SHAME AND DOUBT
Life Stage Toddler
Relationship Parents
Issues Bodily functions, toilet training,
muscular control, walking
Syntonic &
Dystonic
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Basic Strength Will
Maladaptation Impulsivity, contradictions
Core Pathology Compulsion
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PLAY AGE (3 TO 5 YEARS)
 Erikson’s third stage of development
 Parallel with Freud’s Phallic stage.
 Genital-Locomotor Mode: Besides acquiring Identification
with parents, children are also developing locomotion,
language skills, imagination, and ability to set goals.
 Children are asked to assume responsibility for their bodies,
behaviors, toys, and pets.
 Developing a sense of responsibility enables them to be
initiative and taking an action with a purpose.
 Guilt feelings may arise if the child is irresponsible or if there
are some fantasies that do not match their needs and culture
(leaving home).
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INITIATIVE VS. GUILT
Life Stage Preschool
Relationship Family
Issues Exploration and discovery,
adventure and play
Syntonic &
Dystonic
Initiative vs. Guilt
Basic Strength Purpose: setting goals with
purpose
Maladaptation Ruthlessness, fantasies
Core Pathology Inhibition: Too much guilt
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SCHOOL AGE (6 TO 11 YEARS)
 Erikson’s fourth developmental stage
 Parallel with Freud’s Latency stage
 Latency mode: Erikson agreed with Freud’s concept of
Latency.
 Children’s initiative brings them in contact with a wealth of
new experiences and social growth.
 Children may acquire industry, means willingness to remain
busy with something and to finish a job.
 Children can also develop a sense of inferiority when they are
unable to accomplish their goals, they would feel incompetent
and unproductive.
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INDUSTRY VS. INFERIORITY
Life Stage School age
Relationship School, teachers, friends,
neighborhood
Issues Achievement and
accomplishment
Syntonic &
Dystonic
Industry vs. Inferiority
Basic Strength Competence
Maladaptation Narrow Virtuosity
Core Pathology Inertia: nonproductive,
fantasies, regression like
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ADOLESCENCE (12 TO 20 YEARS)
 Erikson’s fifth developmental stage, and the most crucial.
 Adolescent is the time of trial and error, faced with finding out who
they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life.
 Identity emerges from:
1. Affirmation or repudiation of childhood identifications.
2. Historical or social context encouraging conformity to certain
standards.
 Identity Confusion starts with the Dilemma: repudiate the values of
parents or peers?
 Identity confusions include divided self-image, inability to establish
intimacy, and rejection of family or community standards.
 Properly handling the opposites results into faith, freedom in decision
making, trust in peers and family, and confidence.
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IDENTITY VS. IDENTITY CONFUSION
Life Stage Adolescence
Relationship Peers, groups influences
Issues Resolving identity and direction
Syntonic vs.
Dystonic
Identity vs. Identity Confusion
Basic Strength Fidelity: faith in one’s ideology
(political, religious, and social)
Maladaptation Fanaticism
Core Pathology Role Repudiation: non-workable
identity by:
1. Diffidence: extreme lack of
self-trust
2. Defiance: rebelling against
authority.
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YOUNG ADULTHOOD (20’S AND 30’S)
 Erikson’s sixth developmental stage
 Face the developmental task of forming intimate relationship
with others.
 Intimacy is the ability to fuse one’s identity with that of
another person without fear of losing it or without losing one’s
individuality.
 For example, if the young adult forms healthy friendships and
an intimate relationship with another individual, intimate will be
achieved; if not, isolation will result.
 Isolation means inability to take chances with one’s identity
by sharing true intimacy.
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INTIMACY VS. ISOLATION
Life Stage Early adulthood
Relationship Lovers, friends, work connections
Issues Intimate relationships, works and
social life
Syntonic vs.
Dystonic
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Basic Strength Love: commitment, cooperation,
and friendship
Maladaptation Promiscuity
Core Pathology Exclusivity: blocks one’s ability
to cooperate, compete, or
compromise
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ADULTHOOD (40’S AND 50’S)
 Erikson’s seventh developmental stage
 Procreativity: responsible behavior, pro-social
behavior, altruism.
 Not as duty or obligation but a natural desire for
prosaically behaviours.
 A chief concern is to assist the younger generation
in developing and leading useful lives – this is what
Erikson means by Generativity.
 The feeling of done nothing to the next generation
is self-absorption or Stagnation.
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GENERATIVITY VS. STAGNATION
Life Stage Middle adulthood
Relationship Children, community
Issues ‘giving back’, helping,
contributing
Syntonic vs.
Dystonic
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Basic Strength Care: for persons, products,
ideas
Maladaptation Overextension
Core Pathology Rejectivity: self-centered,
pseudo speciation (other
people are inferior to one’s
own)
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OLD AGE (60 TO ONWARD)
 Erikson’s eighth and final developmental stage
 During this stage, a person reflects on the past and either pieces
together a positive review or concludes that life has not been spent
well.
 For example, the older person may have developed a positive
outlook in most or all of the previous stages of development. If so,
the retrospective glances will reveal a picture of a life well spent, and
the person will feel a sense of satisfaction – Integrity will be
achieved.
 If the older adult resolved many of the earlier stages negatively, the
retrospective glances likely will yield doubt or gloom – the despair
(without HOPE) Erikson described, which includes depression,
disgust, contempt for others.
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INTEGRITY VS. DESPAIR
Life Stage Old age
Relationship Society, the world, life
Issues Meaning and purpose, life
achievements
Syntonic vs.
Dystonic
Integrity vs. Despair
Basic Strength Wisdom: concerned with life,
approach death without fear
Maladaptation Presumption
Malignancy Disdain: finished, confused,
helpless
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