Eric Erikson a German psychoanalyst and
psychologist, spent most of his working life in the US. He expanded Freud’s
childhood developmental theory, well beyond the first few years of life, into a
lifelong development theory of identity, with an emphasis on the adolescent
‘identity crisis’ and the role of the ego.
Eight stages
Inessence,
Eriskson’s advice is that internal conflicts occur at each of his eight stages
in life. If one fails to resolve the crises that arise, they can adversely
affect the later stages in one’s life.
The
Oral Sensory Stage, requires the development of trust through the maternal
relationship and if this bond is not fulfilled may lead to a sense of rejection
or worthlessness.
Autonomy
develops as we go through the ‘terrible two’s and we affirm our ability to
defy, walk and talk, with an emphasis on toilet training. Here we overcome
shame.
Pre-school
involves initiative overcoming guilt through play, imagination and mimicking
adults.
At
school, the child must develop self-identity and self-worth within the context
of a new environment, through industry, to overcome a sense of inferiority.
Education kicks in here as the teacher must, like the parent, engender a sense
of worth.
The
big one, where roles are confused until identity is established. The tables are
turned as we have to rely on ourselves, rather than others for our identity.
This can lead to idealism at the expense of realism.
We’re
into adulthood where intimacy overcomes isolation through love, friendship and
possibly marriage.
One
develops a career and purpose in life, as well as taking on the role of a
parent and carer. One’s sense of purpose can stagnate into regret or be
generative.
One
looks back with either a sense of disappointment, even despair, or a positive
outlook with a sense of worth and wisdom, as one face s death.
Criticism
He
knew Freud’s daughter Anna and took Freud’s basic theory, modified it, with
more emphasis on the ‘ego’ and less on sexuality. But Erikson’s schema suffers
from being primarily descriptive, with little evidence to back up the
underlying pairs of conflicting forces. His evidence is loose and anecdotal,
relying too much looking at the lives of a few famous people from the past. His
paired conflicts have been criticised as being oversimplifications, dualist in
nature, if not moralistic in tone. There is also doubt about the age ranges and
whether all of this occurs in such a rigid, sequential order.
Conclusion
Erikson
has been influential not only among early years’ practitioners but also among
those who study adolescence. ‘Identity crisis’ has entered our language as a
general term for confusion about the self. Nevertheless, in the end, it is a
reframing of the Freudian concept of the ‘ego’, driven forward by dualist
conflict. What Erikson does is draw attention to the different needs of people
at roughly different stages of their lives. Education and learning are heavily
influenced by internal conflicts and external social pressures. Whether we need
Erikson’s precise staged, theoretical framework is another question.
Bibliography
Erikson E. (1950)
Childhood
and Society
Erikson E. (1958)
Young Man Luther.
A Study in Psychoanalysis and History
Erikson E. (1968)
Identity: Youth and Crisis
Erikson E. (1969)
Gandhi's Truth:
On the Origin of Militant Nonviolence
Erikson E. Kivnick H. (1986)
Vital Involvement in Old Age
Erikson E. Erikson J.M. (1987)
The Life Cycle Completed
Coles, R. (1970) Erik H. Erikson: The Growth of His Work. Boston:
Little, Brown & Co.
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