Erik Erikson distanced himself from Freud’s theories, giving personal development a broader tone and closer to the general population. He discovers here his life and work.
Erik Erikson was a German psychoanalyst who made great contributions to the understanding of the human mind . He was born in Frankfurt in 1902. He died almost a century later, in 1994, in Massachusetts (United States). His name is one of the most renowned within the sciences of the mind.
Erik Erikson’s main contribution was in terms of evolutionary psychology. He postulated the existence of eight ages in man, each of which has its own characteristics , achievements, and losses. Although he was trained and worked as a psychoanalyst, his approaches have been taken up by the so-called humanistic psychology.
” In the social jungle of human existence, there is no sense of being alive without a sense of identity .” -Erik Erikson-
As often happens in the lives of great psychologists and psychoanalysts, Erik Erikson ‘s childhood was not without its problems . His father left his mother, just when he was born. Erikson’s mother was a young Danish woman who single-handedly raised her son for the first few years of her life, until she later married a pediatrician of Jewish origin.
Erik Erikson’s youthful years
Erik Erikson’s mother hid from her son that his father had abandoned her. Maybe that’s why she grew up being something of a rebel without a cause. He was scattered and had no clear goals for his life . Although he was a good student, he did not stand out much and everyone seemed distracted and restless at the same time.
When she finished high school, she decided she wanted to be an artist. Thus, she began a stage marked by instability. He went to classes and alternated that activity with trips to different places in Europe to learn about the artistic manifestations of the continent. Sometimes he walked like a bum and slept under bridges .
Much later, Erik Erikson wrote a work he called Autobiographical Notes on Identity Crisis . In it he refers to those years in which he did not know exactly which way to go.
Initial training
When ispprovidersinmyarea.com Erikson turned 25, he wanted to settle down. A friend of his advised him to take an available place in an experimental school . This was directed by Dorothy Burlingham, who in turn was a close friend of Anna Freud. It was there that he began to find himself and formulate a life project.
She became interested in pedagogy and thus obtained a certificate in “Montessori Education”. Later, and thanks to the influence of Anna Freud, she studied child psychoanalysis at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. Later she decided to become an analyst and it was Anna Freud herself who did psychoanalysis on her, a condition required to start her practice as a therapist.
Later, Erik Erikson marries a dancer and years later he had to face the rigors of World War II. This caused him to emigrate to the United States, where https://www.mazafakas.com/user/profile/1547949 he soon became a professor at Harvard University . There he made some friendships that nurtured him significantly. He later worked at Yale University and California University.
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development
Although Erik Erikson worked on a wide range of topics, it was his theory of psychosocial development that led him to a place of his own in the world of psychology . In it he integrated his knowledge of pedagogy, psychoanalysis and cultural anthropology.
This theory was a reinterpretation of the phases of psychosexual development proposed by Sigmund Freud, since Erikson emphasizes that personal development is carried out through social interactions.
That said, the features of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development can be summarized as follows:
- He emphasized understanding of the self . Erikson assumed the self as an intense force capable of reconciling syntonic and dystonic forces. In addition, it has the ability to resolve crises arising from the genetic, cultural and historical environment of each individual.
- He integrated the social dimension and psychosocial development into Freud’s stages of psychosexual development.
- He proposed a broader sukhum-os.ru.fozzyhost.com personality development, spanning from childhood to adulthood .
- He addressed the impact of culture, society, and history on personality development.
In this way, he postulated that certain specific skills are acquired in each of the stages of life, which determine subsequent evolution . Such competencies are basically psychosocial in nature and imply a conflict between the previous state and the new one. Let’s see in detail what these stages are.
The 8 psychosocial stages
According to Erikson, the human being goes through the following stages of development:
1. Basic trust vs. distrust (birth – 18 months)
This stage is based on the physical feeling of trust. The baby receives the warmth of the mother’s body and her loving care from her. Her presence or absence will have a significant influence on the child’s psychosocial development: if her parents do not meet her basic needs, she will grow up feeling frustrated and not expecting anything from others.
2. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (18 months – 3 years)
This stage is linked to muscle development and control of body elimination baloda.rackons.com (faeces, urine). This development is slow and progressive and is not always consistent and stable; in fact, it is a process with a lot of trial and error.
Therefore, in the face of achievement, children will be able to develop feelings of autonomy; while, in the face of failure, you will experience feelings of doubt.
Likewise, the child begins to experience his own autonomy , expressing himself in behaviors that oscillate between cooperation and stubbornness. In this sense, the parents’ attitudes and their own sense of autonomy are fundamental in the development of the child’s autonomy.
3. Initiative vs. guilt (3 years- 5 years)
It occurs at the age of the game and the first social contacts. The development of the imagination has a key role, as well as the step to action. The child has the ability to launch the motor plans that allow him to burst into space. Thus, the great curiosity to explore and uncertainty lead him to develop initiative behaviors or guilt .
During this stage, interest in social development and contact with other children grows. If these interactions with parents and peers are not met with a positive response, the balance will tip toward guilt.
4. Industry vs. inferiority (5 years – 13 years)
It is the stage in which the child begins his preschool and school instruction. And he is usually eager to do things together with others. Here there is already a baggage of experiences that allow you to develop in an environment with rules. Both socialization and exchange with their peers will enhance the overcoming of circumstances through proactivity or withdrawal .
During this stage, the child becomes dissatisfied and dissatisfied with the feeling of not being able to do things or not doing them well. In addition, he may develop a feeling of inferiority due to aspects of his identity, such as his socio-economic situation or his “racial” condition. Precisely for this reason, the school must ensure the establishment of the feeling of industriousness.
The school has a fundamental role in consolidating the child’s self-esteem and initiative during this stage.
5. Identity search vs. identity diffusion (13 years -21 years)
In this stage, the subject goes through both the search for an identity and various crises marked by the resignification of the conflicts of each previous stage . Likewise, the exploration of one’s own limits and possibilities occurs at this stage, marking various milestones in the consolidation of the adolescent’s identity.
6. Intimacy vs. isolation (21 years – 40 years)
Intimacy supposes the possibility of being close to others, since the subject has a feeling of security about who he is and is not afraid of “losing” himself . Contrarily, the persistence of adolescent conflicts and insecurity cause isolation and deficiency in social ties.
7. Generativity vs. stagnation (40 years – 60 years).
Period generally dedicated to the upbringing of children, so their own needs tend to be left aside. The fundamental task of this stage is to achieve an appropriate balance between productivity and stagnation .
Productivity refers to love for the future and has to do with a concern about the next generation and all future generations . In addition, it is related to the performance of any activity that fills that “old need to be needed”. Such as: performing tasks related to teaching, inventiveness, science, social activism, writing, etc.
Stagnation, on the other hand , is “self-absorption”: caring for no one . However, some people try to be so productive during this stage that there comes a time when they can’t allow themselves any time to relax and unwind. In the end, these individuals also fail to contribute anything to society.
8. Integrity vs. Hopelessness (60 years and older)
Old age is characterized by a struggle between integrity and despair. This is the last stage, where the sorrows of life, along with physical wear and tear, accumulate. According to Erikson, the great objective is to maintain physical and emotional integrity, without falling into despair .
It is a stage where the individual faces ceasing to be productive, as well as the mourning of all those in their environment who are dying.
To conclude, we emphasize that Erik Erikson’s theory had an important impact on American psychology and later on throughout the world . Today it continues to exert a strong influence on research and the therapeutic field. It is an interesting approach, profoundly human and hopeful.
