Ohio University, Sarah Good’s Child Development (EDEC 1600) course, Spring 2019.
The Life of Erik Erikson: Madi Cooper
Early Childhood:
Erik Erikson, born Erik Salomonsen on June 15, 1902, was one of the greatest psychoanalysts of the world. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany and was brought up by his mother and stepfather. His mother, Karla Abrahamsen, is from a family of Jewish descent in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father was a Jewish stockbroker named Valdemar Isidor Salomonsen. However, his mother and father split several months before Erik was born, and his mother moved to Frankfurt to raise him. Erikson was estranged from his father his whole life. His mother went on to become a nurse. Later on, his mother met and married a Jewish pediatrician, Theodor Homburger, and in 1911, Erik was officially adopted by his stepfather, and changed his last name to Homburger. Growing up, Erikson had many problems with his identity. He wrote, “my identity confusion was on the borderline between neurosis and adolescent psychosis.” Much of his identity confusion stemmed from the fact that he felt as though his stepfather never truly accepted him the same as his own daughters (goodtherapy.org).
Adolescence:
When Erikson graduated high school, he moved to Florence, Italy to chase a career in art. Then, in 1927, he moved to begin a job as an art teacher at a psychoanalytically enlightened school for children founded by Dorothy Burlingham and Anna Freud in Vienna, Austria (erikson.edu). After meeting Freud, Erikson chose to go in the direction of a career in psychoanalysis. He continued on to study child development at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. He went through the Montessori method, which focused on psychosexual and developmental stages. He finished school and got a diploma from this school.
Adulthood:
Erikson went on to marry Joan Serson, a Canadian-American psychologist, in 1930. She helped him throughout the development of his psychosocial development theory. Then in 1933, Erikson and his wife, along with his young child, left Germany due to the Nazi uprising and went to live in the United States. It was during this time that Erikson changed his last name from “Homburger” to “Erikson”. Erik and Joan went on to have three children, Kai, Sue, and Jon.
The Erikson family initially lived in Boston, where he became the first male to practice psychoanalysis in the Boston area (goodtherapy.org). He also worked at the Harvard Medical School Guidance Center and Harvard’s Psychological Clinic, where he met influential people such as Kurt Lewin, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson; all great psychologists and anthropologists. During his time in the States, he served as a professor at very high scale institutions including Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Yale.
Erikson and his family moved to California in 1939, and he worked with the Institution of Child Welfare in California. He specifically studied Native American children, and focused mainly on the Yurok tribe. He continued on with his career at UC Berkeley, until 1951, when the university required him to sign an oath claiming he was not a Communist. Erikson refused to sign the oath and was consequently made to resign from the University (goodtherapy.org). The Erikson’s then returned to Massachusetts where he began studying emotionally challenged youth at the Austin Riggs Center. Erik finished his career as a professor of human development at Harvard, before passing away May 12, 1994.
Over his lifetime, Erikson made many contributions to the field of psychology. He impacted psychological theories by increasing the ideas of Sigmund Freud, specifically his stages of development. After closely studying the human life cycle, Erikson came to the conclusion that each human progressed through eight stages of development. These eight stages of development are still widely used today in the practice of psychology.
Stages of Psychosocial Development: Abby Postage
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development outlined the impact of social experience throughout the entire lifespan. Each of Erikson’s eight stages builds from one another into the next stage. This applies to the child through the process in which they age and how they develop. When reflecting back on your own childhood or even your own child’s childhood you can see how these stages of psychosocial development can make sense.
Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust
This stage of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth and the first year of a child’s life and is known to be the most fundamental stage of life. During this stage, a child relies solely on the caregiver to provide basic needs such as; food, water, comfort, and clothing. If the caregiver doesn’t provide this, the bond of trust could be broken and could affect the child’s development down the road.
Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
This stage of Erikson’s theory focuses on the development of self-control within the child. This stage occurs between the ages of about 18 months to 3 years of age. A vital part of this stage that Erikson believed led to feelings of independence and self-control was, toilet training. Allowing kids to make choices during this stage sets them up for a sense of autonomy. Lack of this could lead to self-doubt into the next stages of development.
Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt
This stage of Erikson’s theory occurs during the ages of 3 to 5 years of age. This stage is important because children are going into the first years of schooling. Being able to initiate play and other social interactions with other children is extremely important so children can feel capable. Children will feel a sense of guilt and self-doubt as mentioned in the previous stage without this developmental process.
Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority
This stage of Erikson’s theory occurs between the ages of 5 and 13 years of age. Children during this stage feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride. They are finding out who they are and who they want to become. Support and encouragement from caregivers and peers can lead to a sense of industry in the child’s abilities. If a child doesn’t have these qualities they can feel inferior to others making it hard to fit in with those around them.
Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion: Lindsey Poucket
This stage usually occurs between the ages of twelve and eighteen. McLeod (2018) stated that adolescents search for a sense of self and personal identity. This is a way for children to find who they truly are or what they want to be when they are older. Children may try to experiment with different roles in life, and that is how they will find their identity. If a child has troubles trying to find his or her identity it will lead to what is known as role confusion. Cherry (2018) defined role confusion as individuals that tend to drift from one job or relationship to another, and they are never really sure what they want to do with their lives.
Stage Six: Intimacy vs. Isolation
This stage usually occurs between the ages of eighteen and forty. This is generally when adults start relationships with people other than their families, usually romantic. McLeod (2018) wrote that successful completion of this stage can result in happy relationships and a sense of commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Cherry (2018) stated that adults who struggle with this stage experience poor romantic relationships and those who struggle to form these intimacy with others are often left feeling isolated and lonely.
Stage Seven: Generativity vs. Stagnation
This stage usually occurs between the ages forty and sixty-five. Adults in this stage have this feeling that they need to create or nurture things. McLeod (2018) stated that people give back to society through raising their children, being productive at work, and becoming involved in their community’s activities and organizations. If a person succeeds in this stage they can feel accomplished with a sense of purpose. Cherry (2018) explained that people who suffer from poor health, poor relationships, and people who feel they no control over their fate may have feelings of stagnation.
Stage Eight: Ego Integrity vs. Despair
This stage usually occurs between age sixty-five through death. During this stage adults usually become less productive, and retire from work. McLeod (2018) states that this is when people contemplate accomplishments and can develop integrity if seen as having a successful life. This is the stage when people gain wisdom, from all their past experiences. Cherry (2018) concludes that people who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life was wasted and have many regrets, which often times leads to despair and bitterness.
Citations:
Cherry, K., Gans, S. (n.d.). Understanding Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740
Cherry, K. (2018, July 17). Erik Erikson Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-erikson-quotes-2795690
Cherry, K. (2018, October 23). Identity vs. Role Confusion. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/identity-versus-confusion-2795735
Cherry, K. (2018, November 10). Integrity vs. Despair in Psychological Development. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/integrity-versus-despair-2795738
Cherry, K. (2018, November 16). Generativity vs. Stagnation in Psychological Development. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/generativity-versus-stagnation-2795734
Cherry, K. (2018, December 15). Intimacy vs. Isolation: Psychosocial Stage 6. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/intimacy-versus-isolation-2795739
“Erik Erikson and The Eight Stages of Development” (n.d.) [Online Image]. Retrieved February 18, 2019 From https://sites.google.com/site/howtogrowachild20/family-map
Erik H. Erikson- Erikson Institute’s namesake. Chicago, IL. Erikson Institute. Retrieved
from https://www.erikson.edu/about/history/erik-erikson/
Erik Erikson. (2007). Goodtherapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/erik-erikson.html
McLeod, S. A. (2018, May 03). Erik Erikson’s stages of psychological development. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html
Theorist Erik Erikson 