Erik Erikson: The Life-Span Approach

Erik Erikson

Supported the idea that we can change

• The types of relationships we have in each stage develop our personality
• We can “rescue” ourselves from problems of life by making meaningful choices

Psychosocial Stages of Personality Development

• 8 successive stages over the lifespan
• Addresses bio, social, situational, personal influences
• Crisis: must adaptively or maladaptively cope with task in each developmental stage
• Respond adaptively: acquire strengths needed for next developmental stage
• Respond maladaptively: less likely to be able to adapt to later problems
• Basic strengths: Motivating characteristics and beliefs that derive from successful resolution of crisis in each stage

Stage 1: Trust v. Mistrust

• Totally dependent on others
• Caregiver meets needs: child develops trust
• Caregiver does not meet needs: child develops mistrust
• Basic strength: Hope
• Belief our desires will be satisfied
• Feeling of confidence

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Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

• Ages 1-3
• Child able to exercise some degree of choice
• Child’s independence is thwarted: child develops feelings of self-doubt, shame in dealing with others
• Basic Strength: Will
• Determination to exercise freedom of choice in face of society’s demands

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt

• Ages 3-5
• Child expresses desire to take initiative in activities
• Parents punish child for initiative: child develops feelings of guilt that will affect self-directed activity throughout life
• Basic strength: Purpose
• Courage to envision and pursue goals

Stage 4: Industriousness vs. Inferiority

• Ages 6-11
• Child develops cognitive abilities to enable in task completion (school work, play)
• Parents/teachers do not support child’s efforts: child develops feelings of inferiority and inadequacy
• Basic strength: Competence
• Exertion of skill and intelligence in pursuing and completing tasks

• Stages 1-4
• Largely determined by others (parents, teachers)
• Stages 5-8
• Individual has more control over environment
• Individual responsibility for crisis resolution in each stage

Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion

• Ages 12-18
• Form ego identity: self-image
• Strong sense of identity: face adulthood with certainty and confidence
• Identity crisis: confusion of ego identity
• Basic strength: Fidelity
• Emerges from cohesive ego identity
• Sincerity, genuineness, sense of duty in relationships with others

Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation

• Ages 18-35 (approximately)
• Undertake productive work and establish intimate relationships
• Inability to establish intimacy leads to social isolation
• Basic strength: Love
• Mutual devotion in a shared identity
• Fusing of oneself with another person

Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation

• Ages 35-55 (approximately)
• Activity: Active involvement in teaching/guiding the next generation
• Stagnation involves not seeking outlets for generativity
• Basic strength: Care
• Broad concern for others
• Need to teach others

Stage 8: Ego Integrity vs. Despair

• Ages 55+
• Evaluation of entire life
• Integrity: Look back with satisfaction
• Despair: Review with anger, frustration
• Basic strength: Wisdom
• Detached concern with the whole of life

Research in Erikson’s Theory

• Trust
• Early strong bonds with mother later were more curious, sociable and popular
• Identity
• Strong identity associated with greater cognitive and emotional functioning in college students
• Crisis may begin later than age 12
• Continuing process over the lifespan

Research in Erikson’s Theory

• Generativity
• Evokes need to feel closer to others
• Correlated with extraversion, openness to new experiences
• Likely to be involved in community, social relationships
• Maturity
• High ego integrity: spent much time reviewing their lives
• Ethnic Identity
• Ethnic minorities: ethnic identity significant factor in determining sense of self

Contributions of Erikson

• Personality develops throughout the lifetime
• Identity crisis in adolescence
• Impact of social, cultural, personal and situational forces in forming personality

Criticisms of Erikson

• Ambiguous terms and concepts
• Lack of precision
• Some terms are not easily measured empirically
• Experiences in stage may only apply to males
• Identity crisis may only apply to those affluent enough to explore identities

Freud and Erikson, Compared

©1999 Prentice Hall

Neo-Freudians

• Freud was a controversial figure, and many of his colleagues broke away from his view, but still maintained a psychodynamic aspect to their theories
• Erik Erikson
• Personality changes throughout life
• Alfred Adler
• importance of childhood social tension
• Karen Horney
• sought to balance Freud’s masculine biases
• Carl Jung
• emphasized the collective unconscious
• concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species’ history

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