Erik Erikson's Post-Freudian Theory Flashcards
Three interrelated aspects of ego
the body ego, the ego ideal, and ego identity
Refers to experiences with our body; a way of seeing our physical self as different from other people
the body ego
Represents the image we have of ourselves in comparison with an establish ideal
the ego ideal
It is responsible for our being satisfied or dissatisfied not only with our physical self but with our entire personal identity
the ego ideal
The image we have of ourselves in the variety of social roles we play
the ego identity
What did Erikson see our ego as?
the center of our personality
For Erikson, what does our ego create?
Our ego is a positive force that creates a self-identity. A sense of “I”
Those that influence, shape, and develops our ego
society’s influence and epigenetic principle
An illusion perpetrated and perpetuated by a particular society that is somehow chosen to be the human species
pseudospecies
True or False
The ego emerges from and is largely shaped by society
True
True or False
Erikson’s emphasis on biological and historical factors was in line with Freud’s viewpoint
False. Erikson’s emphasis on social and historical factors was in contrast with Freud’s mostly biological viewpoint
What did Erikson believe about the ego according to the epigenetic principle
Erikson believed that the ego develops throughout the various stages of life according to an epigenetic principle
How did Erikson see the ego in terms of the epigenetic principle
For Erikson, he believed that the ego is much like the epigenetic principle wherein it goes through a sequence of stages, following a path of epigenetic development, with each stage developing at its proper time
How did society influence our ego
To Erikson, the ego exists as potential at birth, but it must emerge from within a cultural environment. Different societies, with their variations in child-rearing practices, tend to shape personalities that fit the needs and values of their culture.
The understanding of Erikson’s psychosocial development in 7 basic points
- growth takes place according to the epigenetic principle.
- in every stage of life there is an interaction of opposites; a conflict between a syntonic element and a dystonic element.
- at each stage, the conflict between the dystonic and syntonic elements produces an ego quality or ego strength; which is called basic strength.
- too little basic strength at any one stage results in a core pathology for that stage.
- he never lost sight of the biological aspect of human development
- events in earlier stages do not cause later personality development.
- personality development is characterized by an identity crisis
The first psychosocial stage
Infancy
What is infancy according to Erikson
infancy is a time of incorporation, with infants “taking in” not only through their mouth but through their
various sense organs as well.
Infancy is marked by which psychosexual mode
oral-sensory psychosexual mode
The psychosocial crisis of infancy
basic trust versus basic mistrust
basic strength of infancy
hope
oral-sensory
a phrase that includes infants’ principal psychosexual mode of adapting
T or F. Infants must develop both trust and basic mistrust attitudes.
True. Too much trust makes them gullible and
vulnerable to the vagaries of the world, whereas too little trust leads to frustration, anger, hostility, cynicism, or depression
If infants do not develop sufficient hope during infancy, what happens?
They will demonstrate the antithesis or the opposite of hope—withdrawal, the core pathology of infancy.
Early Childhood
The second psychosocial stage
Some differences exist between Freud and Erikson. Freud regarded the anus as the primary erogenous zone during this period and that during the early sadistic-anal phase, children receive pleasure in
destroying or losing objects, while later they take satisfaction in defecating
To Erikson, young children receive pleasure not only from mastering the sphincter muscle but also from mastering other body functions such as urinating, walking, throwing, holding, and so on.
Psychosexual mode of Early Childhood
Anal-Urethral-Muscular Mode
At this time, children learn to control their body,
especially in relation to cleanliness and mobility.
Early childhood is a time of contradiction. This obstinate insistence on conflicting impulses triggers what major psychosocial crisis of childhood
autonomy versus shame and doubt
Children who develop too little autonomy will have?
difficulties in subsequent stages, lacking the basic strengths of later stages
autonomy grows out of basic trust
if basic trust has been established in infancy, then children learn to have faith in themselves, and their world remains intact while they experience a mild psychosocial crisis.
Shame
a feeling of self-consciousness, of being looked at and exposed
Doubt
the feeling of not being certain, the feeling that something remains hidden and cannot
be seen
The basic strength of early childhood
Will
This evolves from the resolution of the crisis of
autonomy versus shame and doubt.
Inadequate will is expressed as compulsion
Compulsion is the core pathology of early childhood.
Erikson’s third stage of development
Play Age
Whereas Freud placed the Oedipus complex at the core of the phallic stage, Erikson believed that the Oedipus complex is but one of several important developments during the play age.
At play age stage, in addition to identifying with their parents…
preschool-age children are developing locomotion, language skills, curiosity, imagination, and the ability to set goals.
Primary psychosexual mode of Play Age
Genital-locomotor mode
Erikson (1982) saw the Oedipal situation as a prototype “of the lifelong power of human playfulness”
T or F. The Oedipus and castration complexes should always to be taken literally
False. A little girl may envy boys, not because boys possess a penis, but rather because society grants more prerogatives to children with a penis.
Psychosocial crisis of play age
initiative versus guilt
Basic strength of play age
Purpose
Inhibition
The antipathy of purpose
Play age
is also the stage in which children are developing a conscience and beginning to attach labels such as right and wrong to their behavior. This youthful conscience
becomes the “cornerstone of morality”
Erikson’s fourth stage of development
School Age
School Age
At this age, the social world of children is expanding beyond family to include peers, teachers, and other adult models.
The psychosexual mode of School Age
Latency
Erikson saw school age as a time of sexual latency. Sexual latency is important because…
it allows children to divert their energies to learning the technology of their culture and the strategies of their social interactions
The psychosocial crisis of School Age
industry versus inferiority
Industry
a syntonic quality, means industriousness, a willingness to remain busy with something and to finish a job
Inferiority
They acquire this if their work is insufficient to accomplish their goals
The basic strength of School Age
Competence
competence
the confidence to use one’s physical and cognitive
abilities to solve the problems that accompany school age
inertia
the antithesis of competence and the core pathology of the school age
Erikson’s fifth stage of development
Adolescence
Adolescence
the period from puberty to young adulthood, is one of the most crucial developmental stages because, by the end of this period, a person must gain a firm sense of ego identity.
T or F. Ego identity begins during adolescence
False. Although ego identity neither begins nor ends during adolescence, the crisis between identity and identity confusion reaches its ascendance during this stage.
Erikson saw adolescence as a time of social latency
They are permitted to experiment in a variety of ways and to try out new roles and beliefs while seeking to establish a sense of ego identity
Puberty
defined as genital maturation. This plays a relatively minor role in Erikson’s concept of adolescence
Psychosocial crisis of adolescence
Identity versus Identity confusion
A crisis is…
“a turning point, a crucial period of increased vulnerability and heightened potential”
Identity emerges from two sources:
(1) adolescents’ affirmation or repudiation of childhood identifications
(2) their historical and social contexts, which encourage conformity to certain standards
Identity confusion
a syndrome of problems that includes a divided self-image, an inability to establish intimacy, a sense of time urgency, a lack of concentration on required tasks, and a rejection of family or community standards.
The basic strength of Adolescence
Fidelity
Fidelity
Faith in one’s ideology
The trust learned in infancy is basic for fidelity in adolescence.
Young people must learn to trust others before they can have faith in their own view of the future.
role repudiation
the core pathology of adolescence that blocks one’s ability to synthesize various self-images and values
into a workable identity
Forms of role repudiation
Role repudiation can take the form of either diffidence or defiance
Diffidence
is an extreme lack of self-trust or self-confidence and is expressed as shyness or hesitancy to express oneself
Defiance
is the act of rebelling against authority
Erikson’s sixth stage of development
Young Adulthood
Young Adulthood
After achieving a sense of identity during adolescence, people must acquire the ability to fuse that identity with the identity of another person while maintaining
their sense of individuality.
Young Adulthood
is circumscribed not so much by time as by the acquisition of intimacy at the beginning of the stage and the development of generativity at the end.
Psychosexual mode of young adulthood
Genitality
Genitality
True genitality can develop only during young adulthood when it is distinguished by mutual trust and a stable sharing of sexual satisfactions with a loved person. Exists only in intimate relationships
The psychosocial crisis of young adulthood
Intimacy versus Isolation
Intimacy
the ability to fuse one’s identity with that of another person without fear of losing it
Isolation
defined as “the incapacity to take chances with one’s identity by sharing true intimacy”
The basic strength of young adulthood
Love
Love
Erikson (1968, 1982) defined love as mature devotion that overcomes basic differences between men and women.
Exclusivity
The antipathy of love
Erikson’s seventh stage of development
Adulthood
Adulthood
That time when people begin to take their place in society and assume responsibility for whatever society produces.
The psychosexual mode of Adulthood
Procreativity
Procreativity
refers to more than genital contact with an intimate partner. It includes assuming responsibility for the care of offspring that result from that sexual contact.
Psychosocial crisis of Adulthood
Generativity Versus Stagnation
generativity
“the generation of new beings as well as new products and new ideas”
Self-absorption and stagnation
the antithesis of generativity
The basic strength of adulthood
Care
care
“a widening commitment to take care of the persons, the products, and the ideas one has learned to care for”
The antipathy of care; the core pathology of adulthood
rejectivity
rejectivity
unwillingness to take care of certain persons or groups
pseudospeciation
the belief that other groups of people are inferior to one’s own
Erikson’s eight and final stage of development
Old Age
Old age
Can be a time of joy, playfulness, and wonder;
but it is also a time of senility, depression, and despair.
The psychosexual mode of Old Age
Generalized Sensuality
Generalized Sensuality
it means to take pleasure in a variety of different physical sensations—sights, sounds, tastes, odors,
embraces, and perhaps genital stimulation.
The psychosocial crisis of Old Age
integrity versus despair
Integrity
means a feeling of wholeness and coherence, an ability to hold together one’s sense of “I-ness” despite diminishing physical and intellectual powers
Despair
literally means to be without hope
The basic strength of old age
Wisdom
wisdom
“informed and detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself”
The antithesis of wisdom and the core pathology of old age
disdain
Disdain
“a reaction to feeling (and seeing others) in an increasing state of being finished, confused, helpless.”
Critique of Erikson
Erikson built his theory largely on ethical principles and not necessarily on scientific data
Critique of Erikson
we rate Erikson’s theory only average on the
criterion of falsifiability
Critique of Erikson
In its ability to organize knowledge, Erikson’s theory is limited mostly to developmental stages.
Critique of Erikson
As a guide to action, Erikson’s theory provides many general guidelines, but offers little specific advice.
Critique of Erikson
his concepts of intimacy versus isolation and
generativity versus stagnation have much to offer to marriage counselors and others concerned with intimate relationships among young adults.
Critique of Erikson
We rate Erikson’s theory high on internal consistency, mostly because the terms used to label the different psychosocial crises, basic strengths, and core
pathologies are very carefully chosen.
Critique of Erikson
On the criterion of simplicity, or parsimony, we give the theory a moderate rating. The precision of its terms is a strength, but the descriptions of psychosexual stages and psychosocial crises, especially in the later stages, are not always clearly differentiated
Concept of Humanity
On the dimension of pessimism versus optimism, Erikson tended to be somewhat optimistic.
Concept of Humanity
Erikson did not specifically address the issue of causality versus teleology, but his view of humanity suggests that people are influenced more by
biological and social forces than by their view of the future.
Concept of Humanity
conscious versus unconscious determinants, Erikson’s position is mixed. Prior to adolescence, personality is largely shaped by unconscious motivation. Psychosexual and psychosocial conflicts during the first
four developmental stages occur before children have firmly established their identity.
Concept of Humanity
Erikson’s theory, of course, is more social than biological, although it does not overlook anatomy and other physiological factors in personality development.
Concept of Humanity
The sixth dimension for a concept of humanity is uniqueness versus similarities. Erikson tended to place more emphasis on individual differences than on universal characteristics.
