Erik Erikson

1
Erik Erikson Social Development

• Matthew Dohn, Ph.D

2
Identity

• What does the term identity mean to you?
• When you hear the word identity, what ideas
  come to mind?

3
Identity

• Identity our sense of our personal
  characteristics
• Who am I? What makes me me?
• Our identity seems to take on many forms
• Social identity How am I like most people? How
  am I different?
• Gender/ethnic identity Am I like most other
  members of my gender/ethnic group?

4
Erik Erikson

• 1902-1994
• German psychologist
• Proposed a stage theory of human psychological
  development

5
Identity FormationEriksons Crises of
Development

• Primary interest How is our personal identity
  formed throughout the lifespan?
• Idea Identity develops from dealing with a
  series of crises
• emotional turning points
• Each crisis must be successfully dealt with for
  healthy psychological development

6
Identity FormationEriksons Crises of
Development

• Can be broken into three distinct periods
• Infancy Childhood
• Adolescence Young Adulthood
• Adulthood, Middle Age and Beyond

7
Eriksons Crises of DevelopmentInfancy
Childhood

• Infancy Trust vs. Mistrust
• Is my environment reliable?
• Child learns to trust (or mistrust) people and
  their environment based on whether basic needs
  are met
• Age 2 Autonomy vs. Doubt
• Can I do things in the world?
• Child learns that they can direct their own
  behavior

8
Eriksons Crises of DevelopmentInfancy
Childhood

• Ages 3-6 Initiative vs. Guilt
• Am I a good person?
• Child is challenged to take initiative in
  controlling their own behavior
• Ages 6-12 Industry vs. Inferiority
• Am I competent? What am I good at?
• Child develops new skills establishes feelings
  of competence

9
Eriksons Crises of DevelopmentAdolescence
Young Adulthood

• Identity vs. Role Confusion
• Who am I? What can/will I become?
• Deciding who we want to become, in terms of
  occupation, beliefs, attitudes and behavior
• Possibility to experience an Identity Crisis
• Intimacy vs. Isolation
• Can I be in a meaningful relationship with
  someone?
• Sharing ourselves with someone else in a close,
  committed relationship

10
Eriksons Crises of DevelopmentAdulthood,
Middle Age Beyond

• Generativity vs. Stagnation
• What is my legacy?
• Be creative, productive, and supportive of the
  next generation
• Possibility for Midlife Crisis
• Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• What was the meaning of (my) life?
• Obtainment of wisdom, deep appreciation for life,
  acceptance of our life

11
Impact of Eriksons Theory

• Extremely influential theory
• Some concepts have leaked out into popular
  culture
• Identity crisis Midlife crisis
• Critics point out that people move through the
  stages differently
• It seems possible to skip stages
• Some individuals seem to remain in one stage
  longer than others
• We may also experience different stages at the
  same time

12
Questions?

• What do YOU think of Eriksons theory of
  identity?
• Can you think of examples that support Eriksons
  theory?
• Do you think that this theory can be proven or
  disproven?