Posted by bob on June 2, 2000, at 15:43:59
In reply to Re: Ericksonian Cindy W, posted by Cindy W on June 2, 2000, at 1:08:27
[gotta love that Google "I feel lucky" button}
A nice on-line reference can be found at http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/erikson.html
Erik Erikson is the person we have to thank for the terms "identity crisis" and, if I'm not mistaken, "inferiority complex". I'm more familiar with his work from a developmental psychology perspective ... one of the things that set him apart from his contemporaries was in his firm believe in life-span development, as opposed to folks like Piaget who thought the brain stopped developing by 20 or so, or personality psychologists who believe the Big Five are done developing by 35 or so.
Erikson focused on ego development, believing it to occur on a genetically-predetermined timescale. Environmental forces interacted with this genetic unfolding to aid or interfere with the process of development. [Which probably explains the lack of emphasis on insight -- heredity as the internal force, environmental stress as the external.] His view on development had people going through eight stages, each of which involved a conflict between a positive and a negative aspect. The proper or improper resolution of any conflict would influence the development and resolution of later conflicts.
Some of the more remarkable points about the man include his holding faculty positions at Harvard and Berkeley even though his highest academic credential was his high school diploma, and earlier, his involvement with Anna Freud's "school" and being an analysand of Anna Freud himself. Something also worthy of note is that because of his emphasis on environmental issues vs. heredity, he spent a lot of time over his career trying to demonstrate the cross-cultural value and application of his approach to human development. Few theoreticians have really had the success that Erikson had in addressing cross-cultural issues that were truly rooted in culture and not in a shared biology.
FYI, I'll toss in a list of the stages here, but see the reference above if you want a more detailed explanation ... that's what hypertext is for, after all.
Stage 1: Basic Trust vs. Basic Mistrust (0-1 years)
Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1-3 yrs)
Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 yrs)
Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority (7-12 yrs)
Stage 5: Identity vs. Identity Diffusion (12-18 yrs.)
Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation (18-25 yrs.)
Stage 7: Generativity vs. Self-Absorption (25-50 yrs.)
Stage 8: Integrity vs. Disgust and Despair (50+ yrs.)cheers,
bob(what? me? self-absorbed? I never noticed...)
poster:bob
thread:34802
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000526/msgs/35710.html