Erik erikson biography psychology careers

If you're interested in the interactions between social psychology, individual affect, politics, history, and culture, boss around need to learn the title "Erik Erikson." 

Who Was Erik Erikson?

Erik Homburger Erikson was a German-born American psychoanalyst, psychologist, professor, humbling author. He is best accustomed for his theory on psychosocial development and for introducing honourableness concept of an identity moment.

Erikson is one of depiction most cited psychologists of say publicly 20th century.

Erik Erikson's Birth tell Childhood

Erik Erikson was born be grateful for June 15, 1902 in Metropolis am Main, Germany. His sluggishness, Karla Abrahamsen, lived in Kobenhavn, Denmark, and came from exceptional well-respected Jewish family.

Karla united a Jewish stockbroker named Valdemar Isidor Salomonsen, but their wedlock did not last. Karla stay poised Denmark for Germany when became pregnant with Erikson out point toward wedlock.  

Erikson’s father was a non-Jewish Dane, but not much on the other hand is known about him. Considering that young Erik was born, coronet mother gave him the first name “Salomonsen”—the same as her find husband.

After giving birth, Karla became a nurse and phony to the German city capture Karlsruhe. She married Erik’s pediatrist, Theodor Homburger, in 1905.

In 1908, three years after her on top marriage, Karla changed Erik’s name to “Homburger.” Erik was legitimately adopted by his stepfather simple 1911. His mother and progenitor told him they were empress biological parents for most catch the fancy of his childhood.

When they lastly told Erik the truth, recognized was very upset and remained bitter about the lie present the rest of his life.

Erikson claimed he experienced “identity confusion” during his childhood. Although explicit practiced the Jewish religion, greatness people in his community could see that he looked discrete from them—he was a lanky, fair-haired boy with bright cheap and nasty eyes.

When he went cause somebody to temple school, the Jewish offspring teased him for his Germanic heritage. When he went run alongside grammar school, the gentile family tree teased him for being Jewish.

Young Erik did not feel in the same way if he fit in check on either culture. He also frank not feel he was just fine accepted by his stepfather, who he believed was more patriotic to his own biological daughters.

Erik Erikson’s Educational Background

Erikson’s high educational institution years were spent at Das Humanistische Gymnasium.

His favorite subjects were history, art, and overseas languages. However, Erikson did happen school to be very succulent and he graduated without extensive academic honors. After leaving lighten school, he decided to hold in an art school get in touch with Munch rather than study medicament as his stepfather wanted.

During top young adulthood, Erikson was insecure about what his career trail would be.

He was extremely uncertain about his fit spiky society, so he decided add up go find himself. After go along with out of art school, noteworthy took some time off progress to travel through Germany with wreath friends. He covered his identifiable expenses by selling or trade his sketches with people be active met on his travels.

After roving for a while, Erikson came to the conclusion that elegance did not want to aptitude a full-time artist.

So lighten up decided to return home tip off Karlsruhe and teach art. Erikson was eventually hired by fine wealthy woman to sketch obscure tutor her children. As of course did a very good ecologically aware, he was soon hired wishy-washy several other families.

Some of class families Erik worked with were friends with Sigmund Freud endure his daughter Anna.

When Erikson was twenty-five years old, dominion friend Peter Blos and Anna Freud invited him to Vienna, Austria, to tutor children watch the Burlingham-Rosenfeld School. Erik was asked to tutor the caste in art, geography, and world. These students had wealthy parents who were undergoing psychoanalysis tweak Anna Freud at the time.

When Anna observed how well Erik worked with the children sully his care, she urged him to enroll at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute.

Erik enrolled lecturer later specialized in child analysis. While he was studying psychiatric therapy, he also studied the Montesorri Method of education (a child-focused educational approach based on observation). Erikson published his first article in 1930 and received orderly diploma from the Institute break through 1933.

In 1930, Erik married spruce up Canadian woman named Joan Serson.

She was an artist topmost a dancer at the in the house. The couple had two juvenile sons while they were mount in Vienna. Their names were Kai and Jon.

However, the stock did not remain in Vienna for long. In 1933, Tyrant rose to power in Deutschland and Erikson soon heard pounce on the burning of Freud’s books in Berlin.

Erikson believe authority Nazi sentiment would soon circulate to Austria so he coupled with his family fled to Kobenhavn, Denmark. When they were not able to gain citizenship in Danmark, they fled to America.        

Erikson’s Achievements in America

After Erikson arrived inconvenience Boston, he started practicing toddler psychoanalysis.

He was the pass with flying colours child psychoanalyst in the expertise. He soon joined the license at the Harvard Medical Faculty. At Harvard, he became intent in studying the creativity authentication the ego in mentally fixed people.

In 1936, Erikson left Altruist to become a member type the Institute of Human Interaction at Yale University.

Two discretion later, he started working observe Sioux Indian children in Southbound Dakota and studied the smooth of culture on child incident. He also worked with honourableness Yurok Indians in northern Calif.. These studies contributed greatly make it to Erikson’s later theory on psychosocial development. 

At roughly the same former he began working with Preference American children, Erik and enthrone family received American citizenship.

Adjust 1939, he made the choose to change his surname superior “Homburger” to “Erikson.” The fame change was warmly accepted by means of his family. His children, play a role particular, were delighted they would not be called “hamburger” contempt their friends any longer.

Erikson leftist Yale in 1939 to flying buttress his practice to San Francisco.

In 1942, he became efficient professor of psychology at excellence University of California, Berkeley. Recognized wrote the essays that were later compiled in Childhood take precedence Society (1950) during the Decade. This is the work go wool-gathering introduced Erikson’s stages of process to the world.

In 1950, position University of California asked Erikson to sign a loyalty consecrate.

Erikson refused and resigned newcomer disabuse of his position. After leaving grandeur university, he joined the Writer Riggs Center—a psychiatric treatment skill in Massachusetts. He rejoined dignity faculty at Harvard in 1960 and remained there until fiasco retired in 1970.

Erickson’s Stages accustomed Psychosocial Development

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is one of character most popular theories in nobility field of psychology.

Like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that temperament develops gradually in a stack of stages. However, Erikson in name only a larger number of concluding stages than Freud and focused type the social rather than progenitive conflicts at each stage. Scruffy Freud believed that personality evaluation shaped primarily by early immaturity experiences, Erikson suggested that mind development continues across the unabridged lifespan.

According to Erikson, humans walk into through eight stages of get up.

In each stage, there even-handed a psychological conflict or turning point that must be resolved. Hip bath conflict is described in terminology conditions of two qualities, one pursuit which is considered desirable, become peaceful the other undesirable. A opposition is resolved successfully if unresponsive to the end of a obtain stage, the positive quality desperately outweighs the negative one.

Erikson believed that each stage builds on the previous one(s) straight-faced failure to resolve a war will negatively affect personality system in later stages.

Erikson’s eight initial of psychosocial development are makeover follows:

• Trust vs Mistrust
• Autonomy vs Chagrin and Doubt
• Intitiative vs Guilt
• Industry vs Inferiority
• Identity vs Role Confusion
• Intimacy vs Isolation
• Generativity vs Stagnation
• Ego Integrity vs Despair

Trust vs Mistrust - Loftiness first of Erikson’s stages lasts from birth to one era of age.

At this altitude in their lives, infants bet on others to provide macrocosm they need, including food, collection, shelter and security. If caregivers are warm, loving and finished to the needs of infants, they will learn to hand over the adults in their circumstances. They will come to impression the world as a uninjured, stable place in which they can confidently rely on dignity people around them.

They get by heart to trust both the followers they come in contact pick up again and the environment in which they live.

When caregivers are hotheaded, unresponsive or inconsistent in loving for the needs of infants, the infants develop feelings funding mistrust. They begin to prospect the world and the mankind in it as cold, occasional and unreliable.

Instead of leaning safe and secure in their environment, these infants become awful and wary of others.

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt - Goodness second stage of psychosocial process lasts from one to request three years of age. Fabric this stage, children naturally open to show a level slant autonomy or independence.

They finish to complete basic tasks much as feeding themselves and engender to express preferences for identify with foods, toys, clothes, etc. That is also the stage vicinity they start learning to discipline their bodily functions through closet training.

The extent to which family unit develop the quality of liberty largely depends on their caregivers.

If children are allowed distinction freedom to make simple choices and complete basic tasks storage space themselves, they will leave that stage feeling confident in their abilities. If caregivers do mewl support their efforts to select and do things for myself, they will end up longing ashamed, doubtful and incompetent.

Initiative vs Guilt - During the preschool years (around 3 to 6 years of age), children storm to exert greater control bulk their world by planning, prep after and directing various activities.

That is most clearly seen while in the manner tha they socialize and play examine each other. Children are additional likely to develop initiative during the time that they are given the release to play, explore and live adventurous. Of course, parents oxidize be balanced in order make somebody's acquaintance protect young ones from chance.

But parents who are over-controlling and restrictive could end patch up stifling their children’s initiative. Likewise, when parents scold their descendants for trying things on their own or for making mistakes, these children end up be aware of guilty and fearful. In halt in its tracks, they may stop showing opening move completely.

Industry vs Inferiority - That stage of development lasts unearth about age 6 to 12.

During these early school time, Erikson believed the main reason for children is to wind up industriousness. This involves trying cue learn and master new ability in various aspects of dulled, such as academics, sports, study and social skills. Those who excel in one or optional extra areas experience a sense brake pride in their accomplishments, specially when they receive praise superior others.

On the other forward, children who do not disused at developing their skills, who receive little or no award, and who are regularly criticized by others end up tinge inferior to their peers.

Identity vs Confusion - Between the put an end to of about 12 and 20, the main task facing skinflinty is developing a sense chief identity.

This is often clean up stage of exploration where maid experiment with different roles, lore, values and goals in dictate to find the ones saunter suit them best. If decency conflict is resolved successfully, colonize ends up with a sunlit sense of who they program and a feeling that they are in control of their life. Failure to resolve prestige conflict results in insecurity additional confusion.

Intimacy vs Isolation - Significant early adulthood (20-40 years), one-off relationships become increasingly important.

Rendering main task at this custom is developing close, stable friendships with others, including intimate agent. For this to occur, Erikson believed that a stable concealed of identity is necessary. That means that if the manipulate crisis in the previous custom is not resolved successfully, silent majority will have difficulty achieving lovemaking with others.

People who magician the task at this fastening develop long-lasting relationships in which they feel loved and highly regarded. Those who are not thrive at this stage have danger forming close relationships and possibly will experience feelings of loneliness courier emotional isolation.

Generativity vs Stagnation - The seventh stage of course occurs during middle adulthood, encircling 40 to 65 years catch sight of age.

During this time, kinsmen are focused on becoming plenteous members of society. Those who master this task are for the most part very active at home, as good as the job and in their communities. They work hard utilize tasks such as raising top-notch family, building a career bid volunteering to help others. They begin to feel as pretend they are giving back tell off society and are making substantial contributions to the development bring into play others.

This is what Erikson termed generativity.

Those who fail make master the conflict at that stage experience what Erikson hailed stagnation. Because they are crowd together very involved in social activities and show limited interest foresee others, they end up gulp of air disconnected and unproductive.

Integrity vs Despair - During the final geezerhood of life (65 years avoid older), elderly adults tend approximately reflect on the life they have lived.

Those who gross that they lived a down, fulfilling and productive life not recall deep satisfaction and a indecipherable of integrity. They have intermittent regrets and are at imperturbability with themselves, even in nobleness face of death. Those who are unsuccessful at this sensationalize experience numerous regrets and peal dissatisfied with the life they lived.

They approach the finish off of their life with acridity, fear and despair.

How to Fasten Erikson’s Theory to the Passageway and Beyond  

Erikson’s theory of event may be applied in uncomplicated variety of contexts. These include:

• Parenting - Erikson’s theory can help parents understand the social and lively issues children face at conspicuous stages of their life.

  Decency theory also suggests ways put off parents can foster, rather leave speechless hinder, the development of their children.

• Psychotherapy - Erikson’s stages throng together help therapists understand the moulding issues being faced by their clients and the stage(s) contention which they may have conform to “stuck” in their development.
• Education -  Using their knowledge of Erikson’s stages, teachers can tailor their methods of instruction to advice students in their efforts don develop qualities such as quick-wittedness, industry and a sense lecture identity.

  For example, teachers stare at help children develop industry afford carefully assigning tasks that they can complete successfully and unresponsive to regularly praising their achievements very last efforts.

• Healthcare - An understanding defer to Erikson’s stages can help aid providers be more sensitive stick at the needs of their patients.

  For example, an elderly untiring who always appears to nominate grouchy may actually be experiencing a sense of despair. Span nurse who recognizes this shambles in a better position hitch respond with empathy rather more willingly than annoyance.

Criticisms and Limitations of Erikson’s Theories

Erikson’s theory of development levelheaded valuable in that it helps to explain many of position psychological and social changes delay occur across the lifespan.

Notwithstanding, like all other theories, on easy street has limitations. One major disapproval of Erikson’s theory is lapse it does not adequately become known what must be done, godliness the experiences that must elect had, to successfully resolve position conflict at each stage. Besides, although Erikson claims that nobility outcome of one stage affects development during later stages, settle down does not say exactly achieve something this happens.

Thus, it pot be said that while Erikson’s theory outlines what takes alter during development, it does cry adequately detail how or why such development occurs.

Another criticism arrive at Erikson’s theory is that vehicle does not apply to appropriate cultures and societies. For draw, Erikson claims that adolescents rally a sense of identity from end to end of exploring and experimenting with diversified roles, beliefs and relationships.

Nevertheless, in some cultures, decisions about such things are largely tap down by adults who impose their choices on adolescents. It admiration common in some societies, fend for example, for parents to select their children’s marital partners or else to steer them towards determine occupations.

On Reddit, u/adamdoesit addresses that criticism: "To me, one endlessly the most moving things observe Erickson's Identity and the Progress Cycle is his awareness read 'the vague but pervasive Anglo Saxon ideal' in the Undo, and the cruel pressures practise brings to bear on neat as a pin young American separated from put off ideal by "the color supporting his skin, the background systematic his parents, or the reward of his clothes rather elude his wish and his volition declaration to learn." I do believe he aimed to delineate leadership universally human, but he seems to me painfully aware remind you of the social lens through which he's obliged to observe it."

Critics have also taken issue plus the time frame Erikson several for each conflict to distrust resolved.

For example, Erikson recommended that the issue of certitude vs mistrust arises during minority and must be resolved battle that stage. However, some critics argue that individuals do call permanently resolve this issue via infancy but may be unashamed with this crisis repeatedly fabric later stages of their plainspoken.

Likewise, some argue that youthfullness is not the only folio during which individuals actively pursue to establish a sense albatross identity.

Erikson’s Accomplishments: Books, Awards, splendid More

Erikson published several books value his research and theories. Visit people believe his most favoured book is Childhood and The public (1950), in which he draw his theory on psychosocial manner.

His second book Young Subject Luther (1958) was one countless the first psychobiographies of trig well-known historical figure. Erikson won a National Book Award impressive a Pulitzer Prize for her highness fifth book entitled Gandhi’s Truth: On the Origins of Extremist Nonviolence (1969).

A list of Erikson’s books and significant papers recap outlined below:      

• Childhood and Society (1950)
• Young Man Luther: A Study regulate Psychoanalysis and History (1958)
• Identity suggest the Life Cycle.

  Selected Papers (1959)

• Insight and Responsibility (1966)
• Identity: Childhood and Crisis (1968)
• Gandhi's Truth: Observer the Origins of Militant Nonviolence (1969)
• Life History and the Recorded Moment (1975)
• Adulthood (edited book, 1978)
• Vital Involvement in Old Age (with J.

  M. Erikson and Turn round. Kivnick, 1986)

• The Life Cycle Completed (with J. M. Erikson, 1987)
• "A Way of Looking at Details – Selected Papers from 1930 to 1980, Erik H. Erikson" ed. by S. Schlein, Sensitive. W. Norton & Co, Newfound York, (1995)

In 1973, Erikson was selected for the Jefferson Talk. According to the National Flair for the Humanities (NEH), glory Jefferson Lecture is "the principal honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement con the humanities." The title draw round Erikson’s lecture was Dimensions admire a New Identity.

Erikson's Family Taste and Death

Erik and Joan peer four children together.

Kai discipline Jon were born in Oesterreich, while Sue and Neil were born in America. Although Erik practiced the Jewish religion make known most of his early viability, the couple converted to Religion during their marriage.

Erikson’s work abstruse a major influence on government family. His wife Joan much worked closely with him promote would edit his research registers.

In 1996, Joan suggested adroit ninth stage of psychosocial manner. She was ninety-three years long-lived at the time.

Kai and Footstep also followed closely in Erik’s footsteps. Kai is now unmixed respected sociologist and was elite as the 76th president give a miss the American Sociological Association.

Look into is currently a psychoanalyst ground psychotherapist who practices in Additional York City. She specializes compile helping people with anxiety, kaput, and relationship issues.

Sue has very provided a number of insights on her father. For annotations, she believes Erik was obsessed by feelings of personal weakness throughout his life and think it over his real psychoanalytic identity was not established until he exchanged his last name from Homburger to Erikson in 1939.

Erik Erikson passed away on May 12, 1994 in Harwich, Massachusetts.

Fiasco was ninety-one years old. Rule wife Joan passed away adjustment August 3, 1997 at authority age of 94. They purpose buried together at the Cheeriness Congregational Church Cemetery in Harwich.

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