Question

Introduction to Erikson’s Theory people progresses through 8 stages of psychosocial development: (list of 8 stages). Explain while his theory was different from Freud’s because of its emphasis on social influences, it extends on Freudian psychoanalysis rather than opposing it.

Answer 1

In 1923, when Freud published his final structural model of the mind in the Ego and the Id, he notes that “in relation to the id, the ego is like a person on horseback”. In this metaphor, Freud emphasizes the ego’s relative lack of strength in relation to the id. He notes that the horse (id) has most of the energy and power, and that the rider (ego) must depend on the horse’s power if he hopes to arrive at his chosen destinations. In 1940 Freud reiterated that the id, as the oldest portion of the mental apparatus remains the most important throughout life. The id and its instincts represent the true purpose of the individual’s organism’s life. Ego psychology aims at a greater understanding of ego functions. As an ego psychologist, Erikson's interest was not so much in pathology as it was in health, and so he identified the ego strengths as well as vulnerabilities that a person faces. He was also the first lifespan developmentalist who maintained that personality development was not fixed in childhood, but involved an unfolding of ego psychological developmental tasks over the life cycle.
In 1933, taking with him the theoretical viewpoints from both ego psychology and drive theory, Erikson fled to America where he collaborated with anthropologists. This led to his cross fertilization of anthropological, drive psychoanalytical and ego psychological ideas. Through these collaborations, he began to articulate how development occurs as a psychosocial phenomenon. He brought social context into every aspect of psychological development, so that social contexts of oppression, poverty, violence, discrimination and natural disasters all interact with developing psyche.

Nevertheless, Eriskon's theory can be seen as a continuation of Freud's theory. Just like Freud, Erikson also proposed certain stages of development critical to an individual's life. Both the theories held the view that human development progresses in stages. Freud and Erikson both agreed that each stage of development involves the resolution of a major conflict that marks that stage. Both the theories differentiate between healthy and unhealthy development. Thu, Erikson's theory can be seen as a social extension of Freudian psychoanalysis.