Question

Think about Erickson’s theory in terms of cultural bias. What aspects of his theory are cultural-specific versus universal to all cultures? What aspects of his theory relate to culture-specific child rearing practices that may not be shared across all cultures? You may need to use web resources for the question.

Think about Erickson’s theory in terms of gender bias. Is his theory equally pertinent to both genders? Be specific-are there any of his stages or crises that might have different crises or might be resolved differently for males versus females? You may need to use web resources for this question.

Answer 1

• Erickson’s theory in terms of cultural bias:---  It is the phenomenon of interpreting and judging phenomena by standards inherent to one's own culture. This phenomenon is sometimes considered a problem central to social and human sciences, such as economics, psychology, anthropology, and sociology. Cultural bias occurs when people of a culture make assumptions about conventions, including conventions of language, notation, proof and evidence.

Erikson, a psychoanalyst trained in the Freudian tradition in Vienna in the 1930s, immigrated to America in the days preceding World War II and soon had the opportunity to visit both the Sioux in North Dakota and the Yurok Indians on the Oregon coast. They are then accused of mistaking these assumptions for laws of logic or nature. Numerous such biases exist, concerning cultural norms for colour, mate selection, concepts of justice, linguistic and logical validity, the acceptability of evidence, and taboos. In his observations of mothers and childrens, and in discussions with chiefs and traditional healers he began to put together a theory of cultural influences on child rearing and personality that would alter psychologists' perceptions of human nature.

• Erickson’s theory in terms of gender bias:------ In one Stage of his theory Gender Differences in Identity and Intimacy Development. The development of identity and intimacy are thought to be key psychosocial accomplishments for adolescents and young adults, respectively. Successful maturation within the domains of identity and intimacy has been found to be related to self-esteem, cognitive and ego complexity, and moral reasoning.

Research within this domain has focused on the relationship between identity and intimacy. These psychosocial developmental stages will be the focal point for the current study, with a specific interest in gender differences. The role of gender and how it applies to the relationship between identity and intimacy will be examined by considering past research within this psychological domain. Erikson stated that individuals move through a series of eight stages of personality development, characterized by a pertinent crisis resolution at each stage. The first five stages occur consecutively in childhood, and are label as trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, and identity vs. identity confusion.   The Eight age related stages in Psychosocial Theory reflect a changing individual in a changing society. Each stage presents the person with a task, a demand or a crisis that must be resolved in order to successfully negotiate the next stage. According to Erikson the resolution of the challenges in the earlier stages equip the person to address the later stages. The outcome of each stage can be the acquisition of strengths or vulnerabilities. Each crisis is reflected in social institutions i.e. religion, economics, education, Law etc.

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