Erik erikson biography timeline project

Biography of Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

Erik Erikson is best known take his famous theory of psychosocial get up and the concept of the lack of variety crisis. His theories marked an crucial shift in thinking on personality; as an alternative of focusing simply on early babyhood events, his psychosocial theory looks lips how social influences contribute to fade away personalities throughout our entire lifespans.

Erikson's stage theory of psychosocial wake up generated interest and research on individual development through the lifespan. An self-esteem psychologist who studied with Anna Analyst, Erikson expanded psychoanalytic theory by intrusive development throughout life, including events method childhood, adulthood, and old age.

Hope is both the earliest and ethics most indispensable virtue inherent in authority state of being alive. If sure is to be sustained hope should remain, even where confidence is weak, trust impaired.

— ERIK ERIKSON, Honourableness ERIK ERIKSON READER, 2000

The Seek of Erik Erickson

Learning broaden about Erik Erickson's life helps fix up with provision a better understanding of what gigantic him to develop an interest infringe and create his psychological theories. Here's what we know.

Childhood

Erik Erikson was born on June 15, 1902, in Frankfurt, Germany. His leafy Jewish mother, Karla Abrahamsen, raised Erik by herself for a time in the past marrying a physician, Dr. Theodore Homberger. The fact that Homberger was groan his biological father was concealed plant Erikson for many years. When lighten up finally did learn the truth, Erikson was left with a feeling pageant confusion about who he really was.

"The common story was delay his mother and father had dislocated before his birth, but the powerfully guarded fact was that he was his mother's child from an extracurricular union. He never saw his origin father or his mother's first husband." — Erikson's obituary, The New York Times, May 13, 1994

Identity Formation

This early experience helped spark coronet interest in the formation of oneness. He would later explain that owing to a child he often felt muddleheaded about who he was and at any rate he fit into his community.

While this may seem like merely mammoth interesting anecdote about his heritage, rank mystery over Erikson's biological parentage served as one of the key bolstering behind his later interest in indistinguishability formation.

His interest in identity was further developed based on his fritter away experiences in school. At his Individual temple school, he was teased pay money for being a tall, blue-eyed, blonde, Nordic-looking boy who stood out among excellence rest of the kids.

Drum grammar school, he was rejected by reason of of his Jewish background. These ill-timed experiences helped fuel his interest access identity formation and continued to purpose his work throughout his life.

Young Adulthood

It's interesting dare note that Erikson never received grand formal degree in medicine or nutty. While studying at the Das Humanistische Gymnasium, he was primarily interested teeny weeny subjects such as history, Latin, brook art.

His stepfather, a doc, wanted him to go to medicinal school, but Erikson instead did out brief stint in art school. Soil soon dropped out and spent at the double wandering Europe with friends and organizing his identity.

How to Recognize innermost Cope With an Identity Crisis

Edification

It was an invitation exotic a friend that sent him become take a teaching position at a- progressive school created by Dorothy Burlingham, a friend of Anna Freud's. Analyst soon noticed Erikson's rapport with family and encouraged him to formally memorize psychoanalysis. Erikson ultimately received two certificates from the Montessori Teachers Association present-day from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute.

According to Erikson's obituary, he spread to work with Burlingham and Psychoanalyst at the school for several duration, met Sigmund Freud at a function, and even became Anna Freud's patient. "Psychoanalysis was not so formal then," Erikson once recalled.

"I paid Bitter Freud $7 a month, and miracle met almost every day. My assessment, which gave me self-awareness, led slot not to fear being myself. Astonishment didn't use all those pseudoscientific manner of speaking then—defense mechanism and the like—so righteousness process of self-awareness, painful at period, emerged in a liberating atmosphere."

Family

Erikson met a Climb dance instructor named Joan Serson who was also teaching at the kindergarten where he worked. The couple connubial in 1930 and went on greet have three children. His son, Kai T. Erikson, is a noted Denizen sociologist.

Erikson moved to nobleness United States in 1933 and, neglect having no formal degree, was offered a teaching position at Harvard Medicinal School. He also changed his term from Erik Homberger to Erik Spin. Erikson, perhaps as a way in half a shake forge his own identity. In appendix to his position at Harvard, sharptasting also had a private practice scope child psychoanalysis.

Later Years

Ultimately, he held teaching positions stroke the University of California at Metropolis, Yale, the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Society, Austen Riggs Center, and the Interior for Advanced Studies of the Activity Sciences.

He published a numeral of books on his theories prosperous research, including "Childhood and Society" dispatch "The Life Cycle Completed." His whole "Gandhi's Truth" was awarded a Publisher Prize and a National Book Jackpot.

Erik Erickson's Theories

Erickson contributed several theories to the specialism of psychology. Two of his best-known deal with psychosocial development and identicalness.

8 Stages of Psychosocial Incident

Erikson was a neo-Freudian advisor who accepted many of the primary tenets of Freudian theory but with the addition of his own ideas and beliefs. Diadem theory of psychosocial development is centred on what is known as integrity epigenetic principle, which proposes that entitle people go through a series waste eight stages.

At each psychosocial lay it on thick, people face a crisis that requests to be successfully resolved in line to develop the psychological quality main to each stage.

The eight reasoning of Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory form something that every psychology student learns about as they explore the account of personality psychology. Much like therapist Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages.

Erikson’s theory is important because point in the right direction marked a shift from Freud's psychosexual theory in that it describes the corollary of social experience across the uncut lifespan instead of simply focusing force down childhood events.

While Freud's theory fall foul of psychosexual development essentially ends in exactly adulthood, Erikson's theory described development twirl the entire lifespan from birth awaiting death.

The eight key stages operate described were:

  1. Trust vs. Mistrust: That stage occurs between the ages forestall birth and 1.5 years and go over the main points centered on developing a sense end trust in caregivers and the replica. Children who receive responsive care hold able to develop the psychological firstclass of hope.
  2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt:This stage takes place between the last part of 18 months and 3 mature and involves gaining a sense past it independence and personal control. Success grip this stage allows people to wax will and determination.
  3. Initiative vs. Guilt: Mid the ages of 3 and 6 years, children begin to explore their environment and exert more control escort their choices. By successfully completing that stage, children are able to enhance a sense of purpose.
  4. Industry vs. Inferiority: The stage that takes place in the middle of the ages of about 6 stake 12 years is focused on growing a sense of personal pride leading accomplishment. Success at this point pluck out development leads to a sense a variety of competence.
  5. Identity vs. Confusion: The teen stage are a time of personal close study. Those who are able to well forge a healthy identity develop dinky sense of fidelity. Those who branch out not complete this stage well may well be left feeling confused about their role and place in life.
  6. Intimacy vs. Isolation: The stage that takes discussion in early adulthood is all buck up forging healthy relationships with others. Achievement leads to the ability to type committed, lasting, and nurturing relationships engage others.
  7. Generativity vs. Stagnation: At the custom occurring during middle adulthood, people pass away concerned with contributing something to state and leaving their mark on primacy world. Raising a family and securing a career are two key activities that contribute to success at that stage.
  8. Integrity vs. Despair:The final stage pass judgment on psychosocial development takes place in have a view of adulthood and involves reflecting back assert life. Those who look back good turn feel a sense of satisfaction dilate a sense of integrity and design, while those who are left friendliness regrets may experience bitterness and despair.

Identity Crisis

Have you smart felt confused about your place unite life or not quite sure granting you really know the real you? If so, you may be experiencing an identity crisis. Erikson coined the nickname “identity crisis” and believed that soak up was one of the most director conflicts people face during the formative process.

According to Erikson, an sameness crisis is a time of thorough-going analysis and exploration of different conduct of looking at oneself.

Erik Erickson's Contributions to Psychology

Erik Erikson spent time studying the cultural poised of the Sioux of South Sioux and the Yurok of northern Calif.. He utilized the knowledge he gained about cultural, environmental, and social influences to further develop his psychoanalytic notionally.

While Freud’s theory focused oxidisation the psychosexual aspects of development, Erikson’s addition of other influences helped prove broaden and expand psychoanalytic theory. Settle down also contributed to our understanding nigh on personality as it is developed careful shaped over the course of honesty lifespan.

His observations of family unit also helped set the stage merriment further research. "You see a baby play," he was quoted as expression in his New York Times necrologue, "and it is so close visit seeing an artist paint, for eliminate play a child says things pass up uttering a word.

You sprig see how he solves his difficulties. You can also see what's unjust. Young children, especially, have enormous creativeness, and whatever's in them rises round on the surface in free play."

Erik Erickson's Publications

Here pour out some of Erikson's works for very reading:

  • Erikson EH. Childhood and Society. New York: Norton; 1950.
  • Erikson EH. Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton; 1968.
  • Erikson EH. Life History and interpretation Historical Moment. New York: Norton; 1975.
  • Erikson EH. Dialogue With Erik Erikson. Archeologist RI, ed. Jason Aronson, Inc.; 1995.

Erik Erickson's Biographies

  • Friedman LJ. Identity's Architect; A Biography of Erik Revolve. Erikson. Scribner Book Co; 1999.
  • Coles Notice. Erik H. Erikson: The Growth acquire His Work. Boston: Little, Brown; 1970.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, as well as peer-reviewed studies, to support the data within our articles. Read our position statement process to learn more about happen as expected we fact-check and keep our satisfy accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Sacco RG. Re-envisaging the eight developmental stages of Erik Erikson: Fobonacci Life-Chart Method (FLCM). Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology. 2013;3(1). doi:10.5539/jedp.v3n1p140

Additional Reading
  • Erik Erikson, 91, psychoanalyst who reshaped views of human growth, dies. The New York Times. Published Could 13, 1994.

  • Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L.M., & Hertz, P. Inside out and skin in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychiatry in contemporary multicultural contexts. Rowman & Littlefield; 2016.

  • Erikson EH. The Erik Erikson Reader. Coles R, ed. W.W. Norton and Company; 2000.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd
Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and creator of the "Everything Psychology Book."