Erik Erikson: The History, Development, and Significance of His Work

Erik Erikson believed behavior as more related to feelings than mind. He stated that “feelings are the major focus of people who follow the psychoanalytical theory of development"(Erikson 1902-1994). Erik Erikson was a student to Sigmund Freud, and the concerned were with what 's hidden deep in the psyche and in the inner recesses of the heart. Erikson though he focused on feelings in psychoanalytic tradition also believed in the effect of culture on development.

Erikson was a German psychologist and psychoanalyst. He was a student of Freud, and was greatly influenced by his theories of personality development. Similarly to Winnicott, Erikson drew on his experiences as a child analyst, to inform his contributions. Erikson’s theories, like Winnicott, are highly regarded today.

Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1902. Because his mother was Jewish and his father was not, he was often bullied in school. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, so his Jewish peers mocked him for standing out and being different, and his peers at school teased him simply for being Jewish. His own internal conflict with his identity sparked his interest in identity formation and development. Although he never actually received a degree in medicine or psychology, he became friends with Anna Freud who helped him study psychoanalysis. Erikson supported and was influenced by many of Sigmund Freud’s ideas. Freud had a theory on development, he called it the 5 stages of psychosexual development, this is one of the theories that Erikson

Erikson was a psychologist who was greatly influenced by Freud. Although influenced by Freud there are some differences in there developmental stages. Erikson believed that development in an individual was molded by society, culture, and environment. While Freud’s belief was that development is in some way is influenced by the fixation of sexual interest of different areas of the body. The stages in Erikson’s development theory outline how important social experiences can shape us. While Freud’s theory is mainly based on ones sexuality. Additionally the other significant difference between Erikson’s and Freud’s theories is the outcome of a particular stage. Erikson believed that the outcome of a certain stage was not permanent and that it could be changed later on in life. While Freud presumed that if an individual became fixated on a stage problems associated with that stage would be carried on through life.

Erik Erikson is identified as a private, complicated man who lacked a formal academic training and came to America as an immigrant in the 1930s. His ideas of the identity development became influential to different theorist such as Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol Gilligan and Bruno Bettelheim who often reference from his work Erikson rarely referenced his work to others with the exclusion of Freud, and he often did not support his theories with empirical evidence, even though his work has become well known (Friedman, 1999).

Erikson was conceived June 15, 1902 and kicked the bucket May 12, 1994. He was from Frankfurt, Germany. Erikson was mindful, lively and an academic scholar. Erikson mother name is Karla and she is Jewish. He was surrendered by his dad before he was conceived. Received by his stride father Theodor in 1911. He felt like his stepfather didn't acknowledge him completely. Erikson and his wife Joan Erikson were hitched from 1930 until he passed on 1994. Joan was a craftsman and an artist in 1930. They have three youngsters together. Their name are Sue Erikson, Kai Erikson and Jon Erikson. He chose he needed to turn into a craftsman after school.

Erik Erikson was dabbled in art after he finished high school and then traveled through Europe. He then knew what he wanted to study after his friend suggested him to study psychoanalysis. So he did and later on down the road he received a certificate from Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. He then moved to the United States in 1933 and had a teaching position at Harvard Medical School. He began a private practice in child psychoanalysis. He also held a teaching position at the University of California, Berkeley, Yale, San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, Austen Riggs Center, and also the Center for advanced Studies of the Behavioral Sciences. He published many books on his theories and research. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and also he

My name is Erik Erikson. I was born on June 15th, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany (Thomas, 2015). Growing up I was raised by my Jewish mother Karla Abrahamsen and by my step father Dr. Theodor Homberger, who was my former pediatrician (Thomas, 2015). My biological father abandoned my mother and me before I was born (Thomas, 2015). I don’t really know much about him and I prefer to keep it that way. I fell in love with and married Joan Serson in the 1930s (Cherry, 2015). Together we had three children, 2 boys and a girl; their names were Kai, Jon, and Sue (Cherry, 2015). Although, I must admit I am most proud of my son Kai T. Erikson for pursuing a career as a sociologist.

German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson developed eight stages of psychosocial theory of development where the main key to developmental task was “development of identity”. (SITATION HERE). The book “The life Cycle Completed” by Erik H. Erikson emphasizes on how each individuals need to go through trust and mistrust or also known as crisis to get to the right solution, to find their identities. During the early adolescence is when we develop bonding with parent, friend, and romantic partners. In

Erik Erikson was a student of Sigmund Freud unlike Freud, Erikson considerably focused on the social

Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud are well known within the field of psychology for their theories on human development. These two men acted both as scholars and psychoanalysts. Erikson was a psychologist and Freud a psychiatrist. Erik Erikson studied and taught Freudian theory in Vienna, where Freud once studied at the University and practiced as a psychiatrist. Erikson believed that Freud’s developmental stages had discrepancies. Freud believed that “our personality is shaped by the age of five” (Sharkey, 1997, para. 2). Erikson felt that our personalities are built and changed over the course of a lifetime. Both Erikson and Freud are amazing theorists and well respected by other theorists in the field of psychology.

"Erikson's main contribution was to bridge the gap between the theories of psychoanalysis on the problems of human development, which emphasize private emotions, and the broader social influences that bear upon the individual. He was a strong proponent of the concept that social environment plays a major role in the development of personality. Going beyond the of a child's early life, Erikson concentrated on broader issues of peer culture, school environment, and cultural values and ideals. This led him to study the period of adolescence, in which he documented the interaction of a person's inner feelings and impulses with the world that surrounds the person."

Erik Erikson has made numerous contributions to society as a psychologist. His developmental theory had a great impact on the

Erik H Erickson is another Freudian in the field that has pioneered new territory in Psychoanalysis. Erik Erikson was born June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany. His father, a Danish man, abandoned the family before he was born. His young, Jewish mother later married a physician, Dr. Theodor Homberger.

Erikson’s theory followed Freud´s and it was based on many of Freud´s ideas. He had studied at Anna Freud, Freud’s daughter in Vienna. Erikson´s and Freud´s theories have similarities. Both theories admit the importance of the unconscious on development. They also both separates development into stages of a person´s life and handle similar age spans for these developmental stages. However, there are also differences that exist between names of the stages and the developmental subjects that are assumed during each stage. Part of the reason for that is that each psychologist has his own exclusive view of what causes a person’s development.