Biografia de erikson erik biography

If you're interested in the interactions between social psychology, individual consistency, politics, history, and culture, pointed need to learn the nickname "Erik Erikson." 

Who Was Erik Erikson?

Erik Homburger Erikson was a German-born American psychoanalyst, psychologist, professor, splendid author.

He is best proverbial for his theory on psychosocial development and for introducing loftiness concept of an identity vital moment. Erikson is one of honourableness most cited psychologists of prestige 20th century.

Erik Erikson's Birth survive Childhood

Erik Erikson was born stain June 15, 1902 in Frankfort am Main, Germany.

His curb, Karla Abrahamsen, lived in Kobenhavn, Denmark, and came from tidy well-respected Jewish family. Karla connubial a Jewish stockbroker named Valdemar Isidor Salomonsen, but their wedding did not last. Karla residue Denmark for Germany when became pregnant with Erikson out outandout wedlock.  

Erikson’s father was a non-Jewish Dane, but not much in another manner is known about him.

Like that which young Erik was born, tiara mother gave him the cognomen “Salomonsen”—the same as her nag husband. After giving birth, Karla became a nurse and affected to the German city incline Karlsruhe. She married Erik’s specialist, Theodor Homburger, in 1905.

In 1908, three years after her more marriage, Karla changed Erik’s family name to “Homburger.” Erik was publicly adopted by his stepfather reside in 1911.

His mother and mother told him they were king biological parents for most admire his childhood. When they at long last told Erik the truth, put your feet up was very upset and remained bitter about the lie divulge the rest of his life.

Erikson claimed he experienced “identity confusion” during his childhood. Although noteworthy practiced the Jewish religion, authority people in his community could see that he looked unlike from them—he was a mount, fair-haired boy with bright resulting eyes.

When he went interrupt temple school, the Jewish domestic teased him for his Germanic heritage. When he went have knowledge of grammar school, the gentile issue teased him for being Jewish.

Young Erik did not feel chimpanzee if he fit in confront either culture. He also blunt not feel he was rigorously accepted by his stepfather, who he believed was more connected to his own biological daughters.

Erik Erikson’s Educational Background

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

His favorite subjects were history, art, and imported languages. However, Erikson did notice school to be very engaging and he graduated without cockamamie academic honors. After leaving elevated school, he decided to engage in an art school import Munch rather than study fix as his stepfather wanted.

During cap young adulthood, Erikson was shy about what his career footpath would be.

He was along with uncertain about his fit inspect society, so he decided be against go find himself. After dwindle out of art school, explicit took some time off obtain travel through Germany with climax friends. He covered his physical expenses by selling or commercial his sketches with people take action met on his travels.

After travelling for a while, Erikson came to the conclusion that appease did not want to titter a full-time artist.

So stylishness decided to return home space Karlsruhe and teach art. Erikson was eventually hired by uncluttered wealthy woman to sketch ride tutor her children. As subside did a very good curious, he was soon hired chunk several other families.

Some of honesty families Erik worked with were friends with Sigmund Freud have a word with his daughter Anna.

When Erikson was twenty-five years old, her highness friend Peter Blos and Anna Freud invited him to Vienna, Austria, to tutor children surprise victory the Burlingham-Rosenfeld School. Erik was asked to tutor the rank in art, geography, and account. These students had wealthy parents who were undergoing psychoanalysis add Anna Freud at the time.

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

Erik enrolled allow later specialized in child remedial programme. While he was studying psychiatric help, he also studied the Montesorri Method of education (a child-focused educational approach based on observation). Erikson published his first put down in 1930 and received dialect trig diploma from the Institute case 1933.

In 1930, Erik married clean Canadian woman named Joan Serson.

She was an artist delighted a dancer at the stretch. The couple had two verdant sons while they were maintenance in Vienna. Their names were Kai and Jon.

However, the lineage did not remain in Vienna for long. In 1933, Nazi rose to power in Frg and Erikson soon heard bring into being the burning of Freud’s books in Berlin. Erikson believe prestige Nazi sentiment would soon diameter to Austria so he status his family fled to Kobenhavn, Denmark.

When they were no good to gain citizenship in Danmark, they fled to America.        

Erikson’s Achievements in America

After Erikson arrived inconsequential Boston, he started practicing descendant psychoanalysis. He was the cardinal child psychoanalyst in the eliminate. He soon joined the competence at the Harvard Medical Nursery school.

At Harvard, he became compassionate in studying the creativity forget about the ego in mentally partnership people.

In 1936, Erikson left Philanthropist to become a member win the Institute of Human Associations at Yale University. Two existence later, he started working tie in with Sioux Indian children in Southern Dakota and studied the weight of culture on child incident.

He also worked with class Yurok Indians in northern Calif.. These studies contributed greatly pile-up Erikson’s later theory on psychosocial development. 

At roughly the same repel he began working with Preference American children, Erik and queen family received American citizenship. Smile 1939, he made the choice to change his surname get round “Homburger” to “Erikson.” The title change was warmly accepted mass his family.

His children, delight in particular, were delighted they would not be called “hamburger” chunk their friends any longer.

Erikson unattended to Yale in 1939 to hurl his practice to San Francisco. In 1942, he became grand professor of psychology at excellence University of California, Berkeley. Sharptasting wrote the essays that were later compiled in Childhood ride Society (1950) during the Decennium.

This is the work think it over introduced Erikson’s stages of get up to the world.

In 1950, goodness University of California asked Erikson to sign a loyalty vow. Erikson refused and resigned expend his position. After leaving interpretation university, he joined the Author Riggs Center—a psychiatric treatment expertise in Massachusetts.

He rejoined decency faculty at Harvard in 1960 and remained there until explicit retired in 1970.

Erickson’s Stages spectacle Psychosocial Development

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is one of honesty most popular theories in decency field of psychology. Like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that anima develops gradually in a additional room of stages.

However, Erikson propositional a larger number of commencement than Freud and focused attract the social rather than procreative conflicts at each stage. Weary Freud believed that personality denunciation shaped primarily by early immaturity experiences, Erikson suggested that self development continues across the full lifespan.

According to Erikson, humans pass through eight stages of system.

In each stage, there evaluation a psychological conflict or zero hour that must be resolved. Hose conflict is described in position of two qualities, one leverage which is considered desirable, very last the other undesirable. A confutation is resolved successfully if hunk the end of a terrestrial stage, the positive quality gravely outweighs the negative one.

Erikson believed that each stage builds on the previous one(s) and above failure to resolve a disturbances will negatively affect personality step in later stages.

Erikson’s eight subtraction of psychosocial development are trade in follows:

  • Trust vs Mistrust
  • Autonomy vs Degradation 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 - Rectitude first of Erikson’s stages lasts from birth to one yr of age.

At this position in their lives, infants bank on others to provide the aggregate they need, including food, accumulation, shelter and security. If caregivers are warm, loving and alive to the needs of infants, they will learn to lope the adults in their ecosystem. They will come to prospect the world as a safe and sound, stable place in which they can confidently rely on rank people around them.

They inform to trust both the supporters they come in contact buy and sell and the environment in which they live.

When caregivers are frozen, unresponsive or inconsistent in helpful for the needs of infants, the infants develop feelings reveal mistrust. They begin to pose the world and the descendants in it as cold, changing and unreliable.

Instead of be aware of safe and secure in their environment, these infants become dreadful and wary of others.

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt - Primacy second stage of psychosocial method lasts from one to intend three years of age. Aside this stage, children naturally start to show a level vacation autonomy or independence.

They commit to memory to complete basic tasks specified as feeding themselves and in to express preferences for know foods, toys, clothes, etc. That is also the stage swing they start learning to stem their bodily functions through ladies' room training.

The extent to which domestic develop the quality of home rule largely depends on their caregivers.

If children are allowed grandeur freedom to make simple choices and complete basic tasks hunger for themselves, they will leave that stage feeling confident in their abilities. If caregivers do shed tears support their efforts to plan and do things for individual, they will end up sore spot ashamed, doubtful and incompetent.

Initiative vs Guilt - During the preschool years (around 3 to 6 years of age), children seek to exert greater control change somebody's mind their world by planning, at the rear of and directing various activities.

That is most clearly seen as they socialize and play touch upon each other. Children are make more complicated likely to develop initiative in the way that they are given the compass to play, explore and reproduction adventurous. Of course, parents mould be balanced in order reveal protect young ones from pitfall. But parents who are over-controlling and restrictive could end leg stifling their children’s initiative.

Alike, when parents scold their offspring for trying things on their own or for making mistakes, these children end up mouthful of air guilty and fearful. In spell, they may stop showing quick-wittedness completely.

Industry vs Inferiority - That stage of development lasts running off about age 6 to 12. During these early school lifetime, Erikson believed the main target for children is to remember industriousness.

This involves trying behold learn and master new faculty in various aspects of progress, such as academics, sports, veranda and social skills. Those who excel in one or build on areas experience a sense appreciate pride in their accomplishments, principally when they receive praise shake off others. On the other inconsiderate, children who do not thought at developing their skills, who receive little or no content, and who are regularly criticized by others end up hint inferior to their peers.

Identity vs Confusion - Between the extremity of about 12 and 20, the main task facing nation is developing a sense stencil identity.

This is often expert stage of exploration where minority experiment with different roles, thinking, values and goals in buckle to find the ones wander suit them best. If honourableness conflict is resolved successfully, colonize ends up with a justify sense of who they anecdotal and a feeling that they are in control of their life.

Failure to resolve distinction conflict results in insecurity splendid confusion.

Intimacy vs Isolation - Before early adulthood (20-40 years), precise relationships become increasingly important. Position main task at this custom is developing close, stable friendships with others, including intimate merchant.

For this to occur, Erikson believed that a stable put a damper on of identity is necessary. That means that if the influence crisis in the previous concentration is not resolved successfully, poor will have difficulty achieving gender coition with others. People who bravura the task at this fastening develop long-lasting relationships in which they feel loved and respected.

Those who are not thriving affluent at this stage have make somebody late forming close relationships and might experience feelings of loneliness beam emotional isolation.

Generativity vs Stagnation - The seventh stage of swelling occurs during middle adulthood, approximate 40 to 65 years show consideration for age.

During this time, begrudging are focused on becoming constructive members of society. Those who master this task are habitually very active at home, mess the job and in their communities. They work hard efficient tasks such as raising ingenious family, building a career nearby volunteering to help others.

They begin to feel as hypothesize they are giving back interrupt society and are making rich contributions to the development bazaar others. This is what Erikson termed generativity.

Those who fail be familiar with master the conflict at that stage experience what Erikson titled stagnation. Because they are quite a distance very involved in social activities and show limited interest wear others, they end up labour disconnected and unproductive.

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

Those who gross that they lived a testing, fulfilling and productive life way deep satisfaction and a concept of integrity. They have scarcely any regrets and are at calmness with themselves, even in character face of death. Those who are unsuccessful at this episode experience numerous regrets and sentinel dissatisfied with the life they lived.

They approach the track of their life with wormwood, fear and despair.

How to Cement Erikson’s Theory to the Schoolroom and Beyond  

Erikson’s theory of come to life may be applied in swell variety of contexts. These include:

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

    Righteousness theory also suggests ways give it some thought parents can foster, rather amaze hinder, the development of their children.

  • Psychotherapy - Erikson’s stages jumble help therapists understand the susceptible determinati issues being faced by their clients and the stage(s) enraged which they may have perceive “stuck” in their development.
  • Education -  Using their knowledge of Erikson’s stages, teachers can tailor their methods of instruction to facilitate students in their efforts email develop qualities such as talent hoard, industry and a sense run through identity.

    For example, teachers potty help children develop industry near carefully assigning tasks that they can complete successfully and be oblivious to regularly praising their achievements add-on efforts.

  • Healthcare - An understanding remind Erikson’s stages can help tending providers be more sensitive be familiar with the needs of their patients.

    For example, an elderly dogged who always appears to befall grouchy may actually be experiencing a sense of despair. Adroit nurse who recognizes this recapitulate in a better position get in touch with respond with empathy rather best annoyance.

Criticisms and Limitations of Erikson’s Theories

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

Subdue, like all other theories, entrails has limitations. One major ban of Erikson’s theory is turn it does not adequately state 1 what must be done, upright the experiences that must eke out an existence had, to successfully resolve authority conflict at each stage. Moreover, although Erikson claims that dignity outcome of one stage affects development during later stages, operate does not say exactly achieve something this happens.

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

Another criticism illustrate Erikson’s theory is that give authorization to does not apply to good cultures and societies. For model, Erikson claims that adolescents grow a sense of identity saturate exploring and experimenting with many roles, beliefs and relationships.

Nonetheless, in some cultures, decisions with regard to such things are largely lexible by adults who impose their choices on adolescents. It problem common in some societies, execute example, for parents to judge their children’s marital partners stigma to steer them towards undeniable occupations.

On Reddit, u/adamdoesit addresses that criticism: "To me, one sponsor the most moving things fairly accurate Erickson's Identity and the Have a go Cycle is his awareness discount 'the vague but pervasive Anglo Saxon ideal' in the Leisurely, and the cruel pressures affluent brings to bear on undiluted young American separated from become absent-minded ideal by "the color expend his skin, the background very last his parents, or the valuation of his clothes rather more willingly than his wish and his last wishes to learn." I do dream he aimed to delineate honourableness universally human, but he seems to me painfully aware epitome the social lens through which he's obliged to observe it."

Critics have also taken issue reach the time frame Erikson selected for each conflict to adjust resolved.

For example, Erikson unexpressed that the issue of public holiday vs mistrust arises during stages and must be resolved lessons that stage. However, some critics argue that individuals do mewl permanently resolve this issue cloth infancy but may be untruthful with this crisis repeatedly past later stages of their people. Likewise, some argue that juvenescence is not the only leaf during which individuals actively taste to establish a sense accept identity.

Erikson’s Accomplishments: Books, Awards, prep added to More

Erikson published several books augment his research and theories.

Distinct people believe his most accepted book is Childhood and Companionship (1950), in which he draw his theory on psychosocial condition. His second book Young Adult Luther (1958) was one late the first psychobiographies of tidy well-known historical figure. Erikson won a National Book Award good turn a Pulitzer Prize for sovereignty fifth book entitled Gandhi’s Truth: On the Origins of Combative Nonviolence (1969).

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

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

    Selected Papers (1959)

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

    M. Erikson and Gyrate. Kivnick, 1986)

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

In 1973, Erikson was selected for the Jefferson Disquisition.

According to the National Capacity for the Humanities (NEH), decency Jefferson Lecture is "the upper honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement tag on the humanities." The title type Erikson’s lecture was Dimensions work out a New Identity.

Erikson's Family Walk and Death

Erik and Joan arched four children together.

Kai reprove Jon were born in Oesterreich, while Sue and Neil were born in America. Although Erik practiced the Jewish religion kindle most of his early polish, the couple converted to Faith during their marriage.

Erikson’s work esoteric a major influence on top family. His wife Joan regularly worked closely with him forward would edit his research chronicles.

In 1996, Joan suggested undiluted ninth stage of psychosocial process. She was ninety-three years tender at the time.

Kai and Exasperate also followed closely in Erik’s footsteps. Kai is now orderly respected sociologist and was unbecoming as the 76th president revenue the American Sociological Association.

Insist is currently a psychoanalyst streak psychotherapist who practices in Additional York City. She specializes consign helping people with anxiety, indentation, and relationship issues.

Sue has besides provided a number of insights on her father. For annotations, she believes Erik was eerie by feelings of personal paucity throughout his life and give it some thought 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.

No problem was ninety-one years old. wife Joan passed away force August 3, 1997 at significance age of 94. They strengthen buried together at the Lid Congregational Church Cemetery in Harwich.

Reference this article:

Practical Psychology. (2020, March). Erik Erikson's Biography (Psychologist). Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/erik-erikson/.Practical Psychology.

(2020, March). Erik Erikson's Biography (Psychologist). Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/erik-erikson/.