Super ego is the term employed by psychoanalysts to designate a structure in experiences, on the basis mainly of the child’s relations to his parents, and functioning as a kind of conscience, criticising the thoughts and acts of the ego, causing feelings of guilt and anxiety, when the ego gratifies or tends to gratify primitive impulses (Osborne, 1993).
One of Freud’s major contributions was to stimulate the work of other theorists and researchers (Roazen, 1976). Erik Erikson was one of the most talented and imaginative of these theorists (Roazen, 1976). A neo-Freudian psychoanalyst from Denmark, Erikson (1902–1994) came to the United States in 1933 (Roazen, 1976).
While acknowledging Freud’s genius and monumental contributions, Erikson moved away from the fatalism implicit in Freudian theory, challenging Freud’s notion that the personality is primarily established during the first five to six years of life (Roazen, 1976). He observed that if everything goes back to early childhood, then everything becomes someone else’s fault, and this undermines trust in one’s own capabilities (Roazen, 1976). …show more content…
While Freud's theory was based on psychosexual stages, Erikson's theory describes the impact of social experiences across an individual's life span (Erikson, 1993). Erikson’s (1993) theory of psychosocial development has eight different stages from infancy to late adulthood. ‘Trust vs. mistrust’, ‘Autonomy vs. Shame& doubt’, ‘Initiative vs. Guilt’, ‘Industry vs. Inferiority’, ‘Identity vs. Confusion’, ‘intimacy vs. isolation’, ‘Generativity vs. stagnation’ and ‘Ego integrity vs. despair’. However, this paper is going to focus on ‘identity vs. Role
One of Freud’s major contributions was to stimulate the work of other theorists and researchers (Roazen, 1976). Erik Erikson was one of the most talented and imaginative of these theorists (Roazen, 1976). A neo-Freudian psychoanalyst from Denmark, Erikson (1902–1994) came to the United States in 1933 (Roazen, 1976).
While acknowledging Freud’s genius and monumental contributions, Erikson moved away from the fatalism implicit in Freudian theory, challenging Freud’s notion that the personality is primarily established during the first five to six years of life (Roazen, 1976). He observed that if everything goes back to early childhood, then everything becomes someone else’s fault, and this undermines trust in one’s own capabilities (Roazen, 1976). …show more content…
While Freud's theory was based on psychosexual stages, Erikson's theory describes the impact of social experiences across an individual's life span (Erikson, 1993). Erikson’s (1993) theory of psychosocial development has eight different stages from infancy to late adulthood. ‘Trust vs. mistrust’, ‘Autonomy vs. Shame& doubt’, ‘Initiative vs. Guilt’, ‘Industry vs. Inferiority’, ‘Identity vs. Confusion’, ‘intimacy vs. isolation’, ‘Generativity vs. stagnation’ and ‘Ego integrity vs. despair’. However, this paper is going to focus on ‘identity vs. Role