Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud are two of the most famous theorist when it comes to the process of child development. Even though one was a psychoanalytic and the other a psychologist, their theories hold many similarities as well as differences.
To begin, Erik Erikson is a well known developmental psychologist and is best known for his phases on identity crisis, which can be found on his theory of psychosocial development. Erikson elaborated on Sigmund Freud’s theories and focused on the social aspects of development. He came up with eight stages and phases in which a person develops throughout their lifetime. The first stage of Erikson’s theory is trust versus mistrust, which takes place from birth to a year old and is considered the most …show more content…
During this stage, youth have to develop a sense of identity and according to Erikson “saw adolescence as a stage of life during which individuals develop – or fail to develop – a sense of identity.” (Rathus & Rinaldi. 2015. p13.). Success in identity leads to a capability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role diffusion. Once they form an identity, young adults need to form intimate relationships with other individuals so that they feel apart of society. if they are successful, they will have a strong relationship, if unsuccessful they will become lonely and isolated. This phase happens during Erikson’s sixth stage which is intimacy versus isolation. During middle adulthood is when we come across the generativity versus stagnation phase. Adults go through a midlife crisis and feel the need to begin something new because they are not happy with what they have done so far in life. Achievement results in feelings of usefulness, while failure results in feeling isolated from the world. Erikson’s final stage of psychosocial development is ego integrity versus despair which occurs in late adulthood. Erikson was the only theorist who took into account the development of the entire lifespan and acknowledged that we do not …show more content…
Erikson, “opened the whole field of adult development with his addition of tasks that require developmental changes in later adulthood and laid the groundwork for the field of life course development” (Douvan. 1996. P 17.). While Freud’s theory “has made a major contribution to modern society with his rich theory of development, explaining the childhood origins of many traits and stimulating research on attachment, gender roles, and moral development.” (Rathus & Rinaldi. 2015. p10.). They both changed the perspective on development in a psychosexual and psychosocial point of views. Without their research, it might still be clueless on why certain people act the way they do and how it might have occurred. Even though the theories are from different perspectives, they hold and share a lot of similarities, as well as had an enormous impact on the
To begin, Erik Erikson is a well known developmental psychologist and is best known for his phases on identity crisis, which can be found on his theory of psychosocial development. Erikson elaborated on Sigmund Freud’s theories and focused on the social aspects of development. He came up with eight stages and phases in which a person develops throughout their lifetime. The first stage of Erikson’s theory is trust versus mistrust, which takes place from birth to a year old and is considered the most …show more content…
During this stage, youth have to develop a sense of identity and according to Erikson “saw adolescence as a stage of life during which individuals develop – or fail to develop – a sense of identity.” (Rathus & Rinaldi. 2015. p13.). Success in identity leads to a capability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role diffusion. Once they form an identity, young adults need to form intimate relationships with other individuals so that they feel apart of society. if they are successful, they will have a strong relationship, if unsuccessful they will become lonely and isolated. This phase happens during Erikson’s sixth stage which is intimacy versus isolation. During middle adulthood is when we come across the generativity versus stagnation phase. Adults go through a midlife crisis and feel the need to begin something new because they are not happy with what they have done so far in life. Achievement results in feelings of usefulness, while failure results in feeling isolated from the world. Erikson’s final stage of psychosocial development is ego integrity versus despair which occurs in late adulthood. Erikson was the only theorist who took into account the development of the entire lifespan and acknowledged that we do not …show more content…
Erikson, “opened the whole field of adult development with his addition of tasks that require developmental changes in later adulthood and laid the groundwork for the field of life course development” (Douvan. 1996. P 17.). While Freud’s theory “has made a major contribution to modern society with his rich theory of development, explaining the childhood origins of many traits and stimulating research on attachment, gender roles, and moral development.” (Rathus & Rinaldi. 2015. p10.). They both changed the perspective on development in a psychosexual and psychosocial point of views. Without their research, it might still be clueless on why certain people act the way they do and how it might have occurred. Even though the theories are from different perspectives, they hold and share a lot of similarities, as well as had an enormous impact on the