“Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired."—Erik Erikson, The Erik Erikson Reader, 2000
Erikson’s Notoriety
Erikson’s stage theory of psychosocial development generated interest and research on human development through the lifespan. An ego psychologist who studied with Anna Freud, Erikson expanded psychoanalytic theory by exploring development throughout life, including events of childhood, adulthood, and old age.
Childhood
Erik Erikson was born on June 15, 1902, in Frankfurt, Germany. His young Jewish mother, Karla Abrahamsen, raised Erik by herself for a time before marrying a physician, Dr. Theodore Homberger. The fact that Homberger was not his biological father was concealed from Erikson for many years. When he finally did learn the truth, Erikson was left with a feeling of confusion about who he really was. “The common story was that his mother and father had separated before his birth, but the closely guarded fact was that he was his mother’s child from an extramarital union. He never saw his birth father or his mother’s first husband.” — Erikson’s obituary, The New York Times, May 13, 1994
Identity
This early experience helped spark his interest in the formation of identity. He would later explain that as a child he often felt confused about who he was and how he fit into his community. His interest in identity was further developed based on his own experiences in school. At his Jewish temple school, he was teased for being a tall, blue-eyed, blonde, Nordic-looking boy who stood out among the rest of the kids. At grammar school, he was rejected because of his Jewish background. These early experiences helped fuel his interest in identity formation and continued to influence his work throughout his life.
Young Adulthood
It’s interesting to note that Erikson never received a formal degree in medicine or psychology. While studying at the Das Humanistische Gymnasium, he was primarily interested in subjects such as history, Latin, and art. His stepfather, a doctor, wanted him to go to medical school, but Erikson instead did a brief stint in art school. He soon dropped out and spent time wandering Europe with friends and contemplating his identity.
Teaching
It was an invitation from a friend that sent him to take a teaching position at a progressive school created by Dorothy Burlingham, a friend of Anna Freud’s. Freud soon noticed Erikson’s rapport with children and encouraged him to formally study psychoanalysis. Erikson ultimately received two certificates from the Montessori Teachers Association and from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. According to Erikson’s obituary, he continued to work with Burlingham and Freud at the school for several years, met Sigmund Freud at a party, and even became Anna Freud’s patient. “Psychoanalysis was not so formal then,” Erikson once recalled. “I paid Miss Freud $7 a month, and we met almost every day. My analysis, which gave me self-awareness, led me not to fear being myself. We didn’t use all those pseudoscientific terms then—defense mechanism and the like—so the process of self-awareness, painful at times, emerged in a liberating atmosphere.”
Family
Erikson met a Canadian dance instructor named Joan Serson who was also teaching at the school where he worked. The couple married in 1930 and went on to have three children. His son, Kai T. Erikson, is a noted American sociologist. Erikson moved to the United States in 1933 and, despite having no formal degree, was offered a teaching position at Harvard Medical School. He also changed his name from Erik Homberger to Erik H. Erikson, perhaps as a way to forge his own identity. In addition to his position at Harvard, he also had a private practice in child psychoanalysis.
Later Years
Ultimately, he held teaching positions at the University of California at Berkeley, Yale, the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, Austen Riggs Center, and the Center for Advanced Studies of the Behavioral Sciences. He published a number of books on his theories and research, including “Childhood and Society” and “The Life Cycle Completed.” His book “Gandhi’s Truth” was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award.
8 Psychosocial Stages
Erikson was a neo-Freudian psychologist who accepted many of the central tenets of Freudian theory but added his own ideas and beliefs. His theory of psychosocial development is centered on what is known as the epigenetic principle, which proposes that all people go through a series of eight stages.
Personality Psychology
The eight stages of Erikson’s psychosocial theory are something that every psychology student learns about as they explore the history of personality psychology. Much like psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. Erikson’s theory marked a shift from Freud’s psychosexual theory in that it describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan instead of simply focusing on childhood events. The eight key stages he described were:
Identity Crisis
Have you ever felt confused about your place in life or not quite sure if you really know the real you? If so, you may be experiencing an identity crisis. Erikson coined the term “identity crisis” and believed that it was one of the most important conflicts people face during the developmental process.
Contributions to Psychology
Erik Erikson spent time studying the cultural life of the Sioux of South Dakota and the Yurok of northern California. He utilized the knowledge he gained about cultural, environmental, and social influences to further develop his psychoanalytic theory. While Freud’s theory had focused on the psychosexual aspects of development, Erikson’s addition of other influences helped to broaden and expand psychoanalytic theory. He also contributed to our understanding of personality as it is developed and shaped over the course of the lifespan. His observations of children also helped set the stage for further research. “You see a child play,” he was quoted as saying in his New York Times obituary, “and it is so close to seeing an artist paint, for in play a child says things without uttering a word. You can see how he solves his problems. You can also see what’s wrong. Young children, especially, have enormous creativity, and whatever’s in them rises to the surface in free play.”
Select Publications
Here are some of Erikson’s works for further 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 the Historical Moment. New York: Norton; 1975.Erikson EH. Dialogue With Erik Erikson. Evans RI, ed. Jason Aronson, Inc.; 1995.
Biographies
Friedman LJ. Identity’s Architect; A Biography of Erik H. Erikson. Scribner Book Co; 1999.Coles R. Erik H. Erikson: The Growth of His Work. Boston: Little, Brown; 1970.
