Erik Erikson

• Coolest sounding name in psychology?

Ego Psychology

• Stresses the importance of the ego in development

• Freud’s view of the ego vs. Erikson’s view

• Emphasizes the integration of biological and social forces in the development of the ego

Ego Development

• Occurs in a series of predetermined stages– Eight stages

• Each stage has a crisis– A crucial period in which a decisive turn is

unavoidable

• Stages are dependent on each other– A positive or negative turn at an earlier stage affects

later stages

Oral-Sensory Stage• Birth – 1 year

• Basic trust vs. mistrust

• Similar to Freud’s oral stage

• If mother acts in a loving or considerate manner, the infant will develop basic trust– Ego understands people are dependable

• If mother is unreliable or rejecting the infant will develop mistrust

Muscular-Anal Stage

• 2 – 3 years

• Autonomy vs. shame and doubt

• Similar to Freud’s anal stage

• Child’s muscles mature, starts to learn how to control them

• Parents attempt to teach child to obey them – conflict of will and power

Muscular-Anal Stage

• If parents guide their children's behavior gradually and firmly– Autonomy and self-control is engendered

• If too permissive or too harsh– Child senses defeat and has shame and

doubt concerning their abilities to make effective judgments

Locomotor-Genital Stage

• 4 – 5 years

• Initiative vs. doubt

• Similar to Freud’s phallic stage

• At this point child senses they are an individual

• Must find out what kind of people they may become

Locomotor-Genital Stage

• Start to see fantasy play about being an adult– Occupation– Various roles– Marriage (to the opposite sex parent)

• If family understands and guides such play in socially acceptable acitivityue– Initiative is sparked (play more)

• If children are punished for such fantasy play– Guilt occurs

Latency Stage

• 6 – 12 years

• Industry vs. inferiority

• Similar to Freud’s latency stage

• Period where children start to learn new skills

• If children succeed they will develop a sense of industry

• If children fail they will develop feelings of inferiority

Adolescence

• 13 – 19 years

• Identity vs. role confusion

• From the previous stages a person has a sense they are somebody– Part of a family– Sense of independence– Ability to take initiative– Able to complete tasks

Adolescence

• But “who” are they?

• Identity– The things we are, the things we want to

become, and the things we are suppose to become

Adolescence

• Identity Crisis

• Role confusion– Who and what one should become– Embrace simple ideologies of other (heroes)

Adolescence

• Identity

• Role confusion

Young Adulthood

• 20 – 24 years

• Intimacy vs. isolation

Young Adulthood

• Such relations are only possible after an identity has been established

• Share identity• Must be willing to sacrifice• Must be willing to regulate the cycles of

– Work– Procreation– Recreation

Young Adulthood

• Success means you have the capacity for intimacy

• Failure means you experience a sense of isolation– Will not take a chance with your identity– Love is only superficial

• Success means you have the capacity for intimacy

• Failure means you experience a sense of isolation– Will not take a chance with your identity– Love is only superficial

Middle Adulthood

• 25 – 64 years

• Generativity vs. stagnation

• Are you going to be productive and contribute to the welfare of the next generation?

Middle Adulthood

• Generativity– Concerned not only with

self development but also helping the next generation

– Does not have to involve own children

• Stagnation– Lack of productivity,

boredom, and interpersonal impoverishment

Late Adulthood

• 65 years – death

• Ego integrity vs. despair

• Death is near. . . .How was your life?

Late Adulthood

• Ego integrity

• Adapted to triumphs and disappointments• Generated ideas (or others)• Conclude your life had meaning and unity• Accept your death as part of life

Late Adulthood• Despair

• Unable to accept inevitable failures of life• Had a selfish or uncaring life• Despair because you know you are going to die – no

way to “redo” your life

Stage Age Ego Crisis

Oral-Sensory Birth – 1 Basic trust vs. mistrust

Muscular-Anal 2 – 3 Autonomy vs. same and doubt

Locomotor-Genital 4 – 5 Initiative vs. guilt

Latency 6 – 12 Industry vs. inferiority

Adolescence 13 – 19 Identity vs. role confusion

Young Adulthood 20 – 24 Intimacy vs. isolation

Middle Adulthood 25 – 66 Generativity vs. stagnation

Late Adulthood 65 - death Ego integrity vs. despair

Eight Stages of Man

• “It is not things in themselves that trouble us, but our opinions of things.”

• “Change your thoughts and you change your world."

• “I do not react to some absolute reality, but to my perception of this reality. It is this perception which for me is reality.”

Awareness is everything!

• Conscious experience is all that matters

• The past is only important if it affects your thoughts and feelings now

• Even if “reality” exists, it doesn’t matter

• Note how different from other approaches– Trait– Genetic– Psychodynamic

Humanistic Psychology

• The study of the mind is different than any other science

• The mind is aware!– The mind is attempting to understand the

mind

Awareness

• Existentialism– The cs mind has a sense of “existence”

• Phenomenological– The “phenomenon” of experience

• Humanistic– This phenomenon is uniquely human

Phenomenological, Humanistic, and Existentialism

• Free will

• Awareness

• Meaning

• Responsibilities of free will

• The object of study are human beings

Free Will

• Previous approaches

• CS experience is personality• The UCS mind does not matter• The past does not matter

• Only times these do matter is if you let them– Gordon Liddy example

Awareness

• What does it feel like to exist?

• Umwelt– Senses you feel as a biological organism

• Mitwelt– Feelings related to social experiences

• Eigenwelt– Feelings when you think of your own

existence

• What would you have been like if you. . .

• Were born to an extremely wealth family?

• Were born to an extremely poor family?

• Were born in North Dakota in 1952?

• Were born in England in 1500?

Thrown-ness

• The circumstances into which you happened to be born

• What time period do you think it is most difficult to find a sense of meaning?

Meaning

• Modern times

• Why are you here?

• What should you be doing?

• Angst– Existential anxiety

What to do?

• “Lucky mud”

• Free choice – must not “blow” your chance to find “meaning”– Not a “true” meaning, but a personal “meaning”

Authentic Existence

• Come to terms with your existence– Life is shot– You will die– You are in control of your choices – find meaning

• Still not a “happy” existence– Life is shot– Your will die– Meaning is only an illusion

Bad Faith

• Avoid Angst

• Stop worrying about the problems of existence

Bad Faith

• Problems

• 1) Living a lie– Might as well just be the “unlucky mud”

• 2) Still will not be happy

• 3) Still making a choice– Chosen not to chose is a choice– “Man is condemned to freedom”