Erik Erikson’s personality theory is sometimes referred to as “Ego Psychology” because Erikson asserted that a person’s ego gains or loses strength through the resolutions of eight developmental crises or stages of psychosocial development. The term “psychosocial” is telling of Erikson’s epigenetic viewpoint on identity. That is to say Erikson believed that episodic events (as determined largely by the society we are born in to) and genetics (our sex, natural temperament, innate intelligence, constitution, etc.) combine to determine the outcomes of psychosocial stages and thus the formation of our personalities.
Each stage is set up as if it is a court case, i.e. “Positive Outcome” vs. “Negative Outcome”. A positive outcome results in the individual gaining a “virtue”. A negative outcome will result in an ego that is deprived of a virtue, which must then be provided to the individual through psychotherapy. Positive outcomes also yield “ritualizations”, which are recurring patterns of behavior that positively reflect one’s culture. If the positive outcome is so strong as to be distorted than it too can become negative-too much of a good thing-and result in the person developing a “ritualism”, which is a mechanical, exaggerated and stereotyped form of ritualization.
ERIK ERIKSON’S EIGHT STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust (resolved in infancy)
In this stage an infant, who is completely dependent on others for survival, either has its needs and desires sufficiently met or does not. If an infant spends his or her first year fed, changed, comforted and stimulated regularly then it will develop the virtue of “hope” and will ritualize “numinous”, which means a respectful reverence for one’s benefactors. If the infant’s needs are regularly unmet then despair and disrespect will win the day. “Idolism” is the negative ritualism that occurs when an infant is spoiled and results in the child developing an idol worship for the primary caregivers. Boys with the idolism ritualism are often called “mama’s boys”.
Stage 2: Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt (resolved in toddlerhood)
In this stage a willful toddler attempts to break free from controls and begin to satisfy some of his or her own needs. If the toddler is allowed to safely explore the surroundings and without undue restrictions or ridicule then the virtue of “will” is gained and the ritualization of “judiciousness” (or fairness) is developed. “Legalism” (a dogmatization of cultural rules) is the negative ritualism developed by an overdevelopment of will.
Stage 3: Initiative vs Guilt (resolved in the pre-school years)
It is important to note that the subtle difference in terminology between stages 2 and 3. Autonomy is the will to act, but initiative is the courage to act. Shame is a negative feeling imposed by others, but guilt is an internalized feeling of have failed or done something wrong. In stage three a child’s successful autonomous ventures fuels its sense of initiative, while failures and bad actions bring feelings of guilt. A positive initiative resolution instills the virtue of “purpose”. The ritualization at this stage is “authenticity”, while the ritualism is “impersonation”.
Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority (resolved in the elementary school years)
In this stage the older child is learning new skills at an incredible rate. Gaining proficiency or, better yet, mastery of skills allows the child to feel industrious. Failure or underachievement breeds feeling of uselessness. “Competence” is the virtue gained through a positive industry resolution. The ritualization acquired through positive resolution is “formality”, which is the ability to do things properly, while the exaggerated ritualism is “formalization”, which is an emphasis on technique over result.
If positive resolutions have been gained in all previous stages than the now adolescent person is trustful (but not naive), autonomous, purposeful and competent. In other words, they are fully equipped to tackle the definitive psychosocial stage.
Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion (resolved during adolescence or early adulthood)
Also known as “The Identity Crisis”, there are several ways this stage can play out. A young person might decide to dogmatically conform to the most convenient identity (often one forced upon them by authority) and never search for alternatives. This is called “identity foreclosure”. The flip side of the foreclosure coin is “negative identity”, which is an identity that is chosen simply to defy authority and is equally as poor an outcome as foreclosure. A third negative outcome of the identity crises is “identity diffusion”, which occurs when a strong allegiance cannot be made to any identity. Sometimes an adolescent may not be ready to choose his or her identity before reaching adulthood and will choose to take an “identity moratorium”. During a moratorium, the young adult will search for an identity in a culturally acceptable way such as going to college or joining the military. Whether the proper deliberation and searching that lead to positive identity formation take place during adolescence or adulthood the result is the same: the virtue of “fidelity” is gained along with the ritualization of choosing and maintaining an “ideology”. “Totalism” is the negative ritualism that results from a dogmatic ideology.
Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation (resolved during early to mid adulthood)
In this stage, the identity possessing adult either gains the ability to sustain intimate relationships or does not. The virtue of “love” is at stake here. In the ritualization/ritualism realm, “affiliation” (healthy and tolerant relations to others) is the positive result while “elitism” (a fascist affiliation only to people similar to oneself) is the exaggerated negative.
Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation (resolved during adulthood)
In this stage the mature working adult either continues to gain skills, be productive and pass on his or her knowledge on to the next generation or stagnates. A positive generativity resolution results in gaining the virtue of “care” (a concern for what is yet to come) and the ritualization of “generalism” (the transmitting of values to others). The negative ritualism is “authoritarianism”, which is the forcing of ones values onto others.
Stage 8: Integrity vs Despair (resolved in old age)
An elderly person will either look back on a constructive life or concentrate on missed opportunities and the grim specter of Death. “Wisdom” is the virtue to be gained through integrity and leads to the ritualization of “intergralism”. “Sapientism” (false wiseness) is the negative ritualism that results from exaggerated integrity.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages make up the bulk of his extremely influential and famous theory. The theory has made “identity crisis” part of our national lexicon. This theory is also important for being one of the first to view identity as something that develops over a lifetime. However, it is not without criticism. Though Erikson emphasizes the impact of “culture”, it is only truly applicable on a wide scale to people living in First World cultures as many Third World cultures don’t allow for nearly the amount of autonomous identity searching and formation as do developed nations.
More information on Erikson’s theory can be found in virtually any psychology text book and in his many personal writings.
