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Psychosocial Stages of DevelopmentĮrikson believed that we are aware of what motivates us throughout life and that the ego has greater importance in guiding our actions than does the id. We make conscious choices in life, and these choices focus on meeti ng certain social and cultural needs rather than purely biological ones. Humans are motivated, for instance, by the need to feel that the world is a trustworthy place, that we are capable individuals, that we can make a contribution to society, and that we have lived a meaningful life. The development of a healthy personality and a sense of competence depend on the successful completion of each task. Erikson identified eight stages, each of which includes a conflict or developmental task. In his theory, Erikson emphasized the social relationships that are important at each stage of personality development, in contrast to Freud’s emphasis on erogenous zones. Erikson later proposed a psychosocial theory of development, suggesting that an individual’s personality develops throughout the lifespan-a departure from Freud’s view that personality is fixed in early life.
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Erikson received his diploma from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute in 1933, and as Nazism spread across Europe, he fled the country and immigrated to the United States that same year.
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It was Anna Freud who encouraged Erikson to study psychoanalysis. BackgroundĪs an art school dropout with an uncertain future, young Erik Erikson met Freud’s daughter, Anna Freud, while he was tutoring the children of an American couple undergoing psychoanalysis in Vienna. Erikson was a student of Freud’s and expanded on his theory of psychosexual development by emphasizing the importance of culture in parenting practices and motivations and adding three stages of adult development. Now, let’s turn to a less controversial psychodynamic theorist, the father of developmental psychology, Erik Erikson (1902-1994). Describe Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development.
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