fei75766_ch07_206-241.indd 237  02/06/20 11:52 AM
Chapter 7    Erikson: Post-Freudian Theory237
areverycarefully chosen. English wasnotErikson’s firstlanguage, andhisextensive 
useofadictionary while writing increased theprecision ofhisterminology. Yetcon-
cepts likehope, will,purpose, love,care, andsoonarenotoperationally defined. 
They havelittlescientific usefulness, although theyrankhighinbothliterary and
emotional value. Ontheother hand, Erikson’s epigenetic principle andtheeloquence 
ofhisdescription oftheeight stages ofdevelopment mark histheory withconspicu -
ousinternal consistency.
Onthecriterion ofsimplicity, orparsimony, wegivethetheory amoderate 
rating. Theprecision ofitsterms isastrength, butthedescriptions ofpsychosexual 
stages andpsychosocial crises, especially inthelaterstages, arenotalways clearly dif-
ferentiated. Inaddition, Erikson useddifferent terms andevendifferent concepts to
filloutthe64boxes thataremostly vacant inFigure 7.2.Such inconsistency subtracts 
from thetheory’s simplicity.
 Concept of Humanity
In contrast to Freud, who believed that anatomy was destiny, Erikson suggested 
that other factors might be responsible for differences between women and 
men. Citing some of his own research, Erikson (1977) suggested that, although 
girls and boys have different methods of play, these differences are at least 
partly a result of different socialization practices. Does this conclusion mean that 
Erikson agreed with Freud that anatomy is destiny? Erikson’s answer was yes, 
anatomy is destiny, but he quickly qualified that dictum to read: “Anatomy, his -
tory, and personality are our combined destiny” (Erikson, 1968, p. 285). In other 
words, anatomy alone does not determine destiny, but it combines with past 
events, including social and various personality dimensions such as tempera -
ment and intelligence, to determine who a person will become.
How does Erikson’s theory conceptualize humanity in terms of the six 
dimensions we introduced in Chapter 1? First, is the life cycle determined by 
external forces  or do people have some choice  in molding their personalities 
and shaping their lives? Erikson was not as deterministic as Freud, but neither 
did he believe strongly in free choice. His position was somewhere in the middle. 
Although personality is molded in part by culture and history, people retain some 
limited control over their destiny. People can search for their own identities and 
are not completely constrained by culture and history. Individuals, in fact, can 
change history and alter their environment. The two subjects of Erikson’s most 
extensive psychohistories, Martin Luther and Mahatma Gandhi, each had a pro -
found effect on world history and on his own immediate surroundings. Similarly, 
each of us has the power to determine his or her own life cycles, even though our 
global impact may be on a lesser scale.
On the dimension of pessimism versus optimism,  Erikson tended to be 
somewhat optimistic. Even though core pathologies may predominate early 
stages of development, humans are not inevitably doomed to continue a 
pathological existence in later stages. Although weaknesses in early life make Final PDF to printer