friendly with the psychoanalysts and was later trained by them. After changing
his name from Homburger to Erikson, he began to practice psychotherapyand eventually to espouse his own views on the nature of human personality.
Although Erikson retained several Freudian ideas in his theory, his own con-
tributions to the psychoanalytic approach were numerous. We will discuss
two of these contributions here: his description of the ego and his model of
personality development throughout the life cycle.
Erikson ’s Concept of the Ego
Whereas Freud saw the ego as the mediator between id impulses and super-
ego demands, Erikson believed the ego performed many constructive func-tions. To Erikson, the ego is a relatively powerful, independent part of
personality that works toward such goals as establishing one’ s identity and
satisfying a need for mastery over the environment. Appropriately, Erikson’ s
approach to personality has been called ego psychology .
According to Erikson, the principal function of the ego is to establish and
maintain a sense of identity. This sense of identity includes an awareness of our
uniqueness as well as feelings of continuity with our past and our imagined
future. The often overused and misused term identity crisis comes from Erikson ’s
work. He used this phrase to refer to the confusion and despair we feel when
we lack a strong sense of who we are. Perhaps you have experienced a time
when you felt uncertain about your values or the direction your life was
headed. Episodes of identity crises are typical in adolescence but are by nomeans limited to young people. Many middle-aged people experience similar
trying periods.
Personality Development Throughout the Life Cycle
To Freud, personality development for the most part ends when the superego
appears at about age 6. In contrast, Erikson (1950/1963) maintained that per-
sonality development continues throughout a person’ s lifetime. He outlined
eight stages we all progress through, each crucial in the development of per-
sonality (Figure 5.1).
Erikson ’s stages of personality development bring to mind the image of a
path. We continue down this path from infancy to old age, but at eight dif-
ferent points along the way we encounter a fork —two directions in which to
proceed. In Erikson ’s model, these forks represent turning points in personal-
ity development. He called these points crises . How we resolve each crisis
determines the direction of our personality development and influences how
we resolve later crises. Of the two alternatives for resolving each crisis, one
is said to be adaptive, the other not. As you read about these stages, youmay want to recall how you resolved the crises for the stages you have
already passed through, and perhaps reflect on the stage you now find your-
self in.
Basic Trust Versus Mistrust
During the first year or so of life, newborns are almost totally at the mercy
of those around them. Whether infants are given loving care and have their
needs met or whether their cries go unnoticed is the first turning point in106 CHAPTER 5 The Psychoanalyt ic Approach