fei75766_ch07_206-241.indd 236  02/06/20 11:52 AM
Part II    Psychodynamic Theories236
revealed theiridentity tothefamily. One-hundred percent oftheyounger cohort and
about 91%oftheolder cohort hadrevealed theiridentity totheirsexual partners by
thetimetheytookpartinthestudy. Thisfinding isnotreally surprising given that
disclosure tosexual partners ismore orlessrequired ifasexual relationship exists. 
Oneofthebiggest differences between thetwocohorts isdisclosure tofriends byage
30:nearly 100% oftheyounger cohort haddisclosed toatleastsome friends bythen, 
whereas onlyabout 55%oftheolder cohort had.
Onething thattransgender identity anditacceptance makes clear isthatiden-
tityandourwillingness tobehonest withothers about whoweareisnotalways an
easytaskforadolescents andadults alike.
Critique of Erikson
Erikson builthistheory largely onethical principles andnotnecessarily onscientific 
data. Hecame topsychology from artandacknowledged thathesawtheworld more 
through theeyesofanartist thanthrough those ofascientist. Heonce wrote that
hehadnothing tooffer except “awayoflooking atthings” (Erikson, 1963, p.403). 
Hisbooks areadmittedly subjective andpersonal, which undoubtedly addstotheir
appeal. Nevertheless, Erikson’s theory must bejudged bythestandards ofscience, 
notethics orart.
Thefirstcriterion ofauseful theory isitsability togenerate research, andbythis
standard, werateErikson’s theory somewhat higher thanaverage. Forexample, the
topic ofegoidentity alone hasgenerated several hundred studies, andother aspects 
ofErikson’s developmental stages, suchasintimacy versus isolation (Gold &Rogers, 
1995) andgenerativity (Arnett, 2000; Pratt, Norris, Arnold, &Filyer, 1999), aswell
astheentire lifecycle (Whitbourne, Zuschlag, Elliot, &Waterman, 1992), havestim-
ulated active empirical investigations.
Despite thisactive research, werateErikson’s theory onlyaverage onthecri-
terion offalsifiability. Many findings from thisbody ofresearch canbeexplained by
theories other thanErikson’s developmental stages theory.
Initsability toorganize knowledge, Erikson’s theory islimited mostly todevel -
opmental stages. Itdoesnotadequately address suchissues aspersonal traits ormoti-
vation, alimitation thatsubtracts from thetheory’s ability toshedmeaning onmuch 
ofwhat iscurrently known about human personality. Theeight stages ofdevelopment 
remain aneloquent statement ofwhat thelifecycle should be,andresearch findings 
inthese areas usually canbefitintoanEriksonian framework. However, thetheory 
lacks sufficient scope toberated highonthiscriterion.
Asaguide to action, Erikson’s theory provides many general guidelines, but
offers littlespecific advice. Compared toother theories discussed inthisbook, it
ranks nearthetopinsuggesting approaches todealing withmiddle-aged andolder 
adults. Erikson’s views onaging havebeen helpful topeople inthefieldofgerontol -
ogy,andhisideas onegoidentity arenearly always cited inadolescent psychology 
textbooks. Inaddition, hisconcepts ofintimacy versus isolation andgenerativity ver-
susstagnation havemuch tooffer tomarriage counselors andothers concerned with
intimate relationships among young adults.
WerateErikson’s theory highoninternal consistency ,mostly because theterms 
usedtolabel thedifferent psychosocial crises, basic strengths, andcorepathologies Final PDF to printer