While much has been written on the influence of Erik Erikson's contributions to education, little has been said about his place in terms of his contribution to the general theoretical notion of what ...it means to be a human being. This article aims to broaden current reflections on Erikson's position in the spectrum of work done on human development in general and on early child development especially. A concise qualitative theoretical overview sheds light on some basic biographical details, Erikson's academic background, the work for which he is an established name, and his views on people as sentient beings. Also discussed are the emergence of his psychosocial development theory and his core research and its possible impact on theory and practice are discussed as is his largely unacknowledged contribution to the intertwined disciplines of self - and career counselling and life design-related science, practice, and profession.
The aim of the article is to design a conceptual framework within the theory of psychosocial ego development that will allow for a better understanding and explanation of attitude toward death in the ...life cycle. The main weaknesses of previous studies on death attitude were examined; Erikson’s concept may help exceed these limitations. The use of the model of hierarchy of defense mechanisms to study death attitude within Erikson’s theory was proposed. The concept of the death complex was mentioned to better conceptualize the problem of attitude toward death as a part of the psychosocial theory. Finally, the evolution of attitude toward death in the consecutive phases of psychosocial development was discussed in the light of the concept of syntonic and dystonic ego features, as well as death complex, defense mechanisms, and psychosexual modes.
Erik H. Erikson published his groundbreaking theory of 8 stages of lifelong psychosocial development in 1950. His theory expanded psychoanalytic concepts of psychosexual development to include the ...importance of social dynamics; it transcended then-current thinking that psychological development culminated in early adulthood, acknowledging that systematic human development continues throughout the entire life cycle. The theory made Erikson a pioneer in developmental psychology. His last authored book, Vital Involvement in Old Age, rearticulated and elaborated 3 principles that, in different words, are rooted in his original theory of healthy life cycle development: (1) Dynamic Balance of Opposites; (2) Vital Involvement; and (3) Life in Time. Using a lens informed by knowledge gained over the past 30 years and by reflections of one of the original researchers on that project, the current manuscript seeks to spark new interest in Erikson's late-life contribution. It explains the principles in new detail, links them to relevant research, and suggests ways they could enable Erikson's ideas to further enrich gerontological practice and research.
In this paper, I present a new reading of Erik Erikson's theory of epigenetic stages of development, with particular attention to the concept of identity. I show that Erikson's psychosocial approach ...requires close attention to the role of the community in the formation of individual identity and to the importance of the stage of generativity as an often overlooked component in understanding both identity and the whole Eriksonian life cycle.
Just as Freud used stages of psychosexual development to ground his model of psychoanalysis, it is possible to do the same with Erik Erikson's stages of development with regards to a model of ...psychodynamic psychotherapy. This paper proposes an eight‐stage model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development. Various suggestions are offered. One such suggestion is that as each of Erikson's developmental stages is triggered by a crisis, in therapy it is triggered by the client's search. The resolution of the search often leads to the development of another search, which implies that the therapy process comprises a series of searches. This idea of a series of searches and resolutions leads to the understanding that identity is developmental and therapy is a space in which a new sense of identity may emerge. The notion of hope is linked to Erikson's stage of Basic Trust and the proposed model of therapy views hope and trust as essential for the therapy process. Two clinical vignettes are offered to illustrate these ideas.
Key Practitioner Message
Psychotherapy can be approached as an eight‐stage process and linked to Erikson's eight stages model of development.
Psychotherapy may be viewed as a series of searches and thus as a developmental stage resolution process, which leads to the understanding that identity is ongoing throughout the life span.
In the present paper, Erik H. Erikson's theory of psycho-social development is analysed, including a new, ninth stage proposed by his wife, Joan M. Erikson. However, a new understanding of the ninth ...stage is proposed, in which integrity versus despair is still the crisis of the last stage of life regardless of the addition of the ninth stage. The crisis of stage eight takes place on the continuum between involvement versus resignation. The term ‘involvement’ is understood as the choice of one's own way of life in the world, in view of personal development oriented towards the realisation of universal values, in accordance with the ethical dimension of social ethos, and with a sense of acceptance of the changes that are the result of the human ageing process. ‘Resignation’, in turn, is understood as the second pole dynamising the conflict of stage eight, which manifests itself in the fact that no new activities are undertaken or old ones continued by an individual, out of the conviction that it is senseless to undertake any activities for his or her own development. There is, however, strength that can be engendered by the struggle of older people between involvement and resignation, namely courage. In the acquisition of courage, older people should be supported by geragogy of courage. Society needs the courage of older people and their involvement in the ethical preservation of the world.
Whose values matter when considering which environment is healthier for a child whose guardianship is contested? The biological mother from a remote Australian Aboriginal community, who voluntarily ...relinquished her but has now requested her return? The foster mother who has cared for her in a metropolitan centre in another State of Australia, thousands of kilometres away? The welfare professionals who also live in that city? Or the child herself, who left her birth home and community five years earlier at the age of two? Drawing on a case study of a seven-year old Aboriginal girl, the authors argue that non-Indigenous values trumped Indigenous values without the realisation of key players who were empowered to make such determinations. The article uses Manuel DeLanda's neo-assemblage theory to consider the range of processes that exert themselves to shape place-values and social identity in colonised nations. It will also draw on Erik Erikson's and Lev Vygotsky's theories of psychosocial development to consider competing sets of values that raised feelings of dissonance within the child. Beliefs about what makes a place health-giving are revealed to be complex in colonised nations. Despite policy and legislative changes to better support Aboriginal people and their right to difference, non-Indigenous professionals can continue to be driven by an unrecognised systemic racism. While place-values are not, of course, the only (or perhaps even the most significant) consideration in guardianship determinations, this article will argue they can play a significant and covert role.
•Place-values in settler-colonial nations depend on geography, proximity to cities, social identity and cultural beliefs.•Exposure to places at some periods in a child's development has greater significance on a child's development than at other times.•Welfare professionals determining the placement of Indigenous children draw on their own implicit place values.•Dislocation from Country during middle childhood adversely affects an Indigenous child’s socio-cultural identity formation.
Poverty, family breakdown, neglect, abuse or abandonment, are the common triggers for children to run away or be forced to leave their homes. This is a common phenomenon across the globe. While ...trying to survive on the streets, the children are often re-exposed to violence. To survive on the street, they must make decisions with significant implications for life, which is not usual for a child and or adolescents. Erikson, the developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, explains development as a lifelong project, proceeding from birth to death through the eight psychological stages. It is important to understand the life stages and the distinctive characteristics that comes along. However, it is also important to understand the life stages of street children which do not always align with the theory. This article aims to depict a global picture of street children. The examples from various parts of the world regarding the reason for moving to the streets and violence that they encounter. Furthermore, this paper looks through the lens of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory and describe how these experiences can shape the life stages of street children. There are stark contrasts between the parameters of the theory when compared with children with conventional settings and the children living in an unprotected environment.
This column introduces the school-based psychosocial curriculum model. The model incorporates Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and applies it to a planned program of talent ...development.
Criminology (as the scientific study of criminal behaviour on the individual and social level) and psychology (as the science, which seeks to understand individuals and groups) pay special attention ...to motivation – a theoretical construction, used to explain behaviour. In this article the motivation of recipients of bribery is widely investigated. In addition to such well-established motives as greediness, selfishness, prevalence of personal interest, the author analyzes also other criminal behaviour determinants. The works, which are used in this research are of the following authors: John Broadus Watson, Edward Lee Thorndike (Behavioural); Sigmund Freud, Erich Fromm (Psychoanalysis); Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow (Existential-humanistic theories); William Isaac Thomas (Thomas theorem); Florian Witold Znaniecki (sociological theory); Erik Homburger Erikson (theory on psychosocial development of human beings); Jean William Fritz Piaget (theory of cognitive development); Herbert Lefcourt, Ronald Smith (
Locus of Control
) etc. As the result of this research the author has concluded that bribe-takers’ behaviour is determined by such psychological constructs as the desire for power, fear, envy, mental deflections, mania, feeling of exclusion, the need for extreme, oppressed creativity.
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