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Erik Erikson, the developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development, is known mainly for his development of the widely accepted theory of developmental stages that all humans go through. However, he was also an excellent clinician focusing in the area of psychoanalysis of children.

Born in Germany in 1902, Erikson underwent psychoanalysis himself with Freud before deciding to learn to administer it himself. He also studied the Montessori methods of education. He started his own practice in Germany but immigrated to the United States at the onset of WWII, as he was married to a Jewish stockbroker. He again worked first as a clinician, serving as the first child psychoanalyst in Boston. He would move on to teaching positions, first at Yale, then at Berkley. It was during his time in California that he wrote his book “Childhood and Society,” which would lay out his theory and shape developmental psychology for decades.

Erikson’s Theory built on that of Freud, which postulated that there were five stages of human development. This included the Id, Ego, and Super Ego as postulated by Freud. Erikson expanded this to eight stages and further defined what the benchmarks were for each stage. In brief terms, the eight stages were as follows:

1. Hope- Basic Trust vs. Mistrust – Infant stage.

2. Will – Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt – Toddler stage.

3. Purpose – Initiative vs. Guilt – Kindergarten

4. Competence – Industry vs. Inferiority – Around age 6 to puberty.

5. Fidelity – Identity vs. Role Confusion – Teenager. Questioning of self.

6. Love (in intimate relationships, work & family) – Intimacy vs. Isolation – Young adult.

7. Caring – Generativity vs. Stagnation – the Mid-life crisis.

8. Wisdom – Ego Integrity vs. Despair – old age.

These eight stages were said to have defining characteristics that could be observed and used to the benefit or detriment of the individual.

Another element that was incorporated into Erikson’s theory was the role of life experiences and how they shaped each stage and helped move into the next one. Erikson came to two over-arching conclusions based on his theory. First, the world as we know it gets bigger as we age. This was his account of experience. The second conclusion was that failure is cumulative. In his mind, only success begot more success. This has been an area of contention for many psychologists who have studied Erikson’s work.

Erikson, himself, focused a great deal of experimentation on teens and their development of self. He sought to understand how life experiences shaped the personality of teens. Still taught today, Erikson’s work does help understand the broad framework of life stages, but current researchers have moved on to more detailed theories for the majority of their work. Most hold that there are indeed different stages of development, but few of their theories extend from birth to death like the work of Erikson.

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