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Erik Erikson is best known for his famous theory of psychosocial development and the concept of theidentity crisis. His theories marked an important shift in thinkingon personality; instead of focusing simply on early childhood events, his psychosocial theory looks at how social influences contribute to our personalities throughout our entire lifespans.

Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired.—ERIK ERIKSON, THE ERIK ERIKSON READER, 2000

Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired.

—ERIK ERIKSON, THE ERIK ERIKSON READER, 2000

The Life of Erik Erickson

Learning more about Erik Erickson’s life helps provide a better understanding of what led him to develop an interest in and create his psychological theories. Here’s what we know.

Childhood

“The common story was that his mother and father had separated before his birth, but the closely guarded fact was that he was his mother’s child from an extramarital union. He never saw his birth father or his mother’s first husband.” —Erikson’s obituary,The New York Times,May 13, 1994

Identity Formation

This early experience helped spark his interest in the formation of identity. He would later explain that as a child he often felt confused about who he was and how he fit into his community.

While this may seem like merely an interesting anecdote about his heritage, the mystery over Erikson’s biological parentage served as one of the key forces behind his later interest in identity formation.

His interest in identity was further developed based on his own experiences in school. At his Jewish temple school, he was teased for being a tall, blue-eyed, blonde, Nordic-looking boy who stood out among the rest of the kids.

At grammar school, he was rejected because of his Jewish background. These early experiences helped fuel his interest in identity formation and continued to influence his work throughout his life.

Young Adulthood

It’s interesting to note that Erikson never received a formal degree in medicine or psychology. While studying at the Das Humanistische Gymnasium, he was primarily interested in subjects such as history, Latin, and art.

His stepfather, a doctor, wanted him to go to medical school, but Erikson instead did a brief stint in art school. He soon dropped out and spent time wandering Europe with friends and contemplating his identity.

How to Recognize and Cope With an Identity Crisis

Teaching

According to Erikson’s obituary, he continued to work with Burlingham and Freud at the school for several years, metSigmund Freudat a party, and even became Anna Freud’s patient. “Psychoanalysis was not so formal then,” Erikson once recalled.

“I paid Miss Freud $7 a month, and we met almost every day. My analysis, which gave meself-awareness, led me not to fear being myself. We didn’t use all those pseudoscientific terms then—defense mechanismand the like—so the process of self-awareness, painful at times, emerged in a liberating atmosphere.”

Family

Erikson met a Canadian dance instructor named Joan Serson who was also teaching at the school where he worked. The couple married in 1930 and went on to have three children. His son, Kai T. Erikson, is a noted American sociologist.

Erikson moved to the United States in 1933 and, despite having no formal degree, was offered a teaching position at Harvard Medical School. He also changed his name from Erik Homberger to Erik H. Erikson, perhaps as a way to forge his own identity. In addition to his position at Harvard, he also had a private practice in child psychoanalysis.

Later Years

Ultimately, he held teaching positions at the University of California at Berkeley, Yale, the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, Austen Riggs Center, and the Center for Advanced Studies of the Behavioral Sciences.

He published a number of books on his theories and research, including “Childhood and Society” and “The Life Cycle Completed.” His book “Gandhi’s Truth” was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award.

Erik Erickson’s Theories

Erickson contributed several theories to the field of psychology. Two of his best-known deal with psychosocial development and identity.

8 Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erikson was aneo-Freudianpsychologist who accepted many of the central tenets ofFreudian theorybut added his own ideas and beliefs. His theory of psychosocial development is centered on what is known as theepigenetic principle, which proposes that all people go through a series of eight stages.

At each psychosocial stage, people face a crisis that needs to be successfully resolved in order to develop the psychological quality central to each stage.

The eight stages of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory are something that every psychology student learns about as they explore the history of personality psychology. Much like psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages.

Erikson’s theory is important because it marked a shift fromFreud’s psychosexual theoryin that it describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan instead of simply focusing on childhood events.

While Freud’s theory of psychosexual development essentially ends in early adulthood, Erikson’s theory described development through the entire lifespan from birth until death.

The eight key stages he described were:

Identity Crisis

Have you ever felt confused about your place in life or not quite sure if you really know the real you? If so, you may be experiencing an identity crisis. Erikson coined the term “identity crisis” and believed that it was one of the mostimportant conflictspeople face during the developmental process.

According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.

Erik Erickson’s Contributions to Psychology

Erik Erikson spent time studying the cultural life of the Sioux of South Dakota and the Yurok of northern California. He utilized the knowledge he gained about cultural, environmental, and social influences to further develop his psychoanalytic theory.

While Freud’s theory focused on the psychosexual aspects of development, Erikson’s addition of other influences helped to broaden and expand psychoanalytic theory. He also contributed to our understanding of personality as it is developed and shaped over the course of the lifespan.

His observations of children also helped set the stage for further research. “You see a child play,” he was quoted as saying in hisNew York Timesobituary, “and it is so close to seeing an artist paint, for in play a child says things without uttering a word.

You can see how he solves his problems. You can also see what’s wrong. Young children, especially, have enormous creativity, and whatever’s in them rises to the surface in free play.”

Erik Erickson’s Publications

Here are some of Erikson’s works for further reading:

Erik Erickson’s Biographies

1 SourceVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sacco RG.Re-envisaging the eight developmental stages of Erik Erikson: Fobonacci Life-Chart Method (FLCM).Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology. 2013;3(1). doi:10.5539/jedp.v3n1p140Additional ReadingErik Erikson, 91, psychoanalyst who reshaped views of human growth, dies.The New York Times.Published May 13, 1994.Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L.M., & Hertz, P.Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts. Rowman & Littlefield; 2016.Erikson EH.The Erik Erikson Reader. Coles R, ed. W.W. Norton and Company; 2000.

1 Source

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sacco RG.Re-envisaging the eight developmental stages of Erik Erikson: Fobonacci Life-Chart Method (FLCM).Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology. 2013;3(1). doi:10.5539/jedp.v3n1p140Additional ReadingErik Erikson, 91, psychoanalyst who reshaped views of human growth, dies.The New York Times.Published May 13, 1994.Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L.M., & Hertz, P.Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts. Rowman & Littlefield; 2016.Erikson EH.The Erik Erikson Reader. Coles R, ed. W.W. Norton and Company; 2000.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Sacco RG.Re-envisaging the eight developmental stages of Erik Erikson: Fobonacci Life-Chart Method (FLCM).Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology. 2013;3(1). doi:10.5539/jedp.v3n1p140

Erik Erikson, 91, psychoanalyst who reshaped views of human growth, dies.The New York Times.Published May 13, 1994.Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L.M., & Hertz, P.Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts. Rowman & Littlefield; 2016.Erikson EH.The Erik Erikson Reader. Coles R, ed. W.W. Norton and Company; 2000.

Erik Erikson, 91, psychoanalyst who reshaped views of human growth, dies.The New York Times.Published May 13, 1994.

Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L.M., & Hertz, P.Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts. Rowman & Littlefield; 2016.

Erikson EH.The Erik Erikson Reader. Coles R, ed. W.W. Norton and Company; 2000.

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