Erik Erickson Ego Integrity Vs Despair

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Erik Erikson was a German-born naturalized American psychologist and psychoanalyst. Erikson developed a psychosocial developmental theory; entailing eight life crisis stages, each with a desired achievement; that a person’s personality develops through their lifespan in regards to how the person is influenced by their social environment (Wilkinson & Treas, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to explain the last stage of Erikson’s theory, ego integrity vs. despair. Erikson explains that when an individual reaches older adulthood (65+ years old), they are faced with the life crisis of ego integrity vs. despair with the desired achievement of wisdom (Berger, 2011). Erikson defines wisdom as “informed and detached concern for life itself in the face of death itself” (Erikson, 1997, p. 61). During this period of life, an older adult seeks to assimilate their unique life experiences with their personal vision of community (Berger, 2011). …show more content…

For example, the individual has a sense of pride, achievement, contribution to society, and “I have done what I came to do” about their life (Berger, 2011). They make peace with the inevitable last task of life, their death. On the other hand, if the individual is experiencing despair while reflecting on their own personal history, they might exhibit or express a heightened fear of death, wish for more time to “finally get it right”, and multiple life choice

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