Throughout this semester, we have discovered some of the greatest psychoanalysts who have influenced and affected the mental health field forever. With their theories they have shaped the understanding of the human condition and how it develops. The purpose behind these methods of treatments is to help people discover, change, and progress in life. Through self-awareness people are able to achieve this progress. Psychoanalytical treatment gives patients the opportunity to examine these assumptions, understand their origins in their lives, modify them if necessary, and make better choices for themselves (AmericanPsychoanalyticAssoication). The doctor who stood out and who I understood the most was Erik Erikson, the founder of the “Identity Theory.” As for the literary figure I chose that connects to Erik Erikson’s theory is a well-known American writer and poet, Sandra Cisneros. Beginning with Erik Erikson’s childhood, our textbook describes, “it is not surprising that the theorist who gave us the concept of the identity crisis experienced several crises of his own.” His first crisis occurred when he found out that his father was not his biological father. Knowing of this information, he kept his father’s last name until he migrated from Germany to the United States then changed his name to Erik Homburger Erikson. As life went on, Erikson experienced other identity crises situations that later gave him the idea of using his experiences to develop a profound theory that would change the world of psychology. At the age of twenty-five, Erik Erikson was offered to teach at a school established for the children of Sigmund Freud’s patients and friends (Schultz). Being taught by Sigmund Freud’s daughter Anna, he decided to approach Freud... ... middle of paper ... ...uineness, and a sense of duty in relationships with other people. Ultimately, I take those three traits very seriously by trying to fulfill my duty to the fullest potential. Lastly, being twenty-four, I am between the stages of overcoming and distinguishing my identity crisis and beginning to enter young adulthood. Getting ready to graduate college this semester and joining the military, I am starting to establish my independence from my parents and entering autonomously as a mature, responsible adult. I plan to serve a term in the military, apply for a federal law enforcement profession, and start my own family. Looking at my life through Erik Erikson’s Identity Theory perspective, I hope that I can grow old and enter the final stage of psychosocial development with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, believing I have coped with life’s victories and failures.
Sigmund Freud is considered to be one of the most studied and respected historical figures in psychology. Freud has had a huge impact on the way we think today. He also is responsible for creation psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud is even known as the “father of psychoanalysis”. Through endless contentious theories such as, the Case of Anna O, the Unconscious Mind, the Psyche, and the most infamous of his theories, the Psychosexual stage, Freud has generated many fans and supporters. His works has earned him a place in the list of psychology legends today.
In Erickson’s psychosocial stage theory, one of the main components he focused on is the development of the ego identity. Ego can be defined as the conscious sense of self that is developed through interaction. According to Erickson, our ego is constantly changing due to the new and different interactions that we have on a daily basis. We can either hinder or strengthen our ego identity by the interactions we experience. Erickson believed that a hindered ego or an ego that isn’t developed can lead to a person feeling an inadequacy as well as losing the meaning of life. However, if a person’s ego is strengthened and mastered a person will feel accomplished as well as the sense of belonging. This feeling can also be referred to as the ego strength or ego quality. During the times of ego identity, the person’s potential of growth is high, however, the potential of failure is also present.
Nehemiah, Yitzhak. "Introduction to Sigmund Freud's Id, Ego, and Super-ego Concepts." Helium. Helium, Inc, 2003. Web. 16 Sep 2010.
Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 to Jewish Galician parents in the Moravian town of Pribor in the Austrian Empire (“Sigmund Freud” n. pag). During his education in the medical field, Freud decided to mix the career fields of medicine and philosophy to become a psychologist (“Sigmund Freud” n. pag). During his research as a psychologist, he conceived the Structural Model Theory, which he discussed in his essay Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The theory states that the human psyche is divided into three main parts: the id, ego, and super-ego (“Id, Ego, and Super-ego” n. pag). He concluded that the id was the desire for destruction, violence and sex; the ego was responsible for intellect and dealing with reality; and the super-ego was a person’s sense of right and wrong and moral standards (Hamilton, n. pag). Freud argued that a healthy individual will have developed the strongest ego to keep the id and super-ego in check (“Id, Ego, and Super-ego” n. p...
After some dabbling in art and traveling through Europe, a friend of Erikson’s suggested that he should go into psychoanalysis. He took that advice and ended up earning his certificate at Vienna P...
Freud, S., & Strachey, J. (19621960). The Ego and the Super-ego. The ego and the id (pp. 19-20). New York: Norton.
Erik Erikson was a German Psychoanalyst that developed a psychosocial theory composing of eight stages of development. These eight stages span from birth to death and attempt to describe how external factors influence personality development. I seek to learn more about Erikson’s psychosocial theory by reflecting on an individual person’s account of their memories from childhood into their present life stage and out to their goals and vision for their future self.
Throughout life, a person can expect to endure many challenges, trials, experiences, accomplishments and disappointments. How one recovers, from those challenges, and can set the lifespan is a lifelong process from birth to death and includes the formation of identity (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). I will cover in the paper six life events that influence my identity development from childhood to middle adulthood. Each life event will be explained based on the significance of the event as well as the impact the event had on my development. Also, theories will be discussed as they relate to my development.
Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. New York:
Human development is a highly complex lifelong process. Identity is a self-definition or sense of who one is, where one is going, and how one fits into society. It relates to our basic values that dictates the choices we make in life. It is considered that identity formation is a means of finding oneself, by matching one’s talent with available social roles. Crisis is a vital part in one’s development. It occurs in every stage of finding one’s self and without resolution, may lead to tension and role confusion. Dedicated and influential theorists such as Erik Erikson and James Marcia have contributed significantly to the broadening and understanding
Erik Erikson, a German-born American who is a well known developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, established the grand theory of psychosocial development. Throughout his theory, persistently stresses that one’s personality advances non-stop throughout the duration of several differential stages. Erikson’s theory also goes in depth to explain the immense impact of social experiences in one’s lifespan. The main element that is produced from his theory of psychosocial development is essentially ego identity. Ego identity can be defined as a sense of self, or better, the knowledge of one’s self that forms through a process within all social interaction. Contemporary
Erikson was a developmental psychologist and he was very well known at the time of his psychosocial development among human beings. Erikson developed eight stages that show growth across a lifespan in every human being. Each of the stages that Erickson developed, build on one another and after every successful stage the outcome is called “virtue”. Erikson believed that difficulty on one stage can have a result later on in life. There is one main contradiction between Erikson and Freud which is Freud was an ID psychologist, Erikson was an ego psychologist. He emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself, whereas Freud accentuate the conflict between the ID and the superego. (McLeod, S. A. (2013). Erik Erikson) The eight psychosocial development stages that Erikson developed are; trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame/doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair.
Erik Erikson was influenced by Freud and his concept of the ego. Erikson observed the impact of external factors on personality from not just childhood, but throughout the entire lifetime. He developed eight stages, which are split into different age brackets. As an individual passes through these stages, they must successfully complete the crisis to move forward onto the next one.
In conclusion, the formation of one’s identity has many components. Beginning at the onset of adolescence and continuing to expand, grow and form and reform as we live through the struggles or success of life. Many theorists have endeavored to clarify the development of identity formation. However, Erik Erickson offered one significant theory involving the formation of one’s identity. Expounding on Erickson theory, Marcia developed his Identity Status Model according to the existence or absence of crisis and commitments. These four statuses, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement can combine in various ways to produce a self. One’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made, therefore, having a well-developed sense of self can provide an individual with insight to their strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. An individual that finds themselves
Freud's often-controversial psychoanalysis was an attempt to explain the human psyche (mind) which is comprised of three components: the id, ego, and superego; and the conflict between these components shaped personality (Swanson, 1963, p. 14-16). He believed the ego is responsive to the id that developed at infancy. He also believed that defense mechanisms are unconsciously adopted to protect the ego from anxiety. He was convinced that anxiety was used to warn the ego of potential threats. He focused on internally held forces, including conflicts, biological dispositions, and sexual motivation for his theories (Macintyre, 1963, p. 98-99). He sought to address underlying issues in a person's life, and personal cha...