Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Erikson: Post−Freudian
Theory
© The McGraw−Hill^277
Companies, 2009How does Erikson’s theory conceptualize humanity in terms of the six dimen-
sions we introduced in Chapter 1? First, is the life cycle determined by external
forcesor do people have some choicein molding their personalities and shaping
their lives? Erikson was not as deterministic as Freud, but neither did he believe
strongly in free choice. His position was somewhere in the middle. Although per-
sonality is molded in part by culture and history, people retain some limited con-
trol over their destiny. People can search for their own identities and are not com-
pletely constrained by culture and history. Individuals, in fact, can change history
and alter their environment. The two subjects of Erikson’s most extensive psy-
chohistories, Martin Luther and Mahatma Gandhi, each had a profound effect on
world history and on his own immediate surroundings. Similarly, each of us has the
power to determine his or her own life cycles, even though our global impact may
be on a lesser scale.
On the dimension of pessimism versus optimism,Erikson tended to be some-
what optimistic. Even though core pathologies may predominate early stages of de-
velopment, humans are not inevitably doomed to continue a pathological existence
in later stages. Although weaknesses in early life make it more difficult to acquire
basic strengths later on, people remain capable of changing at any stage of life.
Each psychosocial conflict consists of a syntonic and a dystonic quality. Each cri-
sis can be resolved in favor of the syntonic, or harmonious element, regardless of
past resolutions.
Erikson did not specifically address the issue of causality versus teleology,but
his view of humanity suggests that people are influenced more by biological and so-
cial forces than by their view of the future. People are a product of a particular his-
torical moment and a specific social setting. Although we can set goals and actively
strive to achieve these goals, we cannot completely escape the powerful causal forces
of anatomy, history, and culture. For this reason, we rate Erikson high on causality.
On the fourth dimension, conscious versus unconscious determinants,Erikson’s
position is mixed. Prior to adolescence, personality is largely shaped by uncon-
scious motivation. Psychosexual and psychosocial conflicts during the first four de-
velopmental stages occur before children have firmly established their identity. We
seldom are clearly aware of these crises and the ways in which they mold our per-
sonalities. From adolescence forward, however, people ordinarily are aware of their
actions and most of the reasons underlying those actions.
Erikson’s theory, of course, is more socialthan biological, although it does
not overlook anatomy and other physiological factors in personality development.
Each psychosexual mode has a clear biological component. However, as people ad-
vance through the eight stages, social influences become increasingly more power-
ful. Also, the radius of social relations expands from the single maternal person to
a global identification with all humanity.
The sixth dimension for a concept of humanity is uniqueness versus similari-
ties.Erikson tended to place more emphasis on individual differences than on uni-
versal characteristics. Although people in different cultures advance through the
eight developmental stages in the same order, myriad differences are found in the
pace of that journey. Each person resolves psychosocial crises in a unique manner,
and each uses the basic strengths in a way that is peculiarly theirs.
Chapter 9 Erikson: Post-Freudian Theory 271