Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Erikson: Post−Freudian
Theory
(^258) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
vulnerable to the vagaries of the world, whereas too little trust leads to frustration,
anger, hostility, cynicism, or depression.
Both trust and mistrust are inevitable experiences of infants. All babies who
have survived have been fed and otherwise cared for and therefore have some reason
to trust. In addition, all have been frustrated by pain, hunger, or discomfort, and thus
have a reason to mistrust. Erikson believed that some ratio of trust and mistrust is
critical to people’s ability to adapt. He told Richard Evans (1967) that “when we
enter a situation, we must be able to differentiate how much we can trust and how
much we must mistrust, and I use mistrust in the sense of a readiness for danger and
an anticipation of discomfort” (p. 15).
The inevitable clash between basic trust and basic mistrust results in people’s
first psychosocial crisis. If people successfully solve this crisis, they acquire their
first basic strength—hope.
Hope: The Basic Strength of Infancy
Hope emerges from the conflict between basic trust and basic mistrust. Without the
antithetical relationship between trust and mistrust, people cannot develop hope. In-
fants must experience hunger, pain, and discomfort as well as the alleviation of these
unpleasant conditions. By having both painful and pleasurable experiences, infants
learn to expect that future distresses will meet with satisfactory outcomes.
If infants do not develop sufficient hope during infancy, they will demonstrate
the antithesis or the opposite of hope—withdrawal,the core pathologyof infancy.
With little to hope for, they will retreat from the outside world and begin the journey
toward serious psychological disturbance.
Early Childhood
The second psychosocial stage is early childhood,a period paralleling Freud’s anal
stage and encompassing approximately the 2nd and 3rd years of life. Again, some
differences exist between the views of Freud and Erikson. In Chapter 2, we explained
that Freud regarded the anus as the primary erogenous zone during this period and
that during the early sadistic-anal phase, children receive pleasure in destroying or
losing objects, while later they take satisfaction in defecating.
Once again, Erikson took a broader view. To him, young children receive
pleasure not only from mastering the sphincter muscle but also from mastering other
body functions such as urinating, walking, throwing, holding, and so on. In addition,
children develop a sense of control over their interpersonal environment, as well as
a measure of self-control. However, early childhood is also a time of experiencing
doubt and shame as children learn that many of their attempts at autonomy are un-
successful.
Anal-Urethral-Muscular Mode
During the 2nd year of life, children’s primary psychosexual adjustment is the anal-
urethral-muscularmode. At this time, children learn to control their body, espe-
cially in relation to cleanliness and mobility. Early childhood is more than a time of
toilet training; it is also a time of learning to walk, run, hug parents, and hold on to toys
and other objects. With each of these activities, young children are likely to display
252 Part II Psychodynamic Theories