Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Erikson: Post−Freudian
Theory
(^276) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Concept of Humanity
In contrast to Freud, who believed that anatomy was destiny, Erikson suggested
that other factors might be responsible for differences between women and men.
Citing some of his own research, Erikson (1977) suggested that, although girls and
boys have different methods of play, these differences are at least partly a result
of different socialization practices. Does this conclusion mean that Erikson agreed
with Freud that anatomy is destiny? Erikson’s answer was yes, anatomy is destiny,
but he quickly qualified that dictum to read: “Anatomy, history, and personality are
our combined destiny” (Erikson, 1968, p. 285). In other words, anatomy alone does
not determine destiny, but it combines with past events, including social and var-
ious personality dimensions such as temperament and intelligence, to determine
who a person will become.
motivation, a limitation that subtracts from the theory’s ability to shed meaning on
much of what is currently known about human personality. The eight stages of de-
velopment remain an eloquent statement of what the life cycle should be, and re-
search findings in these areas usually can be fit into an Eriksonian framework. How-
ever, the theory lacks sufficient scope to be rated high on this criterion.
As a guide to action,Erikson’s theory provides many general guidelines, but
offers little specific advice. Compared to other theories discussed in this book,
it ranks near the top in suggesting approaches to dealing with middle-aged and older
adults. Erikson’s views on aging have been helpful to people in the field
of gerontology, and his ideas on ego identity are nearly always cited in adolescent
psychology textbooks. In addition, his concepts of intimacy versus isolation and
generativity versus stagnation have much to offer to marriage counselors and others
concerned with intimate relationships among young adults.
We rate Erikson’s theory high on internal consistency,mostly because the
terms used to label the different psychosocial crises, basic strengths, and core
pathologies are very carefully chosen. English was not Erikson’s first language, and
his extensive use of a dictionary while writing increased the precision of his termi-
nology. Yet concepts like hope, will, purpose, love, care, and so on are not opera-
tionally defined. They have little scientific usefulness, although they rank high in
both literary and emotional value. On the other hand, Erikson’s epigenetic principle
and the eloquence of his description of the eight stages of development mark his the-
ory with conspicuous internal consistency.
On the criterion of simplicity, or parsimony,we give the theory a moderate rat-
ing. The precision of its terms is a strength, but the descriptions of psychosexual
stages and psychosocial crises, especially in the later stages, are not always clearly
differentiated. In addition, Erikson used different terms and even different concepts
to fill out the 64 boxes that are mostly vacant in Figure 9.2. Such inconsistency sub-
tracts from the theory’s simplicity.
270 Part II Psychodynamic Theories