Definition
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development encompasses eight stages covering the entire life cycle. His initial four stages of ego growth parallel the classical psychoanalytic psychosexual stages of childhood and then extend beyond them, going from adolescence through to old age. Each of these epigenetic developmental periods contributes an ego strength whose formation is based upon the individual’s somatic state, previous psychosocial development, and relevant social contexts. The overall nature of psychosocial development and the specific resolutions of crises occurring during different chronological periods in the life cycle are discussed in this article.
Introduction: Erikson and Freud: An Ego-Oriented Extension of Theory
Erik Erikson came to psychoanalytic developmental theory via a route very different from Freud who began as a natural scientist. Erikson was trained as an artist. His...
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Marcia, J.E. (2020). Psychosocial Stages of Development (Erikson). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1418
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