Erickson’s Theories, Essay Example

Introduction

It was Eric Erikson who developed one of the leading theories in personality development, within the field of psychology. His theory had similarities to the views expressed by Sigmund Freud who also believed that personality developed in stages. At the core of Erikson’s theories were that of ‘ego identity’ and our personal sense of self-awareness obtained through social interaction. (Harder, 2011)

He also maintained that our competence was influenced in motivating our behaviours and actions. The concept of managing this stage efficiently he referred to as ‘ego strength’ or ‘ego quality’. Erikson pointed out that each stage people experienced conflict in the development of quality. Erikson defined 8 stages of personality development as set out in the table below. (Cherry, K.  2011)

8 Stages Of Personality Development

Source: (Cherry, Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Summary Chart, 2010)

Works Cited

Cherry, K. (2010). Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Summary Chart. Retrieved 4 17, 2010, from about.com: http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm

Cherry, K. (2011). Eriksons Psychological Stages. Retrieved 5 31, 2011, from About.com: http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm

Harder, A. (2011). Developmental stages of Eric Erikson. Retrieved 5 31, 2011, from Learning places online: http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm