Psychosexual vs Psychosocial ©

Erik Erickson surprisingly endorsed Sigmund Freud’s theory and supported it almost wholeheartedly despite the obvious contrast that his own theories of development posed against Freud’s. The differences between Freud and Erickson were much more prominent than the similarities.

In regard to development, one of the impacting contrasts between Freud and Erickson was the psychosexual theory of development that Freud employed (Hergenhahn, Olson, 2007). Although Erickson as a self-proclaimed Freudian did not specifically argue against the psychosexual realm of development like many other theorists, he clearly rejected the focus of sexual motivation in his own developmental theory. Also, Erickson clearly focused his thoughts on development throughout the lifecycle of the human being, while Freud seemingly believed that development in the most early years are what influenced personality (Hergenhahn, Olson, 2007). Erickson was precise and detailed with his analysis of the development process through life, which made his theory quite unique to others.

Freud concentrated almost solely on biological aspects of human development, insinuating clearly that biology marks the important justifications of behavior and personality. However, though Erickson did agree that biological influence was a strong contender in the causes of personality, he went on to stress that it was the magical marriage of biological and environmental factors that made the development of personality complete (Hergenhahn, Olson, 2007). Therefore, the main differences between Freud and Erickson can be described as the design they represented. Furthermore, the intricate details that Erickson examined, such as social and cultural aspects of life, truly brought his elaborate theory to new heights (Hergenhahn, Olson, 2007).

Despite the unambiguous disparity that existed between Freud and Erickson, there were some comparisons that were evident between these two distinctive theories as well. They both obviously concentrated on the theories of personality and they also had a common psychoanalytical approach to discovering what causes behavior in human beings (Hergenhahn, Olson, 2007). More distinct similarities can be found through Freud and Erickson’s agreement that personality development occurred through fixed stages (Hergenhahn, Olson, 2007). Regarding those stages, Freud and Erickson both also fervently believed that a crisis must be resolved before healthy progression throughout the coming stages could successfully transpire (Hergenhahn, Olson, 2007).

I believe that Erickson’s theory can most definitely stand alone without the support of Freud’s theory. However, it is important to note that Freud was essential to so many psychologists and theorists that dared to explore personality development further. Whether the purpose was to disprove Freud’s theory or carry it to new dimensions, the reality seems to show that without Freud and his psychosexual developmental theory, there might not have been many more theories on the stages of development to follow. With that said, Erickson himself seemed to connect closely with the Freudian circle and attribute his own great works to Freud much more adamantly than I would suppose to be accurate.

References
Hergenhahn, B.R., Olson M. (2007). Theories of Personality (seventh edition).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.