Freuds and Ericksons Theories Differences

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Comparing the differences between the Freuds and Ericksons theories, it is necessary to point out that the stages in Freuds theories were psychosexual, and the stages in Eriksons theories were psychosocially oriented. The theory of psychoanalysis, which served as a base for numerous psychoanalytic theories, was developed at the late 19th century by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud. The follower of Freud Erik Erickson argued with this theory and & focused his stages on the development and emergence of a sense of identity & [he] proposed that a persons sense of identity & continued to develop and evolve throughout a persons life & [and] focused on the importance of cultural demands [during childs] age transitions (Bee and Boyd, 2004, p. 257).

Unlike Ericksons point of view, Freuds opinion lays on the statement that human personality is based and develops through the early childhood experiences. As a founder of the psychoanalytic theory, Freud stated that those early experiences form humans personality for the lifetime period, and therefore, most of the psychological problems which may appear in the adulthood might have their roots in traumatic and hard childhood experiences.

Opposite to Freud, Erickson denied the importance of instinctual unconscious factor drives in the development of personality. But Freud insisted that such powerful drives, for example sexual and aggressive ones, cause a great influence on the behavior of individual, while this individual is not aware of such process.

Ericksons and Freuds theories also differ in the number of stages. If refer to Freud then, & child development consists of five psychosexual stages in which a particular body region is the focus of sensual satisfactions; the focus of pleasure shifts as children progress through the stages (Bee and Boyd, 2004, p. 151). The oral stage, from birth to age one, focuses on the sensual pleasure and on the babys development of the emotional attachment through feeding.

The anal stage, from ages one to three, focuses on the control and self  control through the toilet training. The phallic stage, from age three to six, focuses on genital stimulation and sexes identification with one of their parents. The latency stage, from age seven to eleven, focuses on the sensual motives expressed through schoolwork. The genital stage, which lasts from adolescence through the period of adulthood, focuses on the individuals develop of the mature sexual interests.

Erik Erikson, the American psychoanalyst, proposed his own eight stages of personality growth, mainly backed and explained by social influences and experiences of the person within the family. Eriksons stages trace the whole life course. Contrary to stages established by Freud, each of the Eriksons stage contains of a social worlds conflict which has two possible outcomes. For example, in early childhood the conflict is trust vs. mistrust based on whether the baby is confident that others will provide nurturance and care & [in the period of adolescence] & identity vs. role confusion defines the teenagers search for self  understanding (Bee and Boyd, 2004, p. 248).

Therefore, it is possible to conclude that contrary to Freuds theories, Eriksons theory stands for the interaction for the improvement of the psychological growth, and draws up the idea of the social world, its stages lasts until death contrary to the Freuds stages which end after puberty. Moreover, one may say that Freuds theories stages can be defied as psychosexual, and Eriksons  as psychosocial. Erikson relies on the idea of EGO development. Unlike him, Freud uses the deterministic approach in his studies.

References

Bee, Helen and Boyd, Denise. (2004). The Developing Child. (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

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