Erikson's Theory Research Articles

Erikson's life cycle theory and the local church

This paper recommends the use of Erik H. Erikson's life cycle theory to clarify the dynamics of the corporate life of the local church. To support this recommendation, it illustrates how an incipient institutional crisis in an inner-city church reflects the conflict ofinitiative vs. guilt. In the analysis of this case, the initiative vs. guilt conflict is broken down into four basic themes. Each of these themes focuses on a different form of interaction between participants in the conflict, and each theme provides specific recommendations for the resolution of the crisis. While only one of the eight life crises has been applied in this study, the paper concludes that there is genuine merit in the application of the life cycle theory to the corporate life of the church.

Erikson's concept of inner space: a data-based reevaluation.

An analytical critique is presented of Erikson's theory that physical differences between the sexes produce differences in spatial organization, and of the experiment cited in support of that theory. Results of a new experiment are reported, which run counter to the original findings and suggest that the theory of "inner space" be reevaluated.

The Methodological Characteristics of Psychohistory

Psychohistory, which sets up its purpose of seizing the human subjects on the basis of the methodology of psychiatry, would be expected to contribute to the sociology of education in terms of theory and methodology; it intends to refine the theory of human development and of group consciousness on one hand, and the metholology on the other which can deal with the qualitative aspects of historical events.Psychohistorical approach can be divided into two basic types, namely the great-man pasadigm (E. H. Erikson) which concentrates on a historical great-man on the one hand and the shared-psychohistorical-themen (R. J. Lifton, K. Keniston) which is observed in people exposed to particular kinds of collective experiences on the other. Their signs could already be seen in Freud's historical studies such as “Woodrow Wilson” coinciding with the former and “Totem and Taboo” corresponding with the latter. But these Freud's studies fell into reductionism depriving them of the historical peculiarity, because he applied his theories of psychiatry excessively to the objects.So, psychohistory tries to overcome the two forms of reductionism by means of the following two methodologies, which constitute the basic characteristics of psychohistory.First, in order to overcome the reduction on the time-axis connected with teleology, the dialectic characteristic would be applicable. For example, Keniston finds the dialectic contradictions between the value-free technism and the subjective anarchism within the dominant knowledge sector of technological society. In addition to this, the identity crisis, the most characteristic view of the Erikson's epigenetic developmental theory, is the constituent concept under which the internal conflicts of a person can be joined to the social and historical contradictions.Second, the reduction on the space-axis connected with methodology could be overcome by the characteristic of structuralism. Lifton gives the general idea of symbolic immortality to a mental process maintaining an inner sense of continuous symbolic relationship, over time and space, with the various elements of life. The symbolic immortality in subclassified into the five modes. These modes convert into another modes each other in history, and also gain the ideal integration as a whole. The method of deductive abstraction that makes clear the latent structure hidden behind the reality is usually called the method of structuralism.Two methodological characteristics examined above are now being integrated through mutual study and endeavour of psychohistorians.

Ego Identity and Perception of Parents among Female College Students

Based on Erikson's theory of ego development, this study investigated the relationship between ego identity achievement among female college students and their feelings toward and perceptions of their parents. The analysis showed that identity achievers viewed their mothers rather negatively and their fathers somewhat more positively, suggesting that contemporary female college students may find it necessary to break “same-sex identification” bonds in order to learn the appropriate female sex role.

Multivariate analysis of the relationship of psychosocial crisis variables to Ego Identity Status

The purpose of the present study was the investigation of the intercorrelations among psychosocial crisis resolution variables and ego identity statuses. The focus of the study was correlational including discriminant analyses which allowed for the identification of psychosocial crisis predictor variables which significantly distinguished identity statuses. Discriminant analyses were also computed for the purpose of identifying variables which significantly distinguished male and female identity statuses. Eighty-eight university students drawn from a variety of on-campus populations were each administered Marcia's Ego Identity Status Interview and completed Rasmussen's Ego Identity Scale. Review of the findings appeared to support Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The evidence presented also demonstrated additional convergent and discriminant validity of Marcia's ego identity status concept. The results assisted in distinguishing male and female identity statuses. The findings tended to indicate that coping with the identity crisis (e.g., identity status) involves different psychosocial components.

Sex differences in the resolution of the identity crisis

Based on Erikson's view of the importance of "inner space" in feminine identity, researchers have added an interview on premarital sex to the standard ego identity interview on occupation, religion, and politics used for males. This study was designed to investigate the relative importance of premarital sexual ideology for males and females, as well as sex differences in identity status on occupation, religion, and politics. Marcia's semi-structured ego identity status interview was given to 70 male and 70 female college students, with premarital sex questions included for both sexes. Consistent with Erikson's theory, females were more likely than males to have experienced a sexual identity crisis, whereas males were very likely to be foreclosed in this area. Males as well as females were more likely to be committed about sex than about any other area. In all areas except sex, female identity followed basically the same pattern as male identity.

Exploration and commitment: Sex differences and methodological problems in the use of identity status categories

The identity crisis of adolescence can be thought of as involving two processes: an exploration among alternatives and a making of commitments. Ninety-nine Danish youth were assessed for degrees of exploration and of commitment in four areas: occupation, values, politics, and sex roles. Sex differences were investigated. Contrary to Erikson's theory, sexual ideology did not appear more central to women's identity formation. For both sexes, the struggle with sex roles and the search for values were the most powerful predictors of ten dependent personality variables. The study demonstrated the importance of exploration and commitment as variables in identity process in another culture, and suggested that a direct scaling of these variables is superior to the use of Marcia's category system.

Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and career development

This article outlines some of the contributions of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development in providing a developmental perspective on career behavior. While Erikson's theory has not been traditionally regarded as a “vocational developmental theory” the theory appears to be of importance in comprehending the developmental nature of vocational behavior. A brief overview of Eirkson's theory is presented and possible contributions of the theory towards enhancing understanding of career development are noted.

Identity in adolescence: Present and future self-concepts

This paper reports an investigation to test the hypothesis that anxiety concerning a concept of the self in the future will increase with age during adolescence, while anxiety relating to the self in the present will not. Subjects included a total of 80 adolescent boys from schools in a working class area of London, divided into three groups of 12-year-olds, 14-year-olds and 16-year-olds. The results strongly substantiated the hypothesis, and are discussed in relation to Erikson's theory of an adolescent identity crisis.

Ego identity formation in middle adolescence

Assumed determinants of ego identity were investigated in this study using sophomore, junior, and senior high school males and females. Subjects were administered the Marcia Ego Identity Status Scale and measures of sex-role identification, personality development, psychological functioning, self-concept, and parental socialization practices. Data analyses, using a median split on identity score, showed that high-identity adolescents obtained more positive scores on sex-role identification, personality development, psychological adjustment, and self-concept than low-identity adolescents. Socialization practices also differed for the two groups. The sex differences which emerged were congruent with the identity literature. Overall, the data supported Erikson's theory of ego identity development.

Populism and Lynching in Louisiana, 1889-1896: A Test of Erikson's Theory of the Relationship between Boundary Crises and Repressive Justice

This paper applies Erikson's theory of the relationship between crises in a community's solidarity and its exercise of repressive justice to the relationship between the Populist disruption of the Solid South and the incidence of lynching. This application points out certain problems in Erikson's formulation that can be resolved by a systematic examination of the distribution of lynchings among the parishes of Louisiana and shows how Erikson's theoretic statement provides an interpretation of relationships between a parish's lynching incidence and its social and political characteristics. The analysis illustrates how econometric techniques may be applied to historical data in the process of sociological theory construction. Inspired by Durkheim's classic formulation of the relationship between repressive justice and mechanical solidarity,' Erikson's (1966) study, Wayward Puritans, states that the disruption of solidarity (in his terms a boundary crisis) produces a sudden and dramatic in

Religious apostasy and political radicalism

The affirmation of radical left political ideology was examined among a total of 159 religious apostates and 272 religious believers who were undergraduates at five Chicago area colleges (study I) and seven western North Carolina colleges (study II). Contrary to current assumptions, apostates were not converts to radical ideology in any significant proportion, although they were clearly more disenchanted with their society and more sharply critical of its basic institutions. Apostates seem to take an ideological stance of critical disengagement rather than substitute conversion. Implications are discussed in the context of Erikson's theory interrelating ideological commitment and identity formation in youth.

Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and vocational behavior.

The present investigation empirically explored the relationship between psychosocial development as described by Erik H. Erikson and vocationalchoice behavior and development. Stage resolution attitudes, derived from the first six stage crises outlined by Erikson, were explored as variables influencing problems in vocational choice and vocational maturity. Students classified in different vocational-choice adjustment groups and students scoring at different levels on the Career Maturity Inventory were compared for differences among Eriksonian stage resolution attitudes as measured by the Inventory of Psychosocial Development and the Dignan Ego Identity Scale. Findings indicated that students who had made adjusted vocational choices and developed mature career attitudes had also been more successful in positively resolving the first six psychosocial stage crises outlined by Erikson.

Empirical validation of Erikson's theory of identity crises in late adolescence.

Summary Ego identity crystallization was studied within the context of Erikson's psychosocial theory of ego identity development. Ego identity and ego diffusion were measured by the Dignan Ego Identity Scale, an instrument based on Erikson's theoretical formulations. It was hypothesized that Ss within the age span of 17 to 20 would report significantly more ego diffusion than their older counterparts ranging in age from 21–24 years, and that females would report significantly less ego diffusion than males within each age group. These hypotheses were tested on 507 midwestern college students in a cross-sectional design which utilized multiple regression analysis. Results supported both hypotheses and indicated that ego identity processes crystallize in late adolescence as postulated by Erikson's psychosocial theory of ego epigenesis. A significant negative correlation between ego identity and anxiety offered additional construct validity for the Dignan Ego Identity Scale.

Stages and aging in moral development-some speculations.

After reviewing the properties of the cognitive-developmental stage concept which, heretofore, has been restricted in its use to child and adolescent development, adulthood stages for moral development are considered. In addition to discussing aspects of adult development in regard to moral Stages 5 and 6, an attempt is made to delineate a new Stage 7 which is unique to advanced adulthood and involves adoption of a religious and cosmic perspective. This new stage is related to Erikson's theory and suggests novel lines of “positive” adult and gerontological inquiries in a life-span developmental and philosophical perspective.

Practical skills and personality development

Declarers of above average, average, and below average Practical Skills on the ACT Student Profile Report were compared on the basis of OPI personality scale scores by means of multivariate analysis of covariance. Results indicated significant differences by level of Practical Skill and no significant interaction between sex and practical skill category. Distributional differences of above average, average, and below average practical skills by various vocational choices were investigated by X 2. The personality differences found were interpreted as developmental, according to Erikson's theory.

The Southern Black College Student as Adolescent: A Psychohistorical Study

Fifteen years after the Supreme Court decision of 1954 signalled a new era for the black race in the United States, Sharpley1 surveyed the development of the Afro-American from a psychohistorical perspective and concluded that he is now in a psychosexual stage of development best described as adolescence. Against a background of Eriksonian theory of the eight stages of man,2 Sharpley developed the thesis that until recently slavery and its aftermath have kept the black in America in pre-adolescent stages of development. The initial oral stage of absolute dependency on his provider was slavery itself. During this phase he developed attitudes of trust and mistrust. The reconstruction period provided the setting for the muscular anal stage. His brief period of power and freedom was followed by repression that left him unable to assert his autonomy. Whatever trust he may have developed became mistrust. He learned well to control his aggression and to survive by way of subservience. The next few decades were the equivalent of the genital stage. Some initiative was exercised in the emergence of Negro institutions, efforts to gain education, and limit-

Ego Identity and Motivation: An Empirical Study of Achievement and Affiliation in Erikson's Theory

Ss manifesting different levels of achievement and affiliation motivation (TAT) were distinguished as predicted by E. Erikson's theory by an operational measure of ego identity (Rasmussen's Ego Identity Scale) in predicted directions. Results supported Erikson's contention that Ss who manifest high motivation, both in affiliation and in achievement, would show a more satisfactory ego identity than individuals who manifest other levels of achievement and affiliation motivation. Ss' levels of adult achievement motivation reflected the successful or unsuccessful resolution of the achievement crisis of the latency period. The study involved a series of 2 × 2 factorial designs defined by levels of achievement and affiliation motivation and related the four cells to ego identity development (Ego Identity Scale Score) and to the manner in which Ss resolved the achievement crisis (Subscale on Ego Identity Scale). Ss were 158 male college students between the ages of 17 and 25 yr.

Development of maturity in deaf children.

Research findings reporting teacher-counselor ratings of deaf children from differing home and school settings show significant differences in assessments for maturity. An analysis of various developmental crises for which deafness has a definite impact is presented, based on Erikson's theory of epigenetic development. Both research findings and theoretical analysts point to the conclusion that immaturity is not a necessary consequence of auditory deprivation.

A test of Erikson's theory of ego epigenesis.

The two basic postulates of Erikson's theory of ego epigenesis were tested on a sample of 120 boys (5-, 8-, and 11-year-olds), using a projective instrument designed by Boyd and this author's coding system. Results indicated that the first postulate, ego stage progression with increasing age, found preliminary confirmation; Group I was most concerned with Stages II and III, while Groups 2 and 3 showed peak interest in Stages III and IV, respectively. The validity of the second postulate, that the ego develops as it meets the different crisis elements of the ego stages, was called into question. All three groups showed most conflict for the Stage II crisis—autono my versus shame and doubt—suggesting that this may be the focal crisis of the first five ego stages. While Erikson's theory has gained prominence in both clinical and academic settings, research efforts toward testing it have been limited. Most of the references in the literature are descriptive, either pointing to the theoretical importance of his work (e.g., Gill & Klein, 1964; Murphy, Green, Henry, & Friedenberg, 1966) or elaborating on his theory of identity and its clinical or conceptual utility (e.g., Lichtenstein, 1963; Sarlin, 1963). Some authors have inquired into the validity of various isolated aspects of the theory, usually using rating scales or adjustment measures based on Erikson's formulations at different points on the developmental continuum (see Arasteh, 1965; Marcia, 1966; Pable, 1965; Pitcher & Prelinger, 1963).