10/28/2020 Freud and Erikson's Approaches to Psychoanalytic Theory: Differences & Analysis - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.

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Freud and Erikson's Approaches to Psychoanalytic Theory:

Di erences & Analysis

Lesson Transcript

Di erentiate between Freud's and Erikson's approaches to psychoanalytic theory in this lesson. You will
examine and compare developmental stages side by side and have the opportunity to test your knowledge
with a quiz at the end.

Example for Comparison

Mary has a 3-month-old daughter. Mary bottle feeds her child and follows a strict schedule for
feeding times. The child is not allowed to have a paci er. Mary is an a ectionate parent, and all
of her child's needs are met. How could the actions that occur in the child's life now a ect her
later development?

Similarities of Freud and Erikson

Sigmund Freud's psychosexual theory and Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory are two important
psychoanalytic theories on human development that could be used to explain the
developmental e ects of this scenario. In this lesson, we will examine what these two theories
have in common and how they di er.

Erikson's theory followed Freud's and was based on many of Freud's ideas. Because of this, the
two theories have similarities. Both theorists recognize the importance of the unconscious on
development. They also both separate development into stages of a person's life and utilize
similar age divisions for these developmental stages.

Di erences of Freud and Erikson

However, there are several di erences that exist between the names of the stages and the
developmental issues that are encountered during each stage. Part of the reason for this is that
each psychologist has his own unique view of what drives a person's development. Freud's
psychosexual theory emphasizes the importance of basic needs and biological forces, while
Erikson's psychosocial theory is based upon social and environmental factors. Erikson also
expands his theory into adulthood, while Freud's theory ends at an earlier period.

Psychosexual vs. Psychosocial Stages

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Now, let's brie y look at Freud's psychosexual stages and Erikson's psychosocial stages
alongside each other.

First we will examine the rst year of life. Freud called this the oral stage of development
because he believed that oral stimulation was the primary means of development at this time.
Erikson called this stage of development trust vs. mistrust. Both believe that a child develops
their sense of trust at this stage of development.

Next, let's discuss the rst through third years of life. Freud called this the anal stage of
development, and Erikson called this autonomy vs. shame and doubt. Both believe that a
sense of independence is learned at this stage of development, and that toilet training is an
important focus of this independence. Parental attitudes at this time can also have a lasting
e ect.

Ages three through six is referred to as the phallic stage by Freud and the initiative vs. guilt
stage by Erikson. Freud believed this stage was where a child identi es with the same-sex
parent and develops self-esteem. Erikson felt that this was the stage where a child begins to
exert power and control over their environment. This is the point where you will start to see
more di erences in the two theories.

The next developmental stage occurs at ages seven through 11. Freud calls this stage of
development latency and believes that this is an intermediary stage of development where the
child forms interactions with their environment. Erikson refers to it as industry vs. inferiority.
He believes that children begin to demonstrate their ability to succeed.

Ages 12 through 18 mark the next stage of development. According to Freud, this is the nal
stage, and it continues throughout a person's life. He calls it the genital stage. During this
stage, he believes, a person seeks balance between their biological instincts and sense of
morality. In other words, Freud believes that a person learns to channel their biological instincts
into socially acceptable displays of love and career goals. Erikson called this stage identity vs.
role confusion. He believed it was a period where the focus of development shifts to social
bonding in order to establish meaning in one's life and assert individuality. While Freud felt that
the developmental stages end at this point, Erikson continues with three more stages which
occur throughout adulthood.

These additional stages are intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation and integrity
vs. despair. During these stages, a person seeks to establish an intimate relationship and
become a productive member of society. Ultimately there is re ection upon the goals they have
accomplished in their lifetime.

Lesson Summary
Let's think about Mary's 3-month-old again. You now know that both Freud and Erikson believe
that a sense of trust is gained at this stage of development, but they would predict a di erent
outcome. Because Freud believes that biological needs are the driving force behind
development, he would predict that the child may not be getting enough oral grati cation. No
breastfeeding, a lack of a paci er, and a strict feeding schedule may cause her to be mistrustful

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10/28/2020 Freud and Erikson's Approaches to Psychoanalytic Theory: Differences & Analysis - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

and have a di cult time forming relationships later in life. Since Erikson bases his theory on
social factors, he would see the situation di erently. As long as she was not hungry and was
receiving the needed attention, an adequate sense of trust would be formed and built upon.

In conclusion, both theories share similarities as well as di erences. Both Erikson and Freud
agreed that human development occurs in distinct stages. They chose similar ages that mark
these stages of development. This makes it easy to compare each theorist's stages of
development to one another. Both theorists also recognized unconscious factors in
development. However, while Freud believed that human development is shaped by our
biological drives, Erikson places more emphasis on social experiences in determining an
individual's development. According to Erikson's theory, both early and late life experiences are
equally important to an individual's development. In contrast, Freud felt that our early
developmental experiences were more important than experiences later in life.

Freud vs. Erikson on Human Development

Freud's Stages of Development Erikson's Stages of Development

*Trust vs. mistrust

*Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
*Oral
*Initiative vs. guilt
*Anal
*Indutry vs. inferiority
*Phallic
*Identity vs. role confusion
*Latency
*Intimacy vs. isolation
*Genital
*Generativity vs. stagnation
*Integrity vs. despair

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this lesson, you should be prepared to:

Compare and contrast Freud's psychosexual theory and Erikson's psychosocial theory

Name and describe the stages of development in each of these theories

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