PSYCHOSOCIAL

LEARNING THEORY

Reporters: Chery Lyn A. Caspe

Arlyn M. Casas
Biography of Erick Erikson (1902-1994)

 Erik Homburger Erikson (June 15, 1902 – May 12, 1994)

was a German-American child psychoanalyst known for his
theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He
coined the phrase identity crisis.
 He was an artist and a teacher in the late 1920s when he met
Anna Freud, anAustrian psychoanalyst. With Anna’s
encouragement, he began to study child psychoanalysis at the
Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute.
 His first book was published in 1950 titled Childhood and Society. This book
became a classic in the field of psychoanalysis. As his clinical work with
children continued he developed the "identity crisis" concept. The identity
crisis is an inevitable conflict that accompanies the growth of a sense of
identity, His 8 stages of psychosocial development are what he is most
famous for.
 Despite lacking a university degree, Erikson served as a professor at
prominent institutions, including Harvard, University of California, Berkeley
, and Yale. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002,
ranked Erikson as the 12th most eminent psychologist of the 20th century.
 PSYCHOSOCIAL LEARNING
THEORY
 It focuses on the nature of self-understanding, social relationships, and the
mental processes that support connections between the person and his/her
social world.
 This theories address patterned changes in ego development, including self-
understanding, identity formation, social relationships, and worldview across
the life span.
 According to the psychosocial theories, development is a product of the
ongoing interactions between individuals and their social environments.
Societies, with their structures, laws, roles, rituals, and sanctions, are
organized to guide individual growth toward a particular ideal of mature
adulthood.
 Psychosocial theories explore the psychosocial crisis of
adolescence, personal identity vs identity confusion. This concept
highlights the need for individuals to find self-definition as well as a
sense of meaning and purpose that will guide decisions as they
transition into adulthood.
Erik Erikson and the 8 stages of
Development
 Personality develops in a series of predetermined stages.
 In each stage of development conflicts acts as turning points in life.
 Each part of the personality has a particular time in the life span when it
must develop, if it is going to develop at all. If it failed to developed on
schedule , the rest of the development is unfavorably altered. The
individual is then hindered from dealing effectively with reality.