- Born June 15, 1902
- Died May 12, 1994
- Cause of Death: Not listed
Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Theory of Development show how one's personality changes at each stage during different developmental milestones in a person's life. At each stage, everyone is faced with conflict in which they must successfully overcome in order to proceed to the next stage and find a sense of self. His theory is different from Sigmund Freud's theory of development because Erikson's theory is based on a social model and not a sexual one.
As we go through life, what happens if we do not learn to trust, become autonomous, find who we are and be creative and have integrity? We will ultimately lose sight of who we are and become withdrawn and have mostly regrets about how we lived our lives. Poor relationship with others because of mistrust earlier in life will cause a lack of social life.
With our society changing speedily, role confusion for the American teenager is not uncommon. A result of this is bullying, which has gone rampant in schools since anyone that is minutely different deviates from what is conventionally accepted. According to Cushman's "Contructing the self, Constructing America," "it is also difficult to watch television for any length of time without seeing commercials that appeal to the unquestioned assumption that the viewer needs to, must be improved." With a partially developed mind, those in the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage at ages 13-21 may feel compelled to adhere to what is normal. This may stunt the development of the self by restricting the potential of the growth of identity. This will place a restriction on the choices they make, such as the choosing of a sexual orientation, the clothes they wear and the gender they choose to remain. The restriction of choice has psychologically damaging outcomes since it stifles the growth of the self.
It is extraordinarily important to allow freedom of choice during every stage of Erikson's Psychosocial development. Take for example, sited from the book which mentions Erich Fromm's 3 major personality disorders "Necrophilia: Forensic and Medico Legal Aspects " A 16 year old boy's mother restricted his choice when she forced him to engage in incestous acts with him because of her husband's sexual problems which prevented him from engaging in sex with her. From the boy was 7- years-old, the mother would masturbate him most of the time, perform oral sex on him, and she and the boy had sex twice a week and he performed oral sex upon her demand. He felt helpless because his mother dominated him. It is said in this book that the sexual abused and lack of power to exercise choice turned the boy into a necrophile. Two days before his 16th birthday, his mother was yelling at him and he became enraged and he pulled her out of the bathroom and shoved her upstairs. His mother instructed him to let go of her, but he continued to the bedroom and choked her to death and had anal and vaginal necrophilia.
After an interview with the boy, he said that when he was having sex with her dead body, he felt that he was in a position of power after being dominated by her for so long.
The boy's statement is as followed:
I felt like I was out of control. My body was responding to the anger, all the anger that was bursting out from me. I shoved her into the bedroom; I put my hands around her neck and I got really excited. I choked her; I didn't say a word. After she was dead, I tore off her clothes. I was still angry. I had sex with her after she was dead. At the time I thought maybe she was just unconscious. I had an erection... it went through my mind that she was dead, since she was not moving. I felt in control of her now. She was in control of me all the time. I was like a toy. I felt i was getting her back by doing this. I did it to her."
Here it is seen how the boy's lack of choice psychologically damaged him. It stunted his growth by affecting stage 4 of Erikson's stages: Industry vs. Inferiority. At the stage when the boy should have been learning to do things on his own, the mother forced him into situations he did not want. Children at the ages of 5-13 should develop industry by believing they are good enough as a result of performing tasks and mastering new skills both inside and out of the school setting. There is a strong probability that the boy did poorly in school because of his mother's abuse. He also did not tell his father because he was afraid the family would split. Instead of successfully fulfilling stage 4, he developed inferiority and only developed industry when he was in complete control, sodomizing and having sexual intercourse with the dead body. Because of his failure in stage 4, stage 5, Identity vs. Role confusion, will be affected since he will probably always be a misfit who has developed an insatiable want for power and control. Stage 6 will also be affected: Intimacy vs. Isolation. How can the boy develop a loving relationship with his intense drive for control. Necrophiliacs want total control, the kind of control they can achieve only with the dead.
Throughout our lives, the self is always changing, but society and the people closest to us will affect how we change and grow. A negative disruption in any of Erikson's stages will affect us for the rest of our lives.
Consider Cushman's previously mentioned chapter, in which describes the history of African Americans. Collectively, the sense of inferiority of the changing self of this group caused conflict, and today role confusion is witnessed in some. Considered the "other," there is an effort to blend and conform, with skin bleaching and an abandonment of culture. According to stage 5, individuals may be confused with how they fit into society. Cushman's chapter claim there was a misconception that blacks loved the south, didn't wan to leave, and were considered subhumans severely lacking intelligence, and this was portrayed in the Minstrel shows by Europeans in blackface, with exaggerated features displaying large pink lips and a clownish appearance.
Portrayed in the Minstrel shows was the misuse of the english language by African Americans, using linguistic butchery, which resulted in malicious bouts of laughter. Under attack was also the clothes and "the compulsive but unsuccessful attempt to imitate the white man." The chapter states that the most prominent kind of imitation was the scrunity of how blacks did their hair, with painful straightening and bleaching to appear like whites.
These scrutinies are comparable to telling someone they are not good enough, and will never be good enough despite their attempts, leading to shame and doubt, guilt, inferiority, role confusion, isolation, stagnation and despair.
Cushman, P. (1996). Constructing the self, constructing America: A cultural history of psychotherapy. Da Capo Press. Chapter 4: Healing through Self Domination. (Excerpt pp. 102-116)
Aggrawal, A. (n.d.). Necrophilia: Forensic and medico-legal aspects.
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