POSTFREUDIAN ANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY E ERIKSON Assist Prof Merve

POSTFREUDIAN ANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY: E. ERIKSON Assist. Prof. Merve Topcu PSY 335 Department of Psychology, Çankaya University 2016 -2017, Fall

§ Obsessed w/ finding biological father § Influence of identity confusion on different life settings § Term ‘identity crisis’ § extended Freud's infantile developmental stages into adolescence, adulthood, and old age § at each stage a specific psychosocial struggle contributes to the formation of personality. § struggle takes the form of an identity crisis § -a turning point in one's life that may either strengthen or weaken personality

§ life-cycle approach to personality § elaborating on psychosexual stages beyond childhood, Erikson placed more emphasis on both social and historical influences § recognized that the influence of psychological, cultural, and historical factors on identity

§ Ego is a positive force that creates a self-identity, a sense of ‘I’ § Ego helps us adapt to the various conflicts and crises of life and keeps us from losing ow individuality to the leveling forces of society § During childhood, the ego is weak, pliable, and fragile; but by adolescence it should begin to take form and gain strength § The ego as a partially unconscious organizing agency that synthesizes ow present experiences with past self-identities and also with anticipated images of self § Ego as a person's ability to unify experiences and actions in an adaptive manner § Three interrelated aspects of ego: § the body ego: experiences with own body § the ego ideal: image we have of ourselves in comparison with an established ideal § ego identity: the image we have of ourselves in the variety of social roles we play Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

§ the ego exists as potential at birth § the ego is largely shaped by society § Pseudospecies § an illusion perpetrated and perpetuated by a particular society that it is somehow chosen to be the human species Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

§ Epigenetic principle § the ego develops throughout the various stages of life according to an epigenetic principle § a term borrowed from embryology § a step-by-step growth of fetal organs § a predetermined rate and in a fixed sequence § If organs do not develop during that critical period for their development, then they will never attain proper maturity § the ego follows the path of epigenetic development Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

§ Principles of development § growth takes place according to the epigenetic principle § in every stage of life there is an interaction of opposites § a conflict between a syntonic (harmonious) element and a dystonic (disruptive) element § at each stage, the conflict between the dystonic and syntonic elements produces an ego quality or ego strength, basic strength § too little basic strength at any one stage results in a core pathology for that stage § Accepts the biological aspect of human development § Ego identity is shaped by a multiplicity of conflicts and events-past, present, and anticipated § during each crisis, a person is especially susceptible to major modifications in identity, either positive or negative Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

§ Infancy § First year of life § a time of incorporation, with infants "taking in" not only through their mouth but through their various sense organs as well § As they take in food and sensory information, infants learn to either trust or mistrust the outside world § the psychosocial crisis of basic trust vs. basic mistrust § the basic strength of hope § Oral-sensory psychosexual mode § psychosexual mode of adapting § characterized by two modes of incorporation § receiving and accepting what is given § Either in the absence of other people or in a social context Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

§ Infancy § Basic trust vs basic mistrust § Infants' most significant interpersonal relations are with their primary caregiver § if their pattern of accepting things corresponds with culture's way of giving things, then infants learn basic trust § In contrast, they learn basic mistrust if they find no correspondence between their oral-sensory needs and their environment § some ratio of trust and mistrust is critical to people's ability to adapt § Hope § By having both painful and pleasurable experiences, infants learn to expect that future distresses will meet with satisfactory outcomes § not develop sufficient hope during infancy, demonstrate opposite of hope § Withdrawl (the core pathology of infancy) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

§ Early childhood § approximately the 2 nd and 3 rd years of life § Receive pleasure not only from mastering the sphincter muscle but also from mastering other body functions § develop a sense of control over their interpersonal environment & self § children's primary psychosexual adjustment is the anal-urethral-muscular mode § cleanliness & mobility § a time of impulsive self-expression and compulsive deviance § a time of loving cooperation and hateful resistance § Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt § Culture that attempts to inhibit some of their self-expression § Will as a basic strength § the beginning of free will § Will is developed only when their environment allows them some self-expression in their control and willpower § Inadequate will is expressed as compulsion

§ Play age § ages 3 to 5 years § identification with their parents § Development of locomotion, language skills, curiosity, imagination, and the ability to set goals § Genital-locomotor mode § ‘the Oedipal situation as a prototype "of the lifelong power of human playfulness « § Gives basic understanding of such basic concepts as reproduction, growth, future, and death § Pretend play § Play includes both initiation and imagination § evolving into activity with a purpose

§ Play age § Initiation vs guilt § Some goals must be delayed § consequence of these taboo and inhibited goals is guilt § Purpose as the basic strength

§ School age § about age 6 to approximately age 12 or 13 § social world of children is expanding beyond family to include peers, teachers, and other adult models § striving for competence § a period of psychosexual latency § allows children to divert their energies to learning the technology of their culture and the strategies of their social interactions § form a picture of themselves as competent or incompetent § These self images are the origin of ego identity--that feeling of "I" or "meness"

§ School age § Industry Versus Inferiority § a time of tremendous social growth § a willingness to remain busy with something and to finish a job § if their work is insufficient to accomplish their goals, they acquire a sense of inferiority § Competence as basic strength § the confidence to use one's physical and cognitive abilities to solve the problems that accompany school age § inertia, the antithesis of competence and the core pathology of the school age Copyright © Allyn & Bacon (2012)

§ Adoloscence § the period from puberty to young adulthood § by the end of this period, a person must gain a firm sense of ego identity § fidelity, the basic strength of adolescence § the crisis between identity & identity confusion § a period of social latency § a period of trial and error § Puberty & expectations of adult roles

§ Adoloscence § Identity Versus Identity Confusion § strive to find out who they are and who they are not § identity emerges from two sources: 1. adolescents‘ affirmation or repudiation of childhood identifications 2. their historical and social contexts, which encourage conformity to certain standards § Young people must experience some doubt and confusion about who they are before they can evolve a stable identity § Fidelity as a basic strength § faith in one's ideology § The pathological counterpart of fidelity is role repudiation § blocks one's ability to synthesize various self-images and values into a workable identity § Diffidence vs defiance

§ Young adulthood § age 19 to 30 § After achieving a sense of identity during adolescence § people must acquire the ability to fuse that identity with the identity of another person while maintaining their sense of individuality § by the acquisition of intimacy at the beginning of the stage and the development of generativity at the end § Genitality § Much of the sexual activity during adolescence is an expression of one's search for identity § is basically self-serving § can develop only during young adulthood when it is distinguished by mutual trust and a stable sharing of sexual satisfactions with a loved person

§ Young adulthood § Intimacy vs isolation § Intimacy is the ability to fuse one's identity with that of another person § § § without fear of losing it Mature intimacy means an ability and willingness to share a mutual trust involves sacrifice, compromise, and commitment within a relationship of two equals Isolation is "the incapacity to take chances with one's identity by sharing true intimacy « Love, the basic strength of young adulthood § Mature love means commitment, sexual passion, cooperation, competition, and friendship Exclusivity, the core pathology of young adulthood § a person must be able to exclude certain people, activities, and ideas in order to develop a strong sense of identity

§ Adulthood § age 31 to 60 § the psychosexual mode of procreativity § the psychosocial crisis of generativity versus stagnation § the basic strength is care § "a widening commitment to take care of the persons, the products, and the ideas one has learned to care for « § One must have hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, and love in order to take care of that which one cares for § Procreating offspring includes caring for one's children as well as other people's children § In addition, it encompasses working productively to transmit culture from one generation to the next § Generativity Versus Stagnation § "the generation of new beings as well as new products and new ideas « § Altruistic concern for others § The antithesis of generativity is self-absorption and stagnation § Rejectivity, the core pathology of adulthood

§ Old age § the period from about age 60 to the end of life § Old age can be a time of joy, playfullness, and wonder; but it is also a time of senility, depression, and despair § The psychosexual mode of old age is generalized sensuality § take pleasure in a variety of different physical sensations § include a greater appreciation for the traditional lifestyle of the opposite sex § the psychosocial crisis is integrity versus despair § Integrity means a feeling of wholeness and coherence, an ability to hold together one's sense of "I-ness" despite diminishing physical and intellectual powers § Under such pressure, people often feel a pervading sense of despair, which they may express as disgust, depression, contempt for others, or any other attitude that reveals a nonacceptance of the finite boundaries of life § the basic strength is wisdom § "informed and detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself « § the core pathology of old age is disdain § "a reaction to feeling (and seeing others) in an increasing state of being finished, confused, helpless. "

§ employed anthropological, historical, sociological, and clinical methods to learn about children, adolescents, mature adults, and elderly people 1. Anthropological studies § a field trip to the Pine Ridge Inhan Reservation in South Dakota to investigate the causes of apathy among Sioux children § A field trip to northern California to study people of the Yurok nation, who lived mostly on salmon fishing § early childhood training was consistent with this strong cultural value and that history and society helped shape personality § Psychohistory § "the study of individual and collective life with the combined methods of psychoanalysis and history « § each person is a product of his or her historical time and that those historical times are influenced by exceptional leaders experiencing a personal identity conflict