Who Was Erik Erikson?

Erik Erikson's stage theory of psychosocial development helped create interest and research on human development through the lifespan. An ego psychologist who studied with Anna Freud, Erikson expanded psychoanalytic theory by exploring development throughout the life, including events of childhood, adulthood, and old age. Learn more in this guide to Erik Erikson's life and theories.

Erik Erikson Biography

Best-known for his famous theory of psychosocial development and the concept of the identity crisis, Erik Erikson’s theories continue to remain influential today and contributed to our understanding of personality development throughout the lifespan. Learn more about his life, career, and how early experiences led to his interest in identity in this Erik Erikson biography.

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality. Similar to Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. Unlike Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan.

Psychosocial Stages Summary Chart

This summary chart provides an outline of the stages in Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Each stage is centered on a conflict that must be resolved. Learn more about the important events in each stage and the potential outcomes of succeeding or failing to resolve these conflicts.

Erik Erikson and Identity Crisis

Are you unsure of your role in life? Do you feel like you don’t know the ‘real you’? If so, you may be experiencing an identity crisis. Theorist Erik Erikson coined the term “identity crisis” and believed that it was one of the most important conflicts people face in development. According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself. Learn more about identity crisis, Erik Erikson, and identity research.

Quiz – Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Now that you’ve learned more about Erik Erikson’s life and theories, it’s time to see how much you’ve learned. Test your knowledge of Erikson’s eight stages of development in this quiz.