Similarities & Differences Between Freud & Erikson | Synonym (2024)

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is renowned for his psychoanalytic theory that spawned a legion of practitioners. One thinker who both underwent and practiced psychoanalysis is Erik Erikson (1902-1994). While Freud believed that development was driven by biological impulses such as the need for food and sex, Erikson emphasized the role of environmental factors and culture. Both theorists separate development into stages and use similar age divisions.

Explore this article

  • Freudian Stages
  • Erikson’s Eight Stages of Personality Development
  • Similarities Between Freud and Erikson
  • Differences Between Freud and Erikson

1 Freudian Stages

Freud emphasized the first six years of life as being most crucial for personality development. He lists three stages: the oral stage (first year of life), the anal stage (1-3 years) and the phallic stage (3-6 years). The stages revolve around pleasure centers -- the mouth, anal release and genitals. A conflict occurs during the phallic stage when the child desires to kill the same-sex parent to gain access to the opposite-sex parent. This conflict is called Oedipus or Electra complex. Latency Stage occurs from age 6 to puberty. During the latency stage, a child represses his/her sex drive and focuses on social skills. The final stage is the genital stage, when the person experiences sexual awareness and develops his/her identity.

2 Erikson’s Eight Stages of Personality Development

Erikson’s stages cover a person’s lifespan. These stages are based on the analysis of major psychosocial challenges. The first three stages cover infancy and early childhood. The conflicts covered during these three stages are establishing trust, independence and purpose. Stages 4 and 5 cover school age and adolescence -- periods during which an individual must gain competency and sense of self. The remaining stages cover early adulthood, middle adulthood and old age. During the final stages, a person must learn to love, care for others and develop a sense of integrity.

3 Similarities Between Freud and Erikson

Both Freud and Erikson recognize the importance of the unconscious mind on personality development. Both theorists center development around a form of conflict. When the conflict is not resolved appropriately, emotional distress occurs, which can lead to mental illness. Childhood is crucial to personality formation, and both theories say that childhood trauma can distort the development of personality.

4 Differences Between Freud and Erikson

The nature of conflict differs between Freud and Erikson. Freud's conflict centers around sex. Erikson's theory takes a the psychosocial approach, which means that people are shaped by society and desire to be part of a group. In Erikson's theory, conflict is resolved when a person learns to love and care for others. In Freud's theory, conflict is resolved when a person receives adequate gratification during the early stages of development.

About the Author

Agnes Osinski is a special educator and writing instructor. She has experience teaching middle school, ESL and introductory college courses. Osinski holds a Master of Arts in English literature from Bristol University and completed education coursework at the College of Notre Dame.

Similarities & Differences Between Freud & Erikson | Synonym (2024)

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Similarities & Differences Between Freud & Erikson | Synonym? ›

Freud's psychosexual

psychosexual
Psychosexual Stages of Development. Freud's psychosexual theory states five stages of human development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. These psychosexual stages capture the main growth points of a person from infancy to adulthood and focus on different facets of wants, needs, and desires.
https://study.com › freuds-stages-of-psychosexual-development
theory emphasizes the importance of basic needs and biological forces, while Erikson
Erikson
Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a Danish German-American child psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity crisis.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Erik_Erikson
's psychosocial theory is more focused upon social and environmental factors
. Erikson also expands his theory into adulthood, while Freud's theory ends at an earlier period.

What are the similarities and differences between Erikson and Freud? ›

Both stressed the importance of social experiences and recognized the role that childhood plays in shaping adult personality. Unlike Freud's psychosexual approach, Erikson's psychosocial stage theory took a more expansive view of development, encompassing childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

What is the difference between Freud and Erikson theory quizlet? ›

In what way do the theories of Freud and Erikson differ? Erikson emphasized family and culture, and Freud emphasized sexual urges. personalities are developed in the early years.

What is the difference between psychoanalytic and psychosexual theories? ›

Psychoanalytic theories focus on the role of unconscious desires and conflicts in shaping personality, while psychosexual theories focus specifically on the role of sexual pleasure and reproduction in personality development.

What are the similarities between Piaget and Freud? ›

Similarities between Freud and Piaget

Both Freud and Piaget shared an interest in development. Both believe that understanding childhood is a key to understanding adulthood. Both recognized the similarities between children and adults.

What is the difference between Erikson's theory and Freud's theory? ›

While Freud believed that personality is shaped only in childhood, Erikson proposed that personality development takes place all through the lifespan.

Which is the best comparison of Freud's and Erikson's views of personality development in the first 2 years? ›

Which is the best comparison of Freud's and Erikson's views of personality development in the first 2 years? Freud's theory emphasizes psychosexual development, while Erikson's theory emphasizes psychosoical development.

What are the similarities between Freud and Erikson? ›

Both Freud and Erikson emphasise the importance of unconscious mind on personality development. Additionally, these two theories both separate development into stages of a person's life and use similar age divisions for these developmental stages.

How are the theories of Erikson and Freud alike? ›

Freud's and Erikson's theories of development share a number of important similarities. Both stressed the importance of social experiences and recognized the role that childhood plays in shaping adult personality.

How did Erikson build on Freud's theory quizlet? ›

How did Erikson build on Freud's theory? Erikson modified and extended freudian theory by emphasizing the influence of society on the developing personality. - Erikson also was a pioneer taking the lifespan perspective.

What is the main difference between Jung's analytical theory and Freud's psychosexual theory? ›

But unlike Freud, Jung did not believe that that the content of all dreams was necessarily sexual in nature or that they disguised their true meaning. Instead Jung's depiction of dreams concentrated more on symbolic imagery. he believed dreams could have many different meanings according to the dreamer's associations .

What is the psychoanalytic theory of Erik Erikson? ›

Erikson believed that humans' personalities continued to develop past the age of five, and he believed that the development of personality depended directly on the resolution of existential crises like trust, autonomy, intimacy, individuality, integrity, and identity (which were viewed in traditional psychoanalytic ...

What are the main ideas of Freud's theory? ›

In simple terms, Freud's theory suggests that human behavior is influenced by unconscious memories, thoughts, and urges. This theory also proposes that the psyche comprises three aspects: the id, ego, and superego. The id is entirely unconscious, while the ego operates in the conscious mind.

What are the similarities and differences between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory? ›

In conclusion, while both Freud and Jung played pivotal roles in shaping the field of psychoanalysis, their approaches possess distinct differences. Freud's emphasis on the unconscious, sexuality, and aggression contrasts with Jung's focus on the collective unconscious, spirituality, and the quest for personal meaning.

What are two similarities between the theories of Erikson and Piaget? ›

Evidently, both Piaget and Erikson recognized that children develop through stages and milestones. The process is sequential according to both their theories. Also, there are challenges that each stage has waiting for children.

What are the similarities between Erikson and Piaget's theories of development? ›

Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson were two psychologists who each put forward theories of development. While they were vastly different theories, they did share some similarities. First, both psychologists were stage theorists, who believed that development occurs in distinct stages rather than a gradual continuous process.

How are Erikson and Piaget similar? ›

Erik Erikson, like Freud and Piaget, was a constructivist who believed that children developed in stages, with the skills learned at each level serving as building blocks for the next.

What is the difference between Maslow and Erikson? ›

Both Maslow and Erikson outline components of human development. Maslow described a hierarchy of human needs which drive motivation to self-actualization, while Erikson described development through a series of stages characterized by psychosocial conflict.

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