In adults the impairment of basic trust is expressed in a basic mistrust. It characterizes individuals who withdraw into themselves In particular ways when at odds with themselves and others. These ways, which often are not obvious, are more strikingly represented by individuals who regress into psychotic states in which they sometimes close up, refuse food and comfort and become oblivious to companionship. In so far as we hope to assist them with psychotherapy, we must try to reach them again in specific ways in order to convince them that they can trust the world and trust themselves. ( Fromm-Reichmann, 1950)
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg.249-250)1993.
The first thing the infant learns is to take in, not only with the mouth during feeding and sucking but also through the sees and other senses( See Erikson, 1963, pp.72-80, 247-251; 1968, pp.96-107). Erikson also agrees that orality provide libidinal pleasure, and that passive incorporation (“getting”) subsequently yields to a second, more aggressive mode (biting or “taking”) when the teeth emerge….Erikson prefers to stress the psychosocial aspects of the oral-sensory stage- notably maternal nursing and cuddling, which represents the infant’s first significant interactions with another person.
If the mother consistently responds to her baby’s hunger with appropriate and affectionate feeding, the infant learns that there is some correspondence between its needs and the external world. This rudimentary sense of trust establishes the groundwork for mutuality and the capacity for giving to others, and is denoted by the infant’s first social achievement: “ a willingness to let the mother out of sight without undue anxiety or rage, because she has become an inner certainty as well as a predictability” (Erikson, 1963, pg.247). But if the painful state of hunger is often ignored, or if the mother is anxious and ineffective, the infant develops a profound sense of impending discomfort and danger (basic mistrust) and seeks to control others through duress or fantasy.
“The amount of trust derived from earliest infantile experience….[depends] on the quality of the maternal relationship. Mothers create a sense of trust in their children by……sensitive care of the baby’s individual needs and a firm sense of personal trustworthiness.” (Erikson, 1963, pg.249. See also Erikson, 1959, pg.63)
Since not even the best of parents behave ideally on all occasions, every personality includes some degree of both trust and mistrust. This is by no means disadvantageous, for total optimism would be as maladaptive as total total pessimism. But if the psychosocial ratio between these two variables is weighted in favor of mistrust, the ego has been damaged and will be less likely to cope with the problems of the following stages. Conversely, to the extent that trust predominates, the infant learns to regard the world with an “enduring belief in the attainability of fervent wishes” (hope). The emergence of this positive and adaptive ego quality signifies that personality development has proceeded successfully past the crisis of the oral-sensory stage (Erikson, 1964, p.118)
The Muscular-Anal Stage: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg.250)1993.
Just when the child begins to trust the enduring mother and external world, its developing musculature makes possible some control over the environment. During the muscular-anal stage, therefore, the child must risk breaching the trustful relationship with the mother in order to progress beyond the incorporative mode and exert its autonomy. “ The strength acquired at any stage is tested by the necessity to…take chances in the next stage with what was most vulnerably precious in the previous one”( Erikson, 1963, p.263; see also Erikson, 1963, pp.80-85, 178, 251-254; 1968, pp. 107-114).
Children in our culture soon learn that cleanliness and toilet training are serious matters, and that they can now choose between the conflicting modes of retaining or eliminating bodily wastes. While Erikson readily accepts such basic psychoanalytic constructs as anal- retentive, anal-expulsive, and the anal personality (orderly, miserly, stubborn), he continues to emphasize the role of psychosocial influences on personality development. If parental control during this stage is firmly reassuring, the child develops a positive attitude about its displays of autonomy. But overly permissive parents may allow misguided attempts at independence that end in unnecessary and shattering failures. Or overprotective parents may impose rigid restrictions and methods of toilet training, and respond to incontinence or stubborn retention with pronounced anxiety and disgust. The child’s expressions of autonomy will then become associated with feelings of shame and doubt.
“This whole stage, then….becomes a battle for autonomy…. The infant must come to feel that his basic trust in himself and in the world(which is the lasting treasure saved from the conflicts of the oral stage) will not be jeopardized by this sudden violent wish to have a choice.” (Erikson, 1963, pp.82,85. See also Erikson, 1959, p.68; 1968, pp. 84,254)
As with basic mistrust, both autonomy and shame are inevitable aspects of every personality. Successful development is denoted by a psychosocial ratio that favors the former characteristic, and results in an “unbroken determination to exercise free choice as well as self restraint.” This rudimentary ego quality of will power also depends on the successful resolution of the preceding oral-sensory stage. “Will cannot be trained until hope is secure…. [and] no person can live, no ego remain intact without hope and will” Erikson, 1964, pp. 115, 118, 119).
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg250-251)1993.
The third epigenetic psychosexual stage is highlighted by development of such locomotor abilities as running and walking, which further the ego’s sense of mastery and make possible the intrusive mode (See Erikson, 1963, pp. 85-92, 255-258; 1968, pp.115-122.) During this stage, the child becomes aware of the difference between the sexes and begins to explore vague, rudimentary urges associated with the clitoris or penis. As in Freudian theory these desires are first associated with the nurturing mother; but they ultimately give way to “the boy’s assurance that he will marry his mother and make her proud of him, and… the girl’s that she will marry her father and take much better care of him.” (Erikson, 1958, p.73; 1963, pp.87, 256, 410). Thus the parent of the same sex, to whom the child feels vastly inferior in genital capacity, is cast in the role of rival. However, the child soon realizes that its small stature effectively precludes any Oedipal satisfactions. Instead, he or she resorts to fantasies of sex and aggression. These illicit wishes arouse a deep sense of guilt, and a fear of punishment in the form of harm to the genitals.
Ideally, the child now learns to divert the threatening sexual drive into such acceptable goals as play. “ Play is to the child, what thinking, planning and blueprinting are to the adult, a trial universe…[wherein] past failures can be thought through [and] expectations tested.” If the child is able to abandon its Oedipal wishes and substitute play with toys, the relief from the guilt and parental approval for new accomplishments contribute to a sense of initiative. A predominance of initiative over guilt results in the adaptive ego quality of purpose, or “the courage to envisage and pursue valued goals uninhibited by….the foiling fear of punishment” (Erikson, 1964,pp.120,122; see also Erikson, 1963, p.255)
During the locomotor-genital stage, therefore, the child becomes divided between infantile desires to enjoy instinctual gratifications and a more mature self-guidance enforced by the superego. The emergence of a sense of purpose indicates that initiative has exceeded guilt, and that the crisis of this stage has been passed.
The Latency Stage: Industry vs. Inferiority
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg.251-252)1993.
As in Freudian theory, the fourth Erikson stage is a time of submerged sexuality and “lull before the storm of puberty” (Erikson, 1963 p.260; See also Erikson, 1963, pp.258-261; 1968, pp. 122-128). The latency stage is characterized by an intense curiosity and wish to learn, with the child now sublimating its intrusive tendencies and seeking to win recognition by producing things. Thus the child begins to learn the ethos of work; and all cultures assist this effort by providing some sort of systematic instruction, notably school.
The child’s successes during this stage contribute to a positive sense of industry, while failures result in feelings of inferiority. Successful personality development is denoted by a psychosocial ratio that favors the former characteristic and is reflected in the ego quality of competence, or “ the free exercise of dexterity and intelligence in the completion of tasks, unimpaired by infantile inferiority” (Erikson, 1964, p.124)
Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg.252-253)1993.
With the development of competence and the advent of puberty, childhood comes to an end. The fifth stage consists of adolescence a period which Erikson regards as one of considerable importance. The adolescent must contend with the physiological revolution of genital maturity and the reemergence of latent sexual impulses, an inner turmoil that can only be resolved by gaining recognition and support from significant others:
Like a trapeze artist, the young person in the middle of vigorous motion must let go of his safe hold of childhood and reach out for a firm grasp on adulthood, depending for a breathless interval on a relatedness between the past and future, and on the reliability of those he must let go of, and those who will “receive” him. Whatever combination of drives and defenses, of sublimation and capacities has emerged from the young individual’s childhood must now make sense in view of his concrete opportunities in work and love… [and] he must detect some meaningful resemblance between what he has come to see in himself and what his sharpened awareness tell him others judge and expect him to be. (Erikson, 1964, p. 90: 1958 p.14. See also Erikson, 1958, p. 43; 1959, p.161;1963, pp.161; 1963, pp. 261-263, 306-307; 1968 pp.128-135)
The crucial problem of this stage is the identity crisis, a fork in the developmental road that leads either to a pronounced sense of identity or to excessive inner fragmentation and role confusion (identity confusion). Adolescents are therefore particularly vulnerable to ideologies that offer the prospect of social acceptance and clearly defined roles, whether they be sinister doctrines that viciously deny equality to outsiders (such as the Nazi movements in Hitler’s Germany), relatively benevolent movements (as with the Peace Corps in our own society), or clannish social in-groups. Even juvenile delinquents need a sense of identity; and they achieve it by conforming to group demands as rigid as those of the majority, a developmental failure for which Erikson blames society. Thus the potential dangers of adolescence include not only role confusion, but also the adoption of an ideologically supported negative identity.
A positive sense of identity depends partly on establishing an appropriate sexual role, and partly on achieving a satisfying occupation. If the identity crisis proves to be so troublesome that neither a primary positive or negative identity can be achieved, the individual may reject the demands of adulthood and extend the adolescent stage well past the appropriate age. (This is particularly likely to happen if preceding developmental crises have not been successfully resolved.) Examples include “perennial students,” dropouts who fail to complete their studies and adopt a vocation, and even Erikson himself up until the time he joined the Freuds in Vienna at age twenty-five. Conversely, the successful resolution of the adolescent identity crisis is reflected by a predominance of identity over role confusion and the emergence of the ego quality of fidelity, or “ the ability to sustain loyalties freely pledged in spite of the inevitable contradictions of value systems” (Erikson, 1964, p.125)
Young Adulthood: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg.54) 1993.
The sixth epigenetic psychosexual represents the beginning of adulthood, and entails such responsibilities as work and marriage. (See Erikson, 1963, pp.263-266; 1968, pp.135-138.) During this period, the newly acquired sense of identity must be risked in order to make the compromises that permit close relationships with others. If a young adult suffers from the need to preserve a tenuous and fragile identity, profound isolation and self-absorption will appear preferable to meaningful contact with others. Conversely, a firm identity can be fused with that of another person without the fear of losing an essential aspect of oneself. Such intimacy is essential for the establishment of deep friendships and a meaningful marriage, and involves a sincere concern for the welfare of others.
Successful passage through the crisis of young adulthood is reflected by a preponderance of intimacy over isolation and the development of the ego quality of love, which is characterized by relationships that mutually enhance each individual’s potentials for growth and development. “ Love, then, is mutuality of devotion forever subduing the antagonisms inherent in divided function” (Erikson, 1964, p.129; see also Erikson 1968, p.219)
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg.254) 1993
The stage of adulthood is ideally a time of generativity, which refers primarily to procreation and guiding the next generation. It also includes productivity and creativity. ( See Erikson 1963, pp.266-268: 1968, pp. 138-139) The corresponding danger is stagnation, an extreme state of self-indulgence similar to behaving as if one were one’s own special child.
Merely having children is by no means sufficient evidence that the crisis of adulthood has been resolved. The true predominance of generativity over stagnation is reflected by the ego quality of care, or “widening concern for what has been generated by love, necessity, or accident, [which] overcomes the ambivalence adhering to irreversible obligation” (Erikson, 1964, p.131.)
Robert Ewen, Theories of Personality (pg.254-255) 1993
Only one who has successfully resolved the preceding seven development crises can achieve ego integrity, a feeling of affirmation concerning the life one has lived. (See Erikson, 1963, pp. 268-269; 1968, pp. 130-141.) The converse of ego integrity is despair, or fear that death will intervene before one can find alternative routes to a more meaningful life. Ideally, ego integrity prevails over despair; and this favorable psychosocial ratio results in the ego quality of wisdom, or “detached with life itself, in the face of death itself.” Wisdom also exerts a positive influence on subsequent generations, for “healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.” (Erikson, 1963, p. 269; 1964, p.133)