Page 3 - theo

This research theory looks at the life and works of a psychoanalyst best known for the theory that each stage of
life, from infancy on, is associated with a specific psychological struggle that contributes to a major aspect of
personality.

Date and country of Birth:

 Erik Homberger Erikson was born on June 15, 1902 near Frankfort, Germany to Danish parents. (Sharkey,
1997).

Childhood:

 Erikson’s biological father, who was Danish, had left before Erikson was born. He was adopted by his
Jewish stepfather, and took the name Erik Homberger. While studying at the Das Humanistische
Gymnasium, he was primarily interested in subjects such as history, Latin, and art.

His stepfather, a doctor, wanted him to go to medical school, but Erikson instead did a brief stint in art
school. He soon dropped out and spent time wandering Europe with friends and contemplating his
identity (Cherry, 2017).

Career path and general contributions:

 Erik Erikson was a prominent psychologist who made numerous contributions to the field of psychology. It
is interesting to note that Erikson never received a formal degree in medicine or psychology.

Erikson is perhaps best known for developing the concept of an “Identity Crisis”. As a young adult in
Europe, Erikson was both an artist and a teacher in the late 1920’s when he met Anna Freud and began to
study child psychoanalyses from her and at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. Anna soon noticed
Erikson rapport with children and encouraged him to formally study psychoanalysis. Erikson ultimately
received two certificates from the Montessori teachers association and from the Vienna Psychoanalytic
Institute.

With the rise of Nazism in the 1930s, Erikson immigrated to the United States in 1933. He obtained a
position at the Harvard Medical School, and later on, held teaching positions at institutions including Yale,
Berkeley, the Menninger Foundation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Palo
Alto, and the Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco. He also had a private practice in child psychoanalysis.

He published a number of books on his theories and research, including Childhood and Society and The
Life Cycle Completed. His book Gandhi's Truth was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and a national Book Award
(Cherry, 2017).

2|Page