Freud vs Erickson

603 Words3 Pages
Erikson had eight stages unlike Freud’s five, but Erikson’s first five stages have some similarities to Freud’s. First stage takes place from birth to one year. Second stage is one year to the age of three. Third stage is age three to about age five or six. The fourth stage is from age six to puberty in adolescence. From there, the stages go from adolescent on, but adolescent is the last of Freud’s stages as Erikson’s going on for three more stages. The two theorists both agree that bad experiences in childhood can cause bad effects as an adult and beyond. An example of Freud’s theory is if a child is punished too strictly during toilet training, the child could grow up being compulsive obsessive and could take on the anal personality. The same concept is shown in Erikson’s second stage which occurs the same age as Freud’s anal stage. Erikson believed during this age, children realize that they have a will, and begin to understand they are to blame for their actions. Erikson also agreed that if parents are too strict with children or punished wrongly, the results could be unhealthy feelings, shame and doubt. The last similarity between Freud and Erikson is; Freud’s Genital stage, and Erikson’s Intimacy vs. Isolation stage. An example of Freud’s Genital stage was a young adult would search for sexual pleasure, and they will be able to involve themselves in adult, loving relationships. Erikson’s stage agreed that this is the time when people will develop intimate relationships with others. Freud and Erikson also differed on their psycho-sexual and psychosocial theories. Freud’s theory focuses more on sex and pleasure, consisting of the five different pleasure stages of life. Erikson’s theory differed from Freud’s by focusing more on social interactions. Social interactions could have an effect on development, consisting of eight stages of development a person
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