Erik erikson biography childhood
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Erik Homburger Erikson (June 15, 1902 – May 12, 1994) was a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory of human psychosocial development, and for coining the phrase "identity crisis." Although lacking academic credentials, he was an excellent writer and insightful researcher, winning prizes for his writings and becoming a distinguished professor at Harvard University. Erikson's own life experiences, growing up as an outsider, led him to study cultural influences on personality development.
Erikson's theory proposes that psychological development is a combination of pre-programmed biological changes in the body in the context of the social environment, and the person's responses to social situations—especially at points of developmental crisis. By resolving each crisis successfully, people can develop a stable, integrated personality. He applied this mechanism to the development of virtues such as courage, loyalty, care, and wisdom. By g
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Erik Erikson was born Erik Homburger in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 15, 1902. He was born into a somewhat disturbed family background; his biological father left the family before Erik's birth. His mother later remarried Dr. Theodor Homburger, whom Erik thought was his birth father until he was about 15.
Such early experiences of identity confusion, along with growing up in a Jewish home but looking like a Nordic, made Erikson a stranger to himself, which determined his lifelong interest in the concept of identity and its development.
While Erikson was interested in arts, he pursued psychology after relocating to Vienna in his young adulthood. He went there and joined Anna Freud, Sigmund Freud's daughter, and trained in psychoanalysis. This education formed the basis of his subsequent practice, in which he integrated psychoanalytic techniques with a more global view of the sources of developmental disturbance.
He faced the issues of displacement and identity crisis, and his perso
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Erik Erikson
American psychoanalyst and essayist (1902-1994)
For other people with similar names, see Eric Erickson (disambiguation).
Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a Danish-German-Jewish child psychoanalyst and visual artist known for his theory on psychosocial development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity crisis.
Despite lacking a university degree, Erikson served as a professor at prominent institutions, including Harvard, University of California, Berkeley,[9] and Yale. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Erikson as the 12th most eminent psychologist of the 20th century.
Early life
[edit]Erikson's mother, Karla Abrahamsen, came from a prominent Jewish family in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was married to Jewish stockbroker Valdemar Isidor Salomonsen but had been estranged from him for several months at the time Erik was conceived. Little is known about Erik's biologica