Freud V Erickson/child psychology

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Professor

Subject /Course

8 May 2008

Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson

Differing Theories , Differing Effects on Social Development

Psychology is a complicated field . After all , discussing the human psyche and the development of personality and character cannot be simple at all . With each human , a different set of variables can be found thereby making the study a lot more difficult that controlled experiments in a laboratory . It is perhaps for this reason that the foremost leaders in the field of psychology remain enigmatically at

odds , with their varying theories and concepts regarding the causes and processes behind the human mind . Each thinker has his own set of ideas concepts , theories and beliefs that may or may not be at odds with the current paradigm . This has resulted in several contradictions and an extremely wordy literature however , these clashing theories have , to the some degree , all contributed to the development of the study of psychology

Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson are two very good examples . The first focused on the significance of the unconscious and the sexual dimension of development , while the latter is best known for his stages of psychosocial development . Though Erikson has repeatedly insisted that his studies are inspired by Freudian thought , there are notable differences between their theories and concepts with regards to social development . It is thus significant to view these two proponents of modern psychology as separate in their concepts and theories Certainly , particular areas of their studies and findings shall converge however , this study shall particularly look into their differences to highlight the differing effects of their theories on actual social development

This posits that there are similarities and differences in the theories of Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson with regards to social development that make their effects and impact on the actual process of development different . To prove so , this study shall conduct a comparison and contrast of the teachings of Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson . This shall begin with a brief comparison of the backgrounds and characters of Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson . Second , a comparison of the Psychosexual Theory and the Stages of Psychosocial Development will proceed . Lastly , the shall study the contributions of both Freud and Erikson on the process of social development , in light of their theoretical contributions

Background

Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 to a Jewish family in what is now part of the Czech Republic . The family suffered poverty due to the economic crisis , yet did its best to send young Sigmund to a proper educational institution because of the unique intelligence he displayed as a child The Freuds eventually left their hometown to live in Germany later moving to Austria where Sigmund 's career began . Though initially interested to study Law , Sigmund Freud eventually enrolled in the Medicine department of the University of Vienna . Due to difficulties with his first course of choice , Biology , Freud decided to switch to psychology , thus bringing him closer to his profession later...