Difference Between Freud vs Erikson

In this essay, I am going to compare and contrast two famous theorists Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud. I will be talking about each of these theorists and their famous theories of psychosocial and psychosexual, since they both are well known development theories. I will provide enough information about both and explain the differences of each, as well. First off, Freud had inspired Erickson who had theories that were in a number of ways different than Freud’s. Freud and Erickson have similarities and differences in the things that do or explore within their theories and the way they do things. Freud was the most well known person to be called The Father of Psychology. He is the one who had introduced his theory of psychoanalysis that gave psychology a new name for the future or the new era. Freud used psychoanalysis as the method to understand how our minds work, as well as the way they grow and develop throughout the stages of development. Psychoanalysis is the behavior, feelings or personality that we try to be understood in order to help with mental problems. Freud’s theory tries to explain the determination of the complex relationship within the body and mind that helps explain the unconscious and roles of emotions that need to be understood. So basically, Psychoanalysis is the part where it tries to explain the how, what, and why we behave towards ourselves and others. Erik Erikson, on the other hand, was famous for his theory of psychosocial development and to learn about the identity crisis back in that time. Erikson’s theories are one of the most used theories throughout the world, as of today. Erik Erikson had believed that his theory development had an impact on personality and that it grows in stages. That is why; Erikson came up with the Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development. His theory had described that lifespan was at an impact in an experience in socialism. Erikson was a man who learned from Freud and became a better person and made a living out of helping determine personality, behaviors and so much more. Freud’s Psychosexual Stage is of the human development that began in the early 19th century. He developed such a general theory for psychosexual development that starts from infancy and goes to adulthood. As for Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage of Development which impact the human development in humans. Erikson takes the importance of placing the social and cultural components of a human’s development experiences. Each of these theorists had various stages that went from just being born to adulthood. And I will compare and contrast each one, as well. The first stage is birth to 1 years old and between Freud and Erikson it seems to be about the same, but different. For instance, Freud’s stage is of Oral in which the child has a primary source of pleasure that comes through their mouth from tasting, eating and/or sucking. As for Erikson’s stage is the trust vs. mistrust stage that has the child to learn to gain the trust or mistrust of their parent’s or caregivers. The second stage is 1 to 3 years old and in the Freud stage it is the anal stage. In the anal stage for Freud, the children get a sense of power to control and learn how to potty train themselves to become masters at a sense of growing up. In Erikson’s stage it is Autonomy vs. Doubt. Autonomy vs. Doubt contributes to children controlling their activities like going to the bathroom, eating, talking, and so much more. The third stage is from ages 3 to 6 years old and in Freud’s stage it is the phallic stage that brings the focus of energy on the genitals where children start to identify their sex of the same parent. In Erikson’s stage it is Initiative vs. Guilt stage that the child takes on more control of their environment atmosphere. The fourth stage is from ages 7 to 11 years old and in Freud’s case it is the latent stage. In the latent stage the child is focused on activities that have to do with school, hobbies or friends, instead of something important. In Erikson’s stage it is the Industry vs. Inferiority where the child or children develop a new sense of mastering new skills on their own. The fifth stage is from the adolescence stage. In the adolescence stage for Freud it is the genital stage that the children become explorative within their bodies, as well as in relationships. In Erikson’s stage it is the identity vs. Role confusion stage. In this stage the child onfirms to find their sense and identify their personal self. Within the sixth stage it has to do with adulthood and Freud had believed that this stage was to balance out throughout all areas of our lives. Erikson’s stage was intimacy vs. isolation where young adults would find their companionship, as well as their soul mates. Erikson also in this stage had Generativity vs. Stagnation that was toward middle aged adults who had the ability to nurture other middle aged adults and help within our society by giving back. The integrity vs. espair by Erikson was the stage that reflected on older adults in their 50’s and up to look back on their life and get the sense of their years of growing up in fulfillment and bitterness of the good and bad. In conclusion, I have compared and contrasted on two well-known theorists Freud and Erikson and also went through each stage of their developments they have created within psychology. They have taught a lot of people the way our personality, mind and behaviors work, as we grow into adults from infants. I know that I have learned a lot from them, as well and will inspire others to know the same information that I know today.