Step 1: Using the information from your textbook, PowerPoint presentations, and the Internet; write a one to two-page paper on the following topic:
-Compare and contrast two of the major developmental theories founded by Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson.
-Include each stage of development
-Discuss the major characteristics associated with each stage of development
-Explain which theory your feel is more favorable
Sample Solution
Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson are both renowned psychologists who developed major theories of psychological development. While there are similarities between the two theories, they also have significant differences.
Freud's psychoanalytic theory focuses on a person’s unconscious mind, while Erikson's psychosocial theory centers around a person’s sense of identity within their social context. Freud proposed that human personality is shaped by five distinct stages—oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital—with each stage emphasizing different aspects of libido or sexual energy. In contrast to this, Erikson proposed eight distinct stages—trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs guilt; industry vs inferiority; identity vs role confusion; intimacy vs isolation; generativity vs stagnation; integrity vs despair—that focus more on how one interacts with the world around them in order to develop a sense of identity as opposed to focusing solely on libido/sexual energy as Freud did.