Freud Vs Erikson Research Paper

There have been many theories on the subject of human personality development over the past century, and two of these theories have been conveyed by some of the world’s most eminent psychologists, Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. Freud believed that an individual’s personality was developed in 5 stages, all of which occurred in adolescence, and they revolve around the sexual pleasures of an individual. Erikson believed that an individual’s personality was developed through 8 stages which take place throughout a lifetime, and revolve around the social aspects of an individual’s life. These two theories both follow same guidelines in terms of using stages, but each one has its own perspective on the timeline in which a personality is developed, and the aspect of life that influences the development of an individual’s personality.
Freud’s psychosexual theory had a set of five stages, each focusing on different forms of pleasure a child seeks. Each of Freud’s stages shows a positive and negative outcome and the affect each outcome could have when the child becomes an adult. These childhood stages are crucial to the formation of personality, and Freud believed that distress is what causes distort in personality. Erikson’s theory was very reliant on Freud’s in the sense that it also follows a set of similar stages. Erikson’s stages are almost the same as Freud’s, except that Erikson has three additional stages which occur in adulthood. Erikson’s psychosocial theory shows how people are shaped by society and his stages each focus on a different aspect of social endeavors. Like Freud’s stages, Erikson’s stages each have a positive and negative outcome, and each outcome is what forms one’s personality. But the additional three stages Erikson had in his theory reveal more about is his perspective then just the positive and negative