ABSTRACT
The theorist who has provided one of the most widely used approaches to answering these questions and who made a major contribution to the conceptualization of a developmental approach to ego mastery is Erik Erikson. In contrast to Sigmund Freud, Erikson is noted for his attention to social phenomena. Development across the life cycle is the focus of Eriksonian psychosocial theory, a theoretical approach that involves analysis of social and environmental factors that produce changes in thought and behavior. From an Eriksonian epigenetic perspective, personality develops through a predetermined readiness “to interact with a widening social radius, beginning with the dim image of a mother and ending with mankind”. Erikson’s most important and best known contribution to personality theory is his model of several stages of ego development. Erikson broke with psychoanalytic thinking by suggesting that the central task of this time is to achieve a sense of industry.
