Erik Erikson

Lore & Background

Erikson was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Karla Abrahamsen, who had fled Denmark after conceiving him out of wedlock. His biological father was a non-Jewish Dane whose identity was never made clear. He was raised Jewish but was teased by both Jewish and gentile children for his mixed appearance. He struggled with identity confusion throughout his adolescence, later writing that it was 'on the borderline between neurosis and adolescent psychosis.'

After graduating without distinction, he attended art school in Munich and then wandered Germany and Italy as a wandering artist. He eventually became an art teacher and was hired to tutor children in families connected to Anna and Sigmund Freud. At age 25, he moved to Vienna to teach at a small school and was encouraged by Anna Freud to study psychoanalysis at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. He became the first child psychoanalyst in Boston and held positions at Harvard, Yale, and the University of California, Berkeley. He studied the Sioux and Yurok tribes, discovering differences in child development. He left Berkeley after refusing to sign a loyalty oath, then worked at the Austen Riggs Center and later returned to Harvard until his retirement in 1970.

Reader's Guide

Erikson's significance lies in his expansion of Freudian psychoanalysis into a lifespan theory of psychosocial development, emphasizing the role of the ego and the influence of social and cultural environments. He is credited as one of the originators of ego psychology, arguing that the ego is more than a servant of the id. His concept of the 'identity crisis' became a widely used term in psychology and popular culture. His work bridged psychoanalysis and anthropology, informed by his studies of Native American tribes. Despite lacking a formal university degree, he held professorships at elite institutions and was recognized as the 12th most eminent psychologist of the 20th century. His personal struggles with identity—stemming from his uncertain parentage, religious upbringing, and name change—deeply informed his theoretical focus. His legacy endures in developmental psychology, education, and clinical practice.

Did You Know?

• Erik Erikson was born Erik Salomonsen, but later took the surname Homburger from his stepfather, and in 1939 he and his wife Joan were naturalized as U.S. citizens using the self-invented name Erikson.
• Erikson left his position at the University of California, Berkeley after refusing to sign a loyalty oath.
• His wife Joan Erikson was a main collaborator in developing the eight stages of psychosocial development, and after his death in 1994 she added a ninth stage of very old age.