Similarities Between Freud And Erikson

INTRODUCTION
Freud said that we are only conscious of a small amount of our mind’s events and that most of it rests hidden from us in our unconscious. (boundless)
Erik Erikson discussed psychosocial stages. His ideas were greatly influenced by Freud, going along with Freud’s theory regarding the structure and topography of personality. (McLeod, 2008)
Freud’s psychosexual theory of development:
According to Freud, life was built on both tension and pleasure. Tension was because of the accumulation of libido or sexual energy and pleasure is from its discharge. (McLeod, 2008)
Freud believed that experience from the childhood outlines our characters and behaviour. He also believed that everyone has to go through

It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation. For example, fixation at the oral stage may cause a person gaining sexual desire mainly from kissing and oral sex than sexual intercourse. (McLeod, 2008)
Erikson 's psychosocial theory of development:
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development has eight stages. Erikson assumes that a crisis occurs at each stage of the development. These crises are of a psychosocial nature. Successful completion of every stage leads to a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic virtues according to the theory.
The eight stages of the psychological development are as follows. (McLeod, 2008)
1) Trust vs. Mistrust:
Erikson’s first psychosocial stage occurs in the first year or so of life. The infant is uncertain about the world in which they live during this stage. The infants look for their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care to resolve those feelings of uncertainty. Success in this stage will result in the virtue of hope. For example, if the care has been harsh or inconsistent, unpredictable and unreliable, then the infant will develop a sense of mistrust

Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of care. (McLeod, 2008)
8) Ego Integrity vs. Despair:
It involves the age above 65 years. We become senior citizens, we tend to slow down our productivity, and explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that we contemplate our accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of wisdom. (McLeod, 2008)
Common critiques of Freud 's theory & Erikson’s theory:
Freud’s psychosexual theory is controversial. It has been thoroughly criticized. Even though Freud’s stages are related to children he based most of his theory on his work with troubled adults. He never worked with children. It is believed that his work was too focused on human sexuality. (boundless)
Erikson is rather vague about the causes of development. The theory does not have a universal mechanism for crisis resolution. Erikson acknowledges his theory is more a descriptive overview of human social and emotional development that does not adequately explain how or why this development occurs. (McLeod,