Review of Identity's architect: A biography of Erik H. Erikson.

Reviews the book, Identity's architect: A biography of Erik H. Erikson by Lawrence J. Friedman (see record 1999-02567-000). The historian Lawrence Friedman's biography of Erik Erikson is useful in understanding some puzzling aspects of Eriksonian psychology. To begin, let us note an important biographical detail revealed by Friedman. As Coles' biography of Erikson had noted, and as many of us had known, Erik and Joan Erikson had three children: Kai, a sociologist; Jon, an artist; and Sue, a psychologist (Coles, 1970, p. 404). Friedman reveals that they also had a fourth child named Neil, who suffered from Down's syndrome, and was given away to institutional care right from his birth. This son, who died at the age of 21, was effectively abandoned by the Eriksons. That a great psychoanalyst who had become famous for effectively treating problem children had failed to give even the minimum parental care to his own mentally challenged son comes as a shock. For boldly revealing even the most negative aspects of his hero, Friedman may be recognized as an honest biographer and careful historian. But he deserves even more credit than that, for, in addition to providing factual details, he provides interpretive analysis showing how these facts helped shape some critical aspects of Erikson's theory of human development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A way of looking at things: Selected papers of Erik H. Erickson 1930-1980.

Reviews the book, A way of looking at things: Selected papers of Erik H. Erickson 1930-1980 edited by Stephen Schlein (1987). Schlein has done a commendable job of bringing together into one volume a rich body of Erik Erikson's less-known writings. The result is a very lengthy book that lends itself more to leisurely perusal than critical review. Schlein has arranged 47 papers, 12 of which appear in print for the first time, many more of which have been hidden away in obscure publications, into the eight thematic sections of which the book comprises. Everyone broadly interested in the history of psychoanalysis, the evolution of ego psychology, and the role played by Erik H. Erikson in each should enjoy reading this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College-educated women's personality development in adulthood: Perceptions and age differences.

Adulthood encompasses a large time span and includes a series of psychosocial challenges (E. H. Erikson, 1950). Five aspects of personality (identity certainty, confident power, concern with aging, generativity, and personal distress) were assessed in a cross-sectional study of college-educated women who at the time of data collection were young adults (age: M = 26 years), middle-aged adults (age: M = 46 years), or older adults (age: M = 66 years). Respondents rated each personality domain for how true it was of them at the time, and they then rated the other 2 ages either retrospectively or prospectively. Results are discussed with attention to the ways in which women's adult development may have been shaped by experiences particular to both gender and birth cohort, and to how these women fit with E. H. Erikson's theory of adult development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identity diffusion in late adolescents.

Adolescence was seen as that time of life when the individual reaches a crisis in his attempts to construct a stable self-image. In contrast to successful ego identification, one sees Erikson's "identity diffusion" (see 31: 2625). The present research is directed towards identifying and validating some specific characteristics of identity diffusion, viz., lack of continuity between the past and present self-pictures, high degree of anxiety, less certainty about present dominant characteristics of self, fluctuation in feelings about self. Tested on young college students, the characteristics were seen to be highly interrelated, and the findings interpreted in the light of Erikson's hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Erikson's life span theory: A metaphor for conceptualization the internship year.

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how Erik Erikson's life span theory provides training staffs with a useful metaphor for enhancing their understanding of and efficacy in guiding interns through the developmental challenges characteristic of their internship year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the origins of psychoanalytic psychohistory.

This article examines the origins and early development of psychoanalytically inspired psychohistory from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. It focuses on Erik H. Erikson, Bruce Mazlish, and Robert Jay Lifton and illustrates their contributions to psychoanalytic psychohistory. Erikson, Mazlish, and Lifton were core members of the Wellfleet group, a research project originally funded by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1965 to conceptualize the foundation of psychohistory. The article gives an account of the early history of the Wellfleet group and argues for specific historical reasons to explain why psychoanalytic psychohistory emerged on the East Coast of the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A critique of the Wellfleet group in unpublished correspondence of Erich Fromm and David Riesman is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and vocational behavior.

Empirically explored the relationship between psychosocial development as described by E. H. Erikson (1963, 1968) and vocational-choice behavior and development. Ss were 123 male undergraduates. Stage resolution attitudes, derived from the 1st 6 stage crises outlined by Erikson, were explored as variables influencing problems in vocational choice and vocational maturity. Ss classified in different vocational-choice adjustment groups and Ss scoring at different levels on the Career Maturity Inventory were compared for differences among Eriksonian stage resolution attitudes as measured by the Inventory of Psychosocial Development and the Dignan Ego Identity Scale. Findings indicate that Ss who had made adjusted vocational choices and developed mature career attitudes had also been more successful in positively resolving the 1st 6 psychosocial stage crises outlined by Erikson. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defense Mechanisms in Adolescence.

Previous studies with adults have found that males and females differ in their choice of defense mechanisms in a manner consistent with Erikson's theory. Males use defenses that externalize the conflict, whereas females are more likely to deal with conflict internally. The present study found that a tendency toward such differentiation in defense choice is present in young adolescents (M age = 14.2 years) and is clearly established by the last 2 years of high school (M age = 16.2 years). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The application of identity status and intimacy status research to counseling with couples.

Reviews the concepts of identity and intimacy as proposed by E. H. Erikson (1959) and discusses their clinical implications. Identity status and intimacy status models are outlined, and hypothetical case histories are presented within this developmental framework. It is concluded that an understanding of couple conflict at ages 21–35 yrs can be enhanced by use of the empirical model in order to prevent conflict and enhance growth. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy recapitulates ontogeny: The epigenesis of intensive interpersonal relationships.

Clients in psychotherapy and people in other intensive relationships seem to confront a predictable sequence of stages or emotional issues in the development of those relationships. The sequence can be described by analogy with the human life cycle using E. H. Erikson's (see PA, Vol 39:10989) "eight ages of man." This progression of psychosocial nuclear conflicts can be understood as a dialectic in which each new synthesis, a positive resolution of a conflict, begets a specific antithesis which is the negative pole of the next stage. This dialectical logic accounts for the content, progression, and impetus of the stages in the epigenesis of interpersonal relationships. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimacy and identity status in young adults.

Intimacy status in 48 men and 44 women (aged 21–35 yrs) was investigated in relation to ego-identity status in occupation, religion, politics, and sex role. All Ss were college educated, and most were employed in professional or skilled occupations. An intimacy status measure developed by J. L. Orlofsky et al (1973) was modified for use with adults and expanded by the addition of the merger status, describing relationships in which one partner dominated the other. There were no significant sex differences in intimacy or identity status; and as predicted by E. H. Erikson's (1963) theory, intimacy status was generally related to identity status. This relationship was not observed for occupational identity in either sex. It is suggested that Erikson's theory regarding the pattern of identity and intimacy resolutions may be extended from men to women, at least for the type of sample studied in the present investigation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Insomnia and psychosocial crisis: Two studies of Erikson's developmental theory.

Two studies examined the relevance of E. H. Erikson's (1959) developmental theory to understanding insomnia. Study 1 investigated the relationship between sleep disturbances in the elderly and the resolution of the psychosocial crisis of "ego integrity vs despair." Questionnaires designed to assess relevant background information, resolution of the psychosocial crisis of ego integrity vs despair, and sleep behavior were administered to 122 institutionalized and noninstitutionalized 60–89 yr olds. Multivariate analyses provided strong support for the hypothesis that ineffective resolution of the psychosocial crisis of old age is related to sleep disturbances in the elderly. Study 2 examined the relationship between resolution of the "identity vs role confusion" psychosocial crisis and sleep disturbances in 66 college students. Analyses of Ss' responses to questionnaires provided strong support for the hypothesized relationship between insomnia and incomplete resolution of the adolescent crisis. Implications for understanding both sleep disturbances at other developmental stages and other forms of psychological dysfunction are discussed. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Goodnight Saigon": Music, fiction, poetry, and film in readjustment group counseling.

Clinicians often wonder what combination of techniques can be maximally effective for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder. This article describes the use of music, fiction, poetry, and contemporary film with several combat and here-and-now readjustment counseling groups, spouses groups, and family groups. E. H. Erikson's (1985) model of identity informed the group processes and specific homework assignments. The observed effects of these interventions on Vietnam veterans and on their significant others are described. Others may wish to use and to evaluate these techniques in groups for other specific disorders when this particular combination is relevant and appropriate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The I.

The reviewer notes that a professor of English and psychoanalyst, Norman Holland brings us illumination in the direction of humanity in an age when the mechanistic theme has become so prevalent in psychology, psychiatiry and psychoanalysis. Holland informs us of individuality, of uniqueness apart from the statistical heavy hand. Acknowledging his debt to Erikson and Lichtenstein, Holland uses the concept of identity to bring into coherence an individual's lifelong behavior. He views identity as a theme or style albeit with variations, that characterizes an individual from inchoation to the very end. Obstructions and interferences with the identity theme constitute frustrations, which in turn lead to crises and to the bevy of aberrations observed in the consultation room, in life, and in literature. In other words, we track the exquisitely fragile "I" and its vicissitudes. Although we are constantly doing new things, our "style" never changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

After "The Baltimore Affair": James Mark Baldwin's life and work, 1908–1934.

James Mark Baldwin was one of the earliest American practitioners of the "new psychology" and an influential figure in the emergence and establishment of psychology in the US. He left the US because of a scandal in Baltimore resulting from his arrest at a "colored" bordello. Baldwin returned only occasionally to North America following his forced resignation from Johns Hopkins University in 1909. Contrary to the few references to his life after leaving Baltimore, Baldwin appears to have initially settled in England. He made numerous extended trips to Mexico and continental Europe, especially France, which eventually became his adopted home. Baldwin's later life and work in Europe are examined in this article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

如何应对企业人才的流失

我国的一些大中型国有企业的人才尤其是骨干人员的流失，给企业造成了巨大的损失。如何应对企业内部人才的流失，已经成为人力资源管理的一项越来越重的任务。     

Jazz and American identity: Case study of a college course.

The present article served as a follow-up to Tietze (2006), which explored the potential relevance of listening to Jazz as a tool for enhancing the undergraduate liberal arts educational experience. A holistic pedagogical structure, based on a model incorporating cognitive and emotional dimensions of experience and Erikson's (1997) theory of identity development, utilized recent developments in neuroscience including the brain's engagement in the process of creativity, and was applied to developing an undergraduate course titled, "Jazz and American Identity." For the present article, a case study approach was used to assess the process of learning through student response to this course. Several general themes emerged from the students' work, and a number of samples were summarized from end-of-term projects which explored a connection between an understanding of their own individual identity development in relationship to the semester's course content; a history of Jazz as metaphor for presentation of issues in American cultural development. Results indicated that a proactive approach toward combining play, art, and self-understanding forms an example of a creative process every human may engage in--the creation and development of one's unique identity. Themes for future research were also discussed; among them the use of anecdotal journal writing as data to "translate" listening and expressive skills to more clearly articulate human experience of emotional states, relationships between verbal and procedural memory, parallels between language and music processing, and connection between the worlds of science and the arts, especially the expansion of Jazz into a world-wide phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"'White culture, Jewish culture, and the origins of psychotherapy': Comment": Reply.

Responds to Mintz's comments (see record 2009-17459-001) on the author's original article (see record 1997-07117-012) on the subject of white and Jewish culture in psychotherapy origins. Langman acknowledges the importance of historical accuracy and in response to Mintz's comments, states that both fields, Gestalt psychology and Gestalt therapy, were Jewish contributions. He then briefly discusses Erik Erikson's Jewish background. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Erik Homburger Erikson (1902–1994): Obituary.

Memorializes E. H. Erikson, who significantly revised and extended Freud's psychoanalytic theory and practice and originated the term identity crisis. He began his career as a child analyst and moved on to academic positions at Yale, the University of California and Harvard. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ideas and identities: The life work of Erik Erikson.

Review of book: Robert S. Wallerstein and Leo Goldberger. Ideas and Identities: The Life and Work of Erik Erikson. Madison, CT: International Universities Press, 1998, 430 pp. Reviewed by Paul Roazen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)