Who Was Erik Erikson?

Erik Erikson's early life had a major impact on his theories, especially his emphasis on the importance of gaining a sense of identity. When his biological father abandoned the family before he was born, his mother married a doctor named Theodor Homberger. The fact that Homberger was not his biological father was concealed for a number of years, which Erikson would later refer to as an act of "loving deceit." After moving to the United States in the 1930s, he changed his last name to Erikson, symbolizing his own achievement of personal identity.

In his famous and influential theory of psychosocial development, Erikson described a series of eight developmental stages characterized by conflicts that must be resolved. Find more information about his life and theories in this guide to Erik Erikson.

_{Photo courtesy Adam Ciesielski}