Basic Biography
Erikson, H. Erik (June 15, 1902–May 12, 1994), was an artist turned psychoanalyst, and was best known for the initiation of the concept of an identity crisis and his influence on psychosocial aspects of stage-like development.
Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to his mother Karla Abrahamsen. When Erik was about 3 years old his mother, Abrahamsen, married Dr. Theodore Homberger, Erik’s pediatrician. Erikson never knew his biological father, who abandoned Abrahamsen before Erikson was born. Erikson had blonde hair and blue eyes and grew up getting teased in grade school due to his Nordic looks, and due to his Jewish roots. Erikson, originally named Erik Homberger, grew up in South Germany where he finished high school and lived a spontaneous young life of traveling through Europe, focusing on art, and visiting museums. Around the age of 25, after a few years of traveling, Erikson was approached by a friend that was also an artist who told Erikson to apply to...
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References
Cherry, K. (2010). Erikson, E. (1902–1994). Biography of Erik Erikson. (n.d). Retrieved 12 Dec 2010, from http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_erikson.htm
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, youth, and crisis. New York: W. W. Norton.
Hopkins, J. R. (1995). Erik Homburger Erikson (1902–1994): obituary. American Psychologist, 50(9), 796–797. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.50.9.796.
Mintz, N. L. (1996). On Erik Erikson’s Berkeley resignation. American Psychologist, 51(3), 266. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.51.3.266.
Paranjpe, A. C. (2000). Review of Identity’s architect: a biography of Erik H Erikson. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 41(4), 288–289. doi:10.1037/h0088184. Review of the book Identity’s architect: A biography of Erik H. Erikson.
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Keitt, K. (2012). Erikson, Erik. In: Rieber, R.W. (eds) Encyclopedia of the History of Psychological Theories. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0463-8_213
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