Customer Reviews

Childhood and Society

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Read it just because it's a classic or read it because it has interesting things to say for today. Read it because it's so well written. The narrative just flows, and before you know it you've absorbed some pretty important concepts.

Erikson addresses nothing less than the role of psychology in the world, and the role of childhood in our social worlds. It's a combination of the clinical, the social, and the developmental, a combination of psychology and history. Case studies are presented and large themes are addressed.

"...we are also forced to recognize a universal blind spot in the makers and interpreters of history," writes Erikson, "... they ignore the fateful function of childhood in the fabric of society" (p. 404).

Whether or not you agree with all Erikson says, you will find it food for thought.

This book published in 1950 was Erikson's breakthrough book, the first one by which he became known to a wide popular audience. Certain of the ideas formulated in this book have become part of the language of our general culture, most notably the concept of 'identity- crisis'.
At the heart of the theoretical framework of this work is Erikson's conception of eight- stages of life.
The first of these stages he calls the 'oral- sensory'.It involves the conflict between basic trust and mistrust.
The second is called the muscular- anal involving the confluct between Autonomy and Shame and Doubt.
The third is the Locomotor Genital involving the conflict between Initiative and Guilt.
The fourth is the Latent involving the conflict between Industry and Inferiority.
The fifth is Adolescence where the Identity- Crisis comes into play at a time of Role- confusion.
The sixth is Young Adulthood in which Intimacy is in conflict with Isolation.
The seventh is Adulthood where Generativity conflicts with Stagnation.
The final is 'Maturity' or "Old Age' where Despair threatens Ego Integrity.
In this work Erikson brings case - history, comparitive anthropological data in showing how the human personality is transformed during the person's lifetime also through its encounters with Society . A pioneering work of great importance.

Mr. Erikson wrote a thought-provoking book, but it is certainly a product of his times. Such notions as homosexuality being deviant (his word, not mine) behavior and was more of a symptom of a psychologically damaged individual has not held up to present scientific evidence. Overall, the book is a fascinating dissection of childhood development and how it possibly manifests itself in adulthood. But reading this material wasn't exactly a cake walk. I doubt many casual readers could wade through Mr. Erikson's book without developing MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) Syndrome. For what it's worth, I enjoyed most of it.

An Uber-Classic--Required reading for anyone in psychology. No! make that anyone, period.

This book makes Erikson theory much easier to understand. Second-hand accounts of his theory really muddy the water. His theories and explanations of crisis stages are logical and easy to observe after reading this book.

I am an avid reader so when I had an assignment in my Psychology class I was excited to see what there was to offer on Erik Erikson. I read the reviews on this book and it was promising. I bought it from Amazon.com and it came quickly, quicker then it said it would. I got through the first chapter all right but then things just went downhill. It was boring, I found it not to be well written. I normally enjoy reading about his theories and studies but this was not a great book. I would not recommend this book.

Childhood and Society guides its readers far deep into children's mind and its pychological intricacies. Using study of cases carefully chosen and great psychoanalytical knowlege, Erikson, with his long experience, enlight us, making easy to undertand some of the most complicated concepts in Freud's theory.It's sure a worth reading work.

I received the book pretty late. i ordered two other books with this one and those two books arrived one week before this one. and when i opened the package i could see that the cover is different from what the seller show on the website. the cover is brown and looks really old.