Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Re-conceptualisation of Erikson’s Life Cycle: A Proposed Process to Address Individual Experiences of ‘Shame’

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Shame 4.0

Abstract

We all have some experience of ‘shame’. Erik Erikson, creator of the life cycle, proposes the experience will sit in a developmental polarity that is our capacity for autonomy and choice, in contrast with the constraint of shame. Successfully navigating this polarity results in an emerging strength of ‘will’ as an outcome of this struggle. This chapter outlines Erikson’s theory of the life cycle and places ‘shame’ in a dynamic relationship with many other aspects of our life such as the 4IR and more broadly our growth and development.

The chapter will then considers how a reconceptualisation of his structure provides a means to support individuals facing the shame associated with the impact of loss of employment in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

The chapter will propose that aspects of positive psychology practice offer a means through which to balance, navigate and process the experiences and consequences of shame in the 4IR and elsewhere as an integrated part of our positive overall development over time and in our cultural context.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Governor of the Bank of England.

  2. 2.

    Presumed to be approximately 30 years.

References

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bee, H. (1998). Lifespan development (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berk, L. E. (1998). Development through the lifespan. London: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borg, A. (2016, January 28). How will the Fourth Industrial Revolution affect economic policy? Talk given at World Economic Forum, Davos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carney, M. (2018, September 14). The future of work. Speech given by Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, at the 2018 Whitaker Lecture, Central Bank of Ireland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1958 & 1980). Identity and the life cycle. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1968) The human life cycle. New York: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Crowell-Collier, pp. 286–292. Reprinted in: Schlien, S. (Ed.) (1987). A way of looking at things: selected papers from 1930 – 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1980). On the generational cycle: An address. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 61, 213–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, J. M. (1988). Wisdom and the senses: The way of creativity. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H., & Erikson, J. (1997). The life cycle completed – Revised and extended Version. New York, W.W. Norton & Company Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H., Erikson, J. H., & Kivnick, H. Q. (1986). Vital involvement in old age. New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L. (2009). Positivity. New York: Crown Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, R. (1978). Transformations: Growth and change in adult life. New York: Simon and Schuster Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, P., & Burrow, A. (2012). Viewing purpose through an Eriksonian Lens. An International Journal of Theory and Research, 12(1:1), 74–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, A. (2018). The fourth industrial revolution: Issues and implications for career research and practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 66. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12142.

  • Ivtzan, I., Lomas, T., Hefferon, K., & Worth, P. (2016). Second wave positive psychology. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, G. (1989). The psychology of shame. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerpelman, J. L., & Pittman, J. F. (2018). Erikson and the relational context of identity: Strengthening connections with attachment theory. International Journal of Theory and Research, 18(4), 306–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kivnick, H. Q., & Wells, C. K. (2013). Special issue: Remembering our roots - Untapped richness in Erik H. Erikson’s Rootstock. The Gerontologist, 54(1), 40–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, Z. G. (2017). A proposed model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development. Clinical Psychology Psychotherapy, 24, 1047–1058.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, D. J., Darrow, C. N., Klein, E. B., Levinson, M. H., & McKee, B. (1978). The seasons of a man’s life. New York: Ballantine Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, D. J., & Levinson, J. D. (1996). The seasons of a woman’s life. New York: Alfred Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyle, L. (2019). Personal communication with the author.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. P. (1993). The stories we live by: Personal myths and the making of the self. London: Guildford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perlmutter, M., & Hall, E. (1992). Adult development and aging (2nd ed.). Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prisecaru, P. (2016). Challenges of the fourth industrial revolution. Knowledge Horizons: Economics, 8(1), 57–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid, T., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2019). Positive psychotherapy: Clinicians manual. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roazen, P. (1976). Erik H. Erikson: The power and limits of a vision. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, L. M., Dutton, J. E., Spreeitzer, G. M., Heaphy, E. D., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Composing the reflected best-self portrait: Building pathways for becoming extraordinary in work organizations. Academy of Management Review, 30(4), 712–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schachter, E. P. (2004). Identity configurations: A new perspective on identity formation in contemporary society. Journal of Personality, 72(1), 167–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, K. (2015). Will the Fourth Industrial Revolution have a human heart. Article from the World Economic Forum Web site.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, K. (2016, January 14). The fourth industrial revolution: What it means, how to respond. Talk given at World Economic Forum, Davos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. J. (2002). In search of mechanisms of change in identity development: Integrating the constructivist and discovery perspectives on identity. International Journal of Theory and Research, 2(4), 317–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Meca, A., & Ritchie, R. (2012). Identity around the world: An overview. New Directions for Child and Adult Development, 138, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokol, J. T. (2009). Identity development throughout the lifetime: An examination of Eriksonian Theory. Graduate Journal of Counselling Psychology, 1(2), 14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, R. (1983). Erik Erikson. Milton Keynes: The Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Syed, M., & Fish, J. (2018). Revisiting Erik Erikson’s legacy on culture, race and ethnicity. International Journal of Theory and Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2018.1523729.

  • Vaillant, G. E. (1977). Adaptation to life. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaillant, G. E. (2002). Aging well. Boston: Little Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, P. C. (2014). Gratitude and the good life: Toward a psychology of appreciation. London: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Welchman, K. (2000). Erik Erikson: His life, work and significance. Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2010, July). What is existential positive psychology? International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy, 3(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive Psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology, 52(2), 69–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2012). Toward a dual system model of what makes life worth living. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research and applications (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2019a). A cross cultural perspective of shame and its implications for mental health and social control. International Network for Personal Meaning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (2019b). The maturing of positive psychology and the emerging PP 2.0: A book review of positive psychology, (3rd ed.). William Compton and Edward Hoffman. Retrieved from http://www.drpaulwong.com/the-maturing-of-positive-psychology-and-theemerging-pp20-a-book-review-of-positive-psychology-3rd-ed-by-william-compton-andedward-hoffman/

  • World Economic Forum. (2016). The future of jobs: Employment, skills and workforce strategy for the fourth industrial revolution. A ‘Global Challenge Insight Report’ published by the World Economic Forum in January 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Economic Forum. (2019). Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution network for global technology governance. Report produced in May 2019.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Buckinghamshire New University, Bucks, UK

    Piers Worth

Authors
  1. Piers Worth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Piers Worth .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Claude-Hélène Mayer

  2. Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Europa Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

    Claude-Hélène Mayer

  3. Global Institute for Transcultural Research, Römerberg, Germany

    Elisabeth Vanderheiden

  4. (emeritus) Trent University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Paul T. P. Wong

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Worth, P. (2021). A Re-conceptualisation of Erikson’s Life Cycle: A Proposed Process to Address Individual Experiences of ‘Shame’. In: Mayer, CH., Vanderheiden, E., Wong, P.T.P. (eds) Shame 4.0. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59527-2_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation