RE: pop-psych uses of Erikson

[Jeffrey Nagelbush]

There are some areas of Erikson's theory that have been examined empirically 
(e.g., identity formation).  But I have another concern.  Our texts not only 
present the theories whether or not they have evidence, they tend to present 
the theories without any critical discussion of them at all.  I found out 
the impact of this practice when I gave my life span students an assignment 
that required them to determine which statement or idea had the least  
scientific evidence presented in the text.  Every item had at least one 
empirical study described in support of the statement or idea except for a 
discussion of one of Erikson's stages.  That was just a detailed discussion 
of what the stage was.  Clearly Erikson's stage was the correct answer and 
yet virtually no one picked it.  Since no evidence was presented, the 
students assumed it was true!  I have often complained about this tendency 
for texts to only mention evidence if there is some and ignore the issue if 
there is no evidence.  But the practice is almost universal in basic texts.

Jeff Nagelbush
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ferris State University
>From: "Gerald Peterson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" 
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" 
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: pop-psych uses of Erikson
>Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 11:20:02 -0400
>
>I suspect a lot of the less scientific (that is empirically supported or
>supportable) ideas in psych textbooks remain in those texts because
>psych folk find them easy to generate discussion in class and fit them
>to life events.  When I teach about hindsight analyses and confirmation
>biases, and how, for example, dream interpretations or psychic readings
>can seem to match events or be easy to apply to our lives, I often think
>about the popularity of ideas like Erikson or other views in
>personality, where psychologists fit them to events and look only at the
>seeming confirmation. Meanwhile, the efforts to actually test aspects of
>the theory are few, with little or no effort to replicate the studies
>that have been done.  Yet, they remain popularized in text books.  Gary
>Peterson
>
>
>Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D.
>Professor, Psychology
>Saginaw Valley State University
>University Center, MI 48710
>989-964-4491
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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