Psych 109g: Sample Erikson Questions

Erikson Sample ExamSample Erikson questions with linked answers and page refs.

Psychology 109g
Doug Davis
Sample questions for Erikson Quiz

Some of these are actual items from previous quizzes in this class. Others are examples of the kind of multiple-choice or short-answer question I might ask. If you have any questions or concerns about these items, or about how to prepare for the exam -- or if you'd like to suggest questions or topics for inclusion in the exam -- please write.

Since the answers appear as a linked list, I suggest you complete the quiz before you start checking, or at least form the answer in your mind before you point your cursor at the link.

According to Erikson, the prototypical American "mom"'s attitude to her husband's sexuality is __

"American mothers stepped into the role of the __ as the __ abdicated their dominant place in the family."

"In mastering with a vengeance the expanses of a vast continent, Americans also learned to control the second autocrat, which was unexpectedly met with by the free sons: the __."

Erikson's type-sketch of an adolescent American boy ("Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, of the white-collar class") describes his dominant defense mechanism as __, and suggests that in his early childhood his mother "deliberately __ him sexually and emotionally."

"The adolescent swings of the American youth do not overtly concern the father, nor the matter of authority, by focus rather on __."

Commenting on American character, Erikson suggests that a "native polarity of aristocracy and mobocracy" was synthesized in the leadership of __.

The son of the bombardier (Erikson) liked to __ as a means of expressing his __.

Give three of the six characteristics of "genital utopia," according to Erikson:

Would Freud agree with Erikson's definition of successful genitality? __

In Ann's story, the pencils deal with which modality:

getting/giving
taking
holding on/letting go
making
moving

Myrtle is important in Peter's case because __________ & _________ (select the two best)

she was trying to toilet train him
she [said she] liked babies better
she was pregnant
she pampered him
she tolerated aggression (p. 56)

Peter needs to resolve which psychosexual mode:

passive incorporation
active incorporation
retention
elimination
intrusion

The big change accompanying the industry/inferiority stage is:

weaning
toilet training
going to school
separation from the mother
learning to walk

The big change accompanying the initiative vs guilt stage is:

weaning
toilet training
going to school
separation from the mother
learning to walk

Stage : virtue :: trust/mistrust : ____

hope
love
care
wisdom
fidelity

Jean's troubles stemmed from (pick the two best)

a bout with tuberculosis
separation from her mother
penis-envy
thinking her hands were bad
a nurse who liked baby boys better

The Marine's war neurosis stemmed from factors related to each of Erikson's three perspectives. Pick the best example of each factor.

loss of group identity and control
metalic noises
feeling expendible
fever
a breadkown of his picture of himself
being a medic but unable to help others

Ann's toy dog is most important because:

it also soils itself and therefore represents her
it represents her fear of death
it represents her fear of punishment
it is her friend and represents play
she gives it to Erikson

Erikson's chart is intended to convey the __ character of development, in which every stage builds on the stages that preceded it and anticipates the stage to follow it.

Erikson's stage which includes a primary influence on socially vaued productivity and creativity is called __ vs. __.

The stage at which Erikson"s theory deviates from Freud is called ____ by Freud and ____ by Erikson. Freud claims that during this stage, there is no substantial ego development.

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boredom {cf. rejection, aversion}. (p. 290)

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grandfathers ... fathers (p. 295)

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machine (p. 305)

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self restriction ... under-stimulated (p. 308)

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his [sic] peers (p. 318)

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Franklin D. Roosevelt (p. 287)

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set fires

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initiative (or identification with father) (pp. 238-241)

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mutuality of orgasm
with a loved partner
of opposite sex
with whom one is willing and able to share a trust
with whom one is willing and able to regulate the cycles of work, procreation, and recreation
so as to secure to the offspring all the stages of satisfactory development

(see p. 266).

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Probably (sigh)

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getting/giving (p. 50)

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she tolerated aggression (p. 56) and she [said she] liked babies better (p. 57)

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elimination (pp. 55-56)

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going to school (pp. 256ff.)

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learning to walk (p. 255)

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hope (p. 274)

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separation from her mother (p. 197) ... thinking her hands were bad (p. 206) ****************************

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loss of group identity and control
fever
a breakdown of his picture of himself

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it represents her fear of punishment (p. 51)

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epigenetic

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generativity vs. stagnation (p. 267)

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latency

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Industry (Inferiority)