Psychology -- Erikson and Rogers Chaim Is

Psychology -- Erikson and Rogers Chaim is a Hasidic Jew who hung out in the underground scene and became a very creative underground rock star. However, Chaim was internally conflicted: the underground lifestyle was the polar opposite of his Hasidic lifestyle and he tried to live Hasidic-by-day and underground rock-star-by-night. Chaim left it to God to determine whether he would get a Hasidic wife or a record contract first.

Eventually, he chose a Hasidic married lifestyle, moved upstate and would not touch the underground lifestyle again because he cannot have it and would lose everything by trying to get it back. An Ego Psychologist like Erik Erikson and a Humanist Psychologist like Carl Rogers would view Chaim's dilemma differently. Body Erik Erikson believed that a person's life has 8 stages and develops by the interplay of the body, mind and culture influences. Erikson would believe that Chaim was in Stage 5, "Identity vs.

Role Confusion," which is "normally" from the ages of 13 to 18 years. Also, Erikson would believe that Chaim was successful in Stage 5. Stage 5 is a time of adolescence when a child is becoming more independent and starts to focus on relationships, careers, sexual roles and families for the future. A person in this stage will re-examine his/her identity and try to determine who he/she really is, exploring different possibilities and forming his/her identity on the results of those explorations.

If something hinders the sense of self, the person can become confused about who he/she is and what role to play in the world. A successful Stage 5 will lead to fidelity. Chaim's experience mirrors Stage 5 because he was becoming more independent from his Hasidic lifestyle and was exploring two possible futures: underground rock star, with unorthodox relationships and a performance career, vs. Hasidic husband, with a wife and possible children, living the conservative lifestyle in which he was raised.

In addition, the Hasidic lifestyle hindered his underground lifestyle and vice versa, so Chaim was confused about who he should be and what role he should play in his life. Finally, Chaim was faithful to his Hasidic culture and his wife/children, deciding he was happy and should not touch the underground world again. Carl Rogers would see Chaim in several ways. First, Rogers would see that Chaim had a great deal of incongruence in his life.

Chaim was torn between two worlds because his two conflicting ideal selves (underground rock star vs. Hasidic husband) caused conflict in his two self-images (acting Hasidic-by-day vs. acting underground rock-star-by-night). In his parents' world, Chaim could not be genuine, unconditionally accepted and heard/understood; however, in the underground, Chaim felt he could be genuine (self-disclosing and open), unconditionally accepted and heard/understood.

Secondly, Rogers would see that in some ways, Chaim-the-underground rock star was on his way to becoming a fully-functioning person: he was open to the new experiences of the underground; he did not prejudge his experiences in the underground but was very unafraid and free with them; he trusted his feeling and instincts in performing; he was very creative; he was happy and satisfied when he was performing. Ultimately, Rogers would see that Chaim's childhood experience and Hasidic ideal self thwarted his possibility of becoming a fully-functioning underground rock star.

However, by bringing.