Inner space and outer space identity in contemporary females.

Historically, attempts to achieve experimental confirmation of hypotheses in psychoanalytic theory have been very limited. As Nelson (1976) has pointed out, the psychoanalytic literature is abundantly filled with articles and symposia dealing with the inherent difficulties of psychoanalytic research. This study represents an attempt to translate an area of analytic theory into an experimental paradigm and to use the paradigm in a test of the validity of the theory. The theory being tested in Erikson's (1968) theory of identity formation in females. The findings lead to a suggestion that Erikson's theory is in need of modification as a description of contemporary women. The study is discussed here in the context of Erikson's theory and the analytic writings on the female inner space.