When Erikson talks about instincts, he relates them in terms of a division of instincts, or division of labors, as between males and females. His observations come from his work with children, where he saw, from a very early age, and across different cultures, "divisions of labor" played out in games, where, given the same toys (building blocks), the children played out given gender roles in their constructions. Boys tended to build towers, buildings, and streets, whereas girls tended to build interiors with simple designs and using far fewer blocks. This was interpreted by Erikson as boys reacting to their instincts of their role in life, aiming high in an effort to overcompensate for doubts and fears about their masculinity, because tall towers and buildings in these games were more likely to come tumbling down.
Girls only occasionally built towers, and then had them leaning against something for support, and most girls built houses with open interiors. A common theme in the games was for an intruder (always male, even if in animal form), but this did not cause fear in the girls, but pleasure and amusement. Again, the games of the children were a mirror of their roles in life: the males being strong and aggressive, and the females being supportive and comforting.
Erikson thus sees instincts as all leading towards the main goal in life - reproduction, and the accepted roles of males and females in these capacities. He finds differences across cultures only in terms of the particular customs of the culture, but basically the same instincts prevail throughout, and have done so historically through time.
Erikson does not see instincts as acting in man in a reciprocal manner as they do in animals, promoting self-preservation, and interaction. Rather he sees them as being the result of tradition and conscience. The male has typically been cast in the role of the provider, and the woman in the role of the nurturer i...