The Stages of Psychosocial Development According to Erik H. Erikson - Deepstash

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1. Trust vs. Mistrust

  • This stage begins at birth continues to approximately 18 months of age.
  • During this stage, the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live, and looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care.

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2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

  • This stage occurs between the ages of 18 months to approximately 3 years.
  • According to Erikson, children at this stage are focused on developing a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence.

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3. Initiative vs. Guilt

  • During the initiative versus guilt stage, children assert themselves more frequently through directing play and other social interaction.
  • Central to this stage is play, as it provides children with the opportunity to explore their interpersonal skills through initiating activities.
  • It is at this stage that the child will begin to ask many questions as his thirst for knowledge grows. If the parents treat the child’s questions as trivial, a nuisance or embarrassing or other aspects of their behavior as threatening then the child may have feelings of guilt for “being a nuisance”.

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4. Industry vs. Inferiority

  • Erikson's fourth psychosocial crisis, involving industry (competence) vs. Inferiority occurs during childhood between the ages of five and twelve.
  • It is at this stage that the child’s peer group will gain greater significance and will become a major source of the child’s self-esteem.
  • The child now feels the need to win approval by demonstrating specific competencies that are valued by society and begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments.

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5. Identity vs. Role Confusion

  • It occurs during adolescence, from about 12-18 years.
  • During this stage, adolescents search for a sense of self and personal identity, through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals.
  • The adolescent mind is essentially a mind or moratorium, a psychosocial stage between childhood and adulthood, and between the morality learned by the child, and the ethics to be developed by the adult (Erikson, 1963, p. 245)
  • This is a major stage of development where the child has to learn the roles he will occupy as an adult.
  • It is during this stage that the adolescent will re-examine his identity and try to find out exactly who he or she is. Erikson suggests that two identities are involved: the sexual and the occupational.
  • During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon the outcome of their explorations.

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6. Intimacy vs. Isolation

  • This stage takes place during young adulthood between the ages of approximately 18 to 40 yrs.
  • During this stage, the major conflict centers on forming intimate, loving relationships with other people.
  • During this stage, we begin to share ourselves more intimately with others. 

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7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

  • This stage takes place during during middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65 yrs).
  • Psychologically, generativity refers to "making your mark" on the world through creating or nurturing things that will outlast an individual. During middle age individuals experience a need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often having mentees or creating positive changes that will benefit other people.
  • Through generativity we develop a sense of being a part of the bigger picture.

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8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair

  • This stage begins at approximately age 65 and ends at death.
  • It is during this time that we contemplate our accomplishments and can develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life.
  • Individuals who reflect on their life and regret not achieving their goals will experience feelings of bitterness and despair.
  • Erikson described ego integrity as “the acceptance of one’s one and only life cycle as something that had to be” (1950, p. 268) and later as “a sense of coherence and wholeness” (1982, p. 65).
  • Wise people are not characterized by a continuous state of ego integrity, but they experience both ego integrity and despair.

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