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 ā€œbeing a nuisanceā€.

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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 theĀ rolesĀ 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.Ā 

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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 ā€œthe acceptance of one’s one and only life cycle as something that had to beā€ (1950, p. 268) and later as ā€œa sense of coherence and wholenessā€ (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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