Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development

Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development

Eric Fluckiger
Salt Lake Community College

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Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist who mapped out the psychosocial stages
of development. He created eight different stages of life that he believed had an impact on human
social development throughout the lifetime. Each stage contains a conflict that the person must
resolve in order to move onto the next stage, and Erikson believed this is how personal identity is
formed in humans (Karkouti, 2014). His developmental stages are widely known and accepted in
the psychological community.
The first stage in Eriksons theory of development is Trust vs. Mistrust, and occurs from
birth to about 18 months of age. An infant relies solely on others to care for it to survive. In order
to successfully complete this stage, a young child must feel as though it can trust the
environment (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2014). If a baby is not cared for appropriately,
it may develop a mistrust of the world this may have an impact on the human for its entire life
(Karkouti, 2014).
The second stage, Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt, occurs from 18 months to 3 years of age.
A child at this stage is learning how to do things on their own, and has a focus on what they are
able to control (Schacter, 2014). Toilet training occurs at this time, and if the child is not
successful or if the caregivers inappropriately punish the child, it could lead to a crisis and
negatively impact development (Karkouti, 2014).
The third developmental stage is Initiative vs. Guilt, and happens around 3 to 6 years of
age. This is the age that most children start school and make friends outside of their family. They
begin to learn the difference between what society considers wrong and what is considered
right (Karkouti, 2014). They may begin to feel remorse for their behavior or decisions, which
could lead to a crisis in this stage (Schacter, 2014).

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The fourth stage is Industry vs. Inferiority. This stage happens from ages 6 to 12 years.
This is the stage where children begin to develop skills and how to do things correctly (Schacter,
2014). A crisis can occur if the child doesnt feel appreciated for their efforts, and begins to feel
inferior to others (Karkouti, 2014).
The stage that occurs during adolescence (12-18 years) tends to get the most attention.
This stage, Identity vs. Role Confusion, is where children develop an adult identity. They start to
break away from parents and focus more on peers. A major crisis tends to occur at this stage
when conflict with parents is escalated more than ever before (Schacter, 2014). A successful
resolution of this stage involves a teenager being able to create their own belief systems while
also feeling recognized by others in their life (Karkouti, 2014).
The sixth stage is 19 to 40 years old, called Intimacy vs. Isolation. In this stage, young
adults will seek intimate relationships with others. Crisis will occur when a person is
unsuccessful at creating these relationships, which Erikson theorized was due to a nonresolution
of the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage (Karkouti, 2014). A person without a sense of identity
will not be successful at intimate relationships and will isolate.
The seventh stage, Generativity vs. Stagnation, occurs from ages 40-65. This is when
many people focus on their careers or raising their children (Schacter, 2014). They want to give
back to society and also feel productive and accomplished (Karkouti, 2014).
The last stage in Eriksons stages of social development is Ego Integrity vs. Despair. This
stage occurs in people ages 65 and older. It is a time spent looking back on life and being
accepting of oneself. Crisis will occur if a person doesnt feel a sense of accomplishment over
what they have done with their life (Karkouti, 2014).

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I can look back at my life and see myself in these different stages. Also, as a father, I can
see my children going through these same developmental stages. My youngest daughter is 4
years old and just came out of the Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt stage. Toddlers are constantly
testing the environment to see what they have control over. Currently, she is very into exploring
everything, and I have also noticed she uses much more imagination when she is playing.
My 8 year old fits into the category of Industry vs. Inferiority. She understands what she
is good at and where she struggles. She does very well in school, and my wife and I like to
reward her for this, so she understands she is doing well. She also takes gymnastics, but doesnt
do as well as some of her teammates. She notices when someone is better than her and feels
badly when a friend is moved up to a different team and she is not.
I can see myself in both the young adulthood and middle adulthood stages. I feel like I
have surpassed the Intimacy vs. Isolation struggle, because I am in a long-term committed
relationship. However, I wouldnt say that I know everything about love or relationships yet. I
have kids and focus much of my time on them, which fits more into the Generativity vs.
Stagnation, even though Im still a decade away from 40.
I can imagine how my parents fit into the middle adulthood stage and transitioning into
the maturity stage. They are still focused on their kids, even though we are adults, and much of
that focus has shifted onto their grandchildren.
In researching this topic, I learned about the basics of Eriksons theory, but also reviewed
a lot of articles that seem to take issue with the accuracy of his stages. One lecture given by
Linda N. Edelstein at the 105th APA Convention is titled Revisiting Eriksons Views on Womens
Generativity, or Erikson Didnt Understand Midlife Women. The author argues that research

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shows that women in midlife dont actually focus on caring for future generations. She states that
many women focus on their own person development separate from others. However, there was
a lot of research agreeing with Eriksons theory overall, and applying it to many areas of human
life. A very interesting research article talks about how Eriksons developmental stages mirror the
stages of recovery in people struggling with mental illness. When someone is going through the
healing process after a breakdown, they go through stages very similar to Eriksons stages, and
must successfully get through one stage before moving onto the next (Vogel-Scibilia, Mcnulty,
Baxter, Miller, Dine, & Frese, 2009).
Overall, Eriksons stages of psychosocial development appear to be accurate and
applicable to society. I dont believe the stages to be completely black and white, because it
seems like a person can be going through crises in more than one stage at the same time. I also
think the ages given in Psychology can be inaccurate. Im also curious how the stages are
applicable to other cultures that have different societal values and developmental milestones.
Understanding the stages of development can be helpful in understanding how we develop as
humans throughout the lifetime.

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Works Cited

Edelstein, L. N. (1997, August 18). Revisiting Erikson's Views on Women's Generativity, or

Erikson Didn't Understand Midlife Women. Lecture presented at 105th APA Convention,
Chicago, IL. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
Karkouti, I. M. (2014). Examining Psychosocial Identity Development Theories: A Guideline for
Professional Practice. Education, 135(2), 257-263. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., Wegner, D. M., & Nock, M. K. (2014). Psychology (3rd ed.). New
York, NY: Worth.
Vogel-Scibilia, S. E., Mcnulty, K. C., Baxter, B., Miller, S., Dine, M., & Frese, F. J. (2009). The
Recovery Process Utilizing Eriksons Stages of Human Development. Community
Mental Health Journal, 45(6), 405-414. Retrieved February 11, 2016.