Erickson's 8 Stages

Erickson is well known for his 8 stages of life development. The first stage of Erickson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development is trust vs. mistrust. This applies to children ages 12-18 months. If the child is properly fed, and changed they will trust their parents. But if the parents fail to provide the basic food, comfort, affection, and secure environment then the child will learn to mistrust their parents. For example if Joe is fed, and changed on a regular basis he will trust his parents, but if he is not fed or changed for a few days he will learn to mistrust his parents.

The second stage is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. This applies to children ages 18 months to 3 years. The child begins to get control of their motor abilities and they will want to venture out to explore the world. Their parents will have to teach them right from wrong but if they demand too much from them or refuse to let them perform tasks there are capable of they may start to doubt themselves.

The third stage initiative vs. guilt. This applies to children ages 3 to 6 years. The child wants to start to do risky things like cross the street alone, or ride a bike without a helmet. If their parents encourage their activities but help them to make responsible decisions they will not develop guilt feelings. Justin learns how to ride a bike and he wants to try it without a helmet. His parents need to teach him that going without a helmet is very dangerous.

The fourth stage is industry vs. inferiority. This applies to children ages 6 to 12 years. This is the time for the development of self confidence. If the child is encouraged they will develop diligence. But if they are punished they will develop inferiority about their capabilities.

The fifth stage of psychosocial intelligence is identity vs. role confusion. This applies to young adult’s ages 12 to 18. This is the time when they are concerned with their appearance and trying to figure out what their role is in society. They will try new experiments and activities.

The six stage is intimacy vs. isolation. This is adults ages 19 to 40. This is the time in a person start to think about if they will get married. For example Joe and Maria decide to get married, and have kids.

The seventh stage is generativity versus stagnation. This is for 40-50 year old adults. If they are successful in this stage they feel that they have contributed to society and to future generations. If they have stagnation they feel that they have not contributed.

The eighth stage is ego integrity vs. despair. This is adult ages 65 years or older. This is when we think about if we have lived a successful life, retire, think about our accomplishments and feel satisfaction. Kate thinks about how a she got married at a young age, had kids, and fulfilled her dreams. She believes she has led a successful life. If the adult has large amounts of regrets or feel like they did not succeed than they will develop despair. Many times they will be irritable and generally unhappy with life as a whole.