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Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erickson (1902-1994) was a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst whose work was greatly influenced by fellow psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, although in contrast Erikson believed that within a person's life they would progress through eight stages of development. As opposed to the Freudian psychosexual stages, Erikson focused on the psychosocial aspects of growth that continued throughout the span of life. As an individual advances through these hierarchical developmental stages, the complexity will increase and at each juncture they will be faced with a "crisis" which is psychosocial due to the internal conflict between the needs of the individual and the needs of society. These crises are essential because they serve as turning points for individuals, crucial periods of vulnerability and heightened potential. Failure to complete a stage successfully can decrease a person’s likelihood to move on and complete further stages, therefore creating maladaptations that can cause an unhealthy personality and sense of self. However, with the successful completion of each developmental stage comes the acquisition of different virtues that help contribute to a healthy personality and positive interactions with others.

The Stages

Stage (Age)	Psychosocial Crisis	Psychosocial Virtue
Infancy (0-1)	Trust vs. Mistrust	Hope
Early Childhood (1-3)	Autonomy vs. Shame	Will
Play Age (3-6)	Initiative vs. Guilt	Purpose
School Age (6-12)	Industry vs. Inferiority	Competence
Adolescence (12-18)	Identity vs. Role Confusion	Fidelity
Young Adult (19-40)	Intimacy vs. Isolation	Love
Adulthood (40-65)	Generativity vs. Stagnation	Care
Maturity (65+)	Ego Integrity vs. Despair	Wisdom

Infancy

The first of Erik Erikson’s stages deals with the issue of trust vs. mistrust. At this stage it is up to the parents to be able to show the child that they can trust the world and the people around them. They have to be able to trust that they will be cared for and that their basic needs will be met, especially since at this age the child is still entirely dependent upon it’s caretakers. The child’s sense of self as well as surroundings will come from their parents and the interactions they share. It is important to note that although the goal of this stage is to attain trust, the capacity for mistrust should not be completely eliminated. The favorable resolution to this stage is chiefly due to the quality of the maternal care.

The virtue that is attained by the successful completion of the first stage is that of hope. According to Erikson (1964) hope is the most indispensible virtue inherent in the state of being alive. Hope is the earliest and arguably the most important virtue. In the case of an unfavorable outcome a child could become too trusting and in some cases gullible, leaving them open to potential harm. If the child tilts more towards the mistrust side it is equally negative, causing the tendency to withdraw.

Early Childhood

During early childhood, between the ages of about 2-3, the task is to achieve autonomy while avoiding shame and doubt. In this psychosocial stage the child is no longer completely dependent upon others. They are now self-locomotive, learning to talk and need to be able to explore their first interests. The child should be allowed to try and do things by itself while learning the environment around them. At this point in time it is crucial that the parents are firm but tolerant with their children. Parents cannot be too hard on their children because it will make them think that the behavior they are engaging in is wrong. Even something as simple as laughing at a child while they are learning could discourage and embarrass them, both situations causing the child to give up.

When properly encouraged, the child develops will/willpower, a virtue that is directly linked to their determination. Although the phrase “I can do it” may be frustrating, in addition to time consuming, it is a beneficial quality to possess in the present as well as the future. To deter the children from their “can do” attitude will not only cause shame and doubt but the unwanted side effect of the compulsion to be perfect and avoid mistakes, ultimately embarrassment, at all costs.

Play Age

The third developmental stage is initiative versus guilt and piggybacks on the ideas of autonomy. Children are learning to do many more things with ease, however this is still not a time of formal education for them. This is the time when the imagination is taking shape and children want to play pretend, be the people or at the places they dream they are. This attempt to make their fantasy a reality is initiative. This kind of newly developed imagination means that children are not just living in the present, but they can also think ahead to the future and what comes with it: responsibility and guilt. They now want to do things with a purpose and have the capacity for moral judgment.

It is difficult to acquire an even balance between initiative and guilt since there are a couple of things that could go wrong. Too much initiative and too little guilt will result in ruthlessness, while too much guilt and too little initiative will create inhibitions for the child. The ideal balance results in a sense of purpose and the ability to act on it.

School Age

At the school age, children begin to grow up and out of their days of playtime and imagination into a larger world. They are now entering school and are exposed to a whole new, broader community including people like teachers, coaches and peers. They start to become more focused on increasingly difficult skills both in school and social atmospheres. The children realize the expectations set for them and so they strive to do things correctly and well to earn a sense of success. What they really need during this stage is for others to acknowledge their triumphs and give them credit it for it. At this time self-confidence develops simultaneously with the tendency to act out and rebel against authority.

Too much push from a parent or caregiver can cause the child to have a narrow virtuosity and give up their childhood in exchange for what their parents want them to do. In contrast, without any boost of confidence from adults or acceptance from peers, a child will see itself as unsuccessful and start to feel inferior. Another unfortunate reason for feelings of inferiority have been linked to almost all kinds of discrimination such as racism and sexism. These feelings of inferiority can cause a child to become inert. The ultimate goal is the virtue of competence, the ability to do things well with just a hint of inferiority to keep an individual down to earth.

Adolescence

The fifth psychosocial crisis is centered on the question “Who am I?” This stage usually begins around the time of puberty, tasking the adolescent with finding their identity while avoiding role confusion. It is about an individual knowing whom they are as opposed to changing roles to adapt to different situations. This person will try to find their identity based off knowing who they are themselves, how they fit into society and by comparing their skills to the ones that will be needed in specific situations.

At this time in life the child is transitioning into adulthood and is facing what Erikson called an “Identity Crisis”. This crisis is unlike any of the others faced since this one is about the discovery of the self. Each aspect of identity must be combined with the others to become an adult who contains all the attributes. The key to a successful combination of past, present and future is creating a unified self-image that can positively affect the self and those around, such as peers and community members.

Individuals are encouraged to take time to find themselves and explore what is out there, it a state called the psychosocial moratorium. Failure to complete this conflict in any way will cause great difficulties down the line for an individual but especially in self-clarification, a key factor in identity. If a person does not develop a sense of identity their maladaptation becomes repudiation and they allow themselves absorbed into a larger group who can provide that person with an identity. However, if a person develops an over active “ego identity” they can become a fanatic leaving them with little to no tolerance. Successful self-identification will lead to fidelity and ultimately, loyalty.

Young Adult

As a person gets older, the desire to share his or her life with someone else begins to surface, which is Erikson’s stage six: intimacy versus isolation. The idea of intimacy as he sees it, is the ability to have relationships, primarily romantic, with others. Intimacy is strongly tied to the development of the identity (stage 5). Once the self is identified it makes being in a relationship much more enjoyable since there is no longer a fear of losing one’s own identity or using the relationship as a way to form an identity. If one does not form an identity they will progress to experience (but not necessarily resolve) the intimacy crisis.

For many people the idea of isolation brings a negative idea of loneliness and the fear that comes with it, for others it brings about the choice to exclude oneself and form hatred instead. Oppositely, if an individual is too close and freely intimate with others they run the risk of being promiscuous. This virtue for this stage is most people’s life goal; Love. The ability to give love, accept it, and grow from it.

Adulthood

Adulthood is a hard time to pinpoint for exact ages but it is the time during which people are starting/raising families. This psychosocial developmental crisis is about generativity versus stagnation. While the previous stage was about reciprocal love between lovers or friends, this stage is a less selfish love, one for the future generations. The majority of people show their love by having children, caring for them deeply and raising them as best they can. Others show their care for the future by being a part of bigger things such as science, literature, music and other learning or inspirational areas. Stagnation is the complete opposite, someone who cares nothing for the future generations and sense of community. It should be noted that this is the same stage that the“midlife crisis’’ takes place in, adults wondering what they are doing in life and why?

People who are overly stagnant have a tendency to reject society and are the quintessential, non-contributing members. There are others who try to over compensate, or overextend, for others so far that they no longer leave anytime for themselves. When time and concern are properly distributed, the outcome is the ability to care. That concern and nurture for others will continue to serve an individual for the rest of their life.

Maturity

Erkison’s final developmental stage handles the time from the beginning of old age, usually retirement, to the end of a person’s life. To be able to reach this stage of development, according to Erikson, is a good sign; it means you have successful resolved as the previous crises. Once an individual arrives in their "golden years" the goal is to maintain ego integrity and not let despair get the best of them. It is certainly a difficult stage because as time passes more and more things begin to go. Retirement can cost some older folks their social life, the human body begins to deteriorate as well as the mind, and the worst of all is watching friends, or spouses, pass away. When in such a situation it is difficult not to become negative or let despair take hold but instead the only thing to do is come to terms with life. An individual is forced to accept what has happened and what will happen. Hopefully he or she will be able to look back on their life with a great sense of accomplishment, no regrets, just happiness.

Wisdom is the final virtue, which can only be attained through learning and time. It is considered by some a gift since it is really only comes with the successful completion and survival of all eight psychosocial developmental stages