28.3: Erik Erikson's Stage Theory Of Lifespan Development

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Erik Erikson (1950; 1959) proposed a “cradle to grave” sequence of development that complements the stage theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. Erikson described eight “con- flicts” associated with different periods of one’s life (see Table \(\PageIndex{1}\)). It was assumed that successful resolution of the conflict associated with a particular stage resulted in acquisition of the related “virtue” (e.g., trust, autonomy, initiative, etc.) for the rest of one’s life. Unsuccessful resolution would result in developmental problems during subsequent stages.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Erikson’s Eight Stages of Human Development

**Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages**
Stages	Crisis	Favorable Outcome	Unfavorable Outcome
Childhood
1st year of life	Trust vs. mistrust	Faith in the environment and future events	Suspicion, fear of future events
2nd year	Autonomy vs. doubt	A sense of self-control and adequacy	Feelings of shame and self-doubt
3rd through 5th years	Initiative vs. guilt	Ability to be a “self-starter,” to initiate one’s own activities	A sense of guilt and inadequacy to be on one’s own
6th year to puberty	Industry vs. inferiority	Ability to learn how things work, to understand and organize	A sense of inferiority at understanding and organizing
Transition Years
Adolescence	Identity vs. confusion	Seeing oneself as a unique and integrated person	Confusion over who and what one really is
Adulthood
Early adulthood	Intimacy vs. isolation	Ability to make commitments to others, to love	Inability to form affectionate relationship
Middle age	Generativity vs. self-absorption	Concern for family and society in general	Concern only for self—one’s own well- being and prosperity
Aging years	Integrity vs. despair	A sense of integrity and fulfillment; willingness to face death	Dissatisfaction with life; despair over prospect of death

Childhood

Transition Years

Adulthood