5.1.
4 Erikson's psychosocial
development
● Erikson believed personality develops in a predetermined order through eight stages
of psychosocial development, from infancy to adulthood.
● At each stage, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis which could have a
positive or negative outcome for personality development.
● The psychological needs of the individual (psycho) conflict with the needs of society
(social).
● Successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and the
acquisition of basic virtues – these are strengths which the ego can use to resolve
crises.
● Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete
further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. These
stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time.
Stage Age Psychosocial Crisis Basic Virtue Important events
1 0–1½ Trust vs Mistrust Hope Feeding
2 1½-3 Autonomy vs Shame Will Toilet training
3 3-5 Initiative vs Guilt Purpose Exploration
4 5 - 12 Industry vs Inferiority Competency School
5 12 - 18 Identity vs Role Confusion Fidelity Social relationships
6 18 - 40 Intimacy vs Isolation Love Relationships
7 40 - 65 Generativity vs Stagnation Care Work and parenthood
8 65+ Ego Integrity vs Despair Wisdom Reflection on life
1. Trust vs. Mistrust (0- 1 1/2 )
● infant is uncertain about the world in which they live and looks towards their primary
caregiver for stability and consistency of care.
→ consistent, predictable and reliable = develop a sense of trust which will carry with them to
other relationships and feel secure even when threatened.
→ If not consistently met = mistrust, suspicion, and anxiety may develop.
● Success —> virtue of hope BECAUSE they feel other people will be there as a source of
support.
● Consistent with Erikson's views on the importance of trust, research
by Bowlby and Ainsworth has outlined how the quality of the early experience
of attachment can affect relationships with others in later life.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (18 months- 3 years)
● focused on developing a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of
independence.
→ Success = virtue of will.
- If children in this stage are encouraged and supported in their increased independence
= they become more confident and secure in their own ability to survive in the world.
- Eg: putting on clothes and shoes, playing with toys until they succeed or ask for help..
Such skills illustrate the child's growing sense of independence and autonomy.
- If children are criticized, overly controlled, or not given the opportunity to assert
themselves = feel inadequate in their ability to survive, and may then become overly
dependent upon others, lack self-esteem, and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their
abilities.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years old )
● children assert themselves more frequently through directing play and other social
interaction.
● primary feature involves the child regularly interacting with other children at school.
Central to this stage is play, as it provides children with the opportunity to explore
their interpersonal skills.
● Children begin to plan activities, make up games, and initiate activities with others —>
children develop a sense of initiative and feel secure in their ability to lead others and
make decisions.
● If not, either through criticism or control —> children develop a sense of guilt. = The
child will often overstep the mark in his forcefulness, and the danger is that the parents
will tend to punish the child and restrict his initiatives too much.
● It is at this stage that the child will begin to ask many questions. 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 “being a nuisance” which will
limit their creativity.
● A healthy balance between initiative and guilt is important. Success in this stage will
lead to the virtue of purpose, while failure results in a sense of guilt.
4. Industry vs. Inferiority (5-12).
● Children will be learning to read and write, to do sums, to do things on their own.
● Teachers begin to take an important role in the child’s life.
● child’s peer group will gain greater significance and will become a major source of the
child’s self-esteem and that they need to win approval by demonstrating specific
competencies that are valued by society and begin to develop a sense of pride in their
accomplishments.
● If children are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative = they begin to feel
industrious (competent) and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals.
● If this initiative is not encouraged, if it is restricted by parents or teacher, then = the
child begins to feel inferior, doubting his own abilities and therefore may not reach his
or her potential.
● Some failure may be necessary so that the child can develop some modesty. Again, a
balance between competence and modesty is necessary. Success in this stage will lead
to the virtue of competence.
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18)
● search for a sense of self and personal identity, through an intense exploration of
personal values, beliefs, and goals.
● transition from childhood to adulthood is most important - more independent, and
begin to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. The
individual wants to belong to a society and fit in.
● where the child has to learn the roles they 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.
● Erikson claims that the adolescent may feel uncomfortable about their body for a while
until they can adapt and “grow into” the changes.
● Success in this stage —> virtue of fidelity - being able to commit one's self to others on
the basis of accepting others, even when there may be ideological differences.
● Failure to establish a sense of identity within society ("I don’t know what I want to be
when I grow up") —> can lead to role confusion.
● Role confusion involves the individual not being sure about themselves or their place
in society
● In response to role confusion or identity crisis, an adolescent may begin to experiment
with different lifestyles (e.g., work, education or political activities). Or, if pressured into
an identity, may rebel with a negative identity.
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (18-40)
● During this stage, the major conflict centres on forming intimate, loving relationships.
● During this stage, they begin to share ourselves more intimately with others..
● Successful completion of this stage = happy relationships and a sense of commitment,
safety, and care within a relationship.
● Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships = isolation, loneliness, and
sometimes depression. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of love.
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (40-65)
● generativity refers to "making your mark" on the world through creating or nurturing
that will outlast an individual e.g.: being a mentor to others, raising children, being
productive at work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations.
● Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment
● failure results in shallow involvement in the world which will lead to the virtue of care.
● By failing to find a way to contribute, we become stagnant and feel unproductive and
disconnected
8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair (65+)
● contemplate accomplishments and can develop integrity if feel they led a successful life.
● Erikson described ego integrity as “the acceptance of one’s one and only life cycle as
something that had to be” and later as “a sense of coherence and wholeness”.
● Success —> virtue of wisdom. Wisdom enables a person to look back on their life with a
sense of closure and completeness, and also accept death without fear.
● Individuals who reflect on their life and regret not achieving their goals will experience
feelings of bitterness and despair – which may lead to depression.
● Wise people are not characterized by a continuous state of ego integrity, but they
experience both ego integrity and despair. Thus, late life is characterized by both
integrity and despair as alternating states that need to be balanced.
Evaluation
+ Erikson outlines a more realistic perspective of personality development (McAdams, 2001).
+ Due to Erikson’s ideas, psychology has reconceptualized the way the later periods of life are
viewed. Middle and late adulthood are no longer viewed as irrelevant, because of Erikson, they
are now considered active
and significant times of personal growth.
+ Erikson’s theory has good face validity. Many people find that they can relate to his theories
about various stages of the life cycle through their own experiences.
- However, Erikson is rather vague about the causes of development. What kinds of
experiences must people have to successfully resolve various psychosocial conflicts and
move from one stage to another? The theory does not have a universal mechanism for
crisis resolution.
- The theory is more a descriptive overview of human social and emotional development
that does not adequately explain how or why this development occurs. For example,
Erikson does not explicitly explain how the outcome of one psychosocial stage
influences personality at a later stage.
+ However, Erikson stressed his work was a ‘tool to think with rather than a factual
analysis.’ Its purpose is to provide a framework within which development can be
considered rather than testable theory. One of the strengths of Erikson's
+ The theory ties together important psychosocial development stages across the entire
lifespan.
- a lack of discrete stages of personality development (McCrae & Costa, 1997)
- Marcia 1980 subdivided Erikson’s 5th crisis (adolescence) into 4 identity statuses –
diffusion/confusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement – and used interviews to
empirically test them. Marcia found evidence for increasing identity achievement with
age but the process may take longer than Erikson stated and vary with gender,
upbringing, culture and historic time period.
