Appendix C: Psychosocial Lifespan Development Theory
A Brief Overview of Erik and Joan Erikson’s Psychosocial Lifespan Theory
| Name of Stage | Description of Stage |
|---|---|
| Trust vs. mistrust (0-1) | The infant must have basic needs met in a consistent way in order to feel that the world is a trustworthy place. |
| Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (1-2) | Mobile toddlers have newfound freedom they like to exercise and by being allowed to do so, they learn some basic independence. |
| Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5) | Preschoolers like to initiate activities and emphasize doing things “all by myself.” |
| Industry vs. inferiority (6-11) | School aged children focus on accomplishments and begin making comparisons between themselves and their classmates |
| Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence) | Teenagers are trying to gain a sense of identity as they experiment with various roles, beliefs, and ideas. |
| Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood) | In our 20s and 30s we are making some of our first long-term commitments in intimate relationships. |
| Generativity vs. stagnation (middle adulthood) | The 40s through the early 60s we focus on being productive at work and home and are motivated by wanting to feel that we’ve made a contribution to society. |
| Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood) | We look back on our lives and hope to like what we see-that we have lived well and have a sense of integrity because we lived according to our beliefs. |
| Revistation of Stages (elderly adulthood) | In this stage elderly adults revisit the earlier stages and may resolve the stages differently, perhaps less positively, than before. Adults who can come to term with these changes are more likely to have an overall positive perspective on life. |
These nine stages of development encompass infancy through elderly adulthood.