Pick a stage you'd like to do over so you can get it right.
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Stage |
Basic Conflict |
Important Events |
Outcome |
Infancy (birth to 18 months) |
Trust vs. Mistrust |
Feeding |
Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust. |
Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) |
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt |
Toilet Training |
Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt. |
Preschool (3 to 5 years) |
Initiative vs. Guilt |
Exploration |
Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. |
School Age (6 to 11 years) |
Industry vs. Inferiority |
School |
Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority. |
Adolescence (12 to 18 years) |
Identity vs. Role Confusion |
Social Relationships |
Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self. |
Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years) |
Intimacy vs. Isolation |
Relationships |
Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation. |
Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) |
Generativity vs. Stagnation |
Work and Parenthood |
Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world. |
Maturity(65 to death) |
Ego Integrity vs. Despair |
Reflection on Life |
Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair. |
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Erickson sure sees plenty of opportunity for failure, doesn't he. Can't we all get "participation" certificates and just move on to the next stage?
I loved learning about these stages. It brings me such insight into the "whys" of human behavior.
ReplyDeleteI think a good strategy for us all is to keep skipping around until we find a stage we're good at, and stay right there.
ReplyDelete