Developmental psychologist Erik H.

Erikson ( 1902-1994) was best known for his

theory on social development of human beings, and for coining the
phrase identity crisis.
The theory describes eight stages through which a healthily developing human
should pass from infancy to late adulthood. In each stage the person confronts,
and hopefully masters, new challenges. Each stage builds on the successful
completion of earlier stages. The challenges of stages not successfully
completed may be expected to reappear as problems in the future.
(Approx.

Significant

Psychosocial Psychosocial Maladaptations

ages) Stage

relations

modalities

virtues

& malignancies

Mother

to get,

hope,

sensory

Infant

to give in

faith

distortion

Trust vs

return

&
Psychosocial
crisis
(0-1)

withdrawal

mistrust
(2-3)

Parents

will,

Toddler

to hold on,

Autonomy vs

to let go

impulsivity

determination compulsion

shame and
doubt
(3-6)

Family

Preschooler

to go after,

purpose,

ruthlessness

to play

courage

inhibition

competence

narrow virtuosity

Initiative vs
guilt
(7-12)

Neighborhoo

to complete,

School-age

d and school

to make

child

inertia

things
together

Industry vs
inferiority
(12-18)

Peer groups,

to be oneself, fidelity, loyalty fanaticism

Adolescent

role models

to share

Ego-identity
vs roleconfusion

oneself

repudiation

(20-45)

Partners,

to lose and

Young adult

friends

find oneself in

Intimacy vs

isolation

another

(30-65)

Household,

to make be,

Middle aged

co-workers

to take care of

(50+)

Mankind or

to be,

Old adult

"my kind"

through

love

promiscuity
exclusivity

care

overextension
rejectivity

adult
Generativity
vs selfabsorption

Integrity vs
despair

wisdom

presumption
despair

having been,
to face not
being

Erikson's ideas on how we grow up as create identities is in contrast to Freud's,

who proposed sexual motives behind our behaviour.
http://www.psychologistworld.com/behavior/erikson.php

Developmental psychologists, by and large, study the way humans develop

from an embryo into a full grown adult, focusing mainly on the factors that
contribute to intelligence, personality, morality, and lifestyle. Of special

interest are the effects certain stimuli have on the development of humans.
For instance, does genetics pre-program a person to be introverted, or is that
personality trait the result of specific life events that caused him or her to
retreat inward? Or, did intense study of music from an early age make
someone a gifted musician, or is that something their genes had preprogrammed from the moment of conception?
Over the past hundred years or so, several prominent psychologists and
psychiatrists have devised various theories seeking to quantify the
developmental stages humans pass through, and in doing so, have sought to
map out this difficult process. One of the more

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
ERIK ERIKSON
"Trust versus mistrust" from birth to 18 months
"Autonomy versus shame" from one-and-a-half to three years
"Initiative versus guilt" from three to six years
"Industry versus inferiority" from six to 12 years.
JEAN PIAGET
"Sensorimotor stage" from birth to two years
"Preoperational stage" from two to seven years
"Concrete operational stage" from seven to 12 years
"Formal operational stage" from 13 to adult.
LAWRENCE KOHLBERG
"Preconventional stage," where moral decisions are based on how
they themselves are affected

"Conventional stage," where moral judgments are based on the conventions of

society, family, religion, or other social order (Many people do not pass
beyond this stage.)
"Post-conventional level," where moral judgments are based on personal
beliefs.

famous theories of developmental psychology was put forth by the

psychological theorist Erik Erikson in 1963 in his important work Childhood
and Society. In this work, Erikson suggests that psychosocial development,
the changing ways we perceive ourselves individually and in relation to
society, occurs in eight stages only four of which deal with childhood. The
first of Erikson's stages is "trust versus mistrust" and occurs from birth to 1
years. The child formulates either a trusting or mistrusting relationship to the
world around it, based on whether its immediate needs are met. These needs,
at this young age, generally have to do with satisfaction of physical cravings
(food, sleep, and comfort) and for feelings of attachment.
The second stage of development Erikson called "autonomy versus shame"
and doubtoccurring between 1 and 3 years of age. Here, young children learn
to be independent and autonomous on the condition that they are adequately
encouraged to explore their world and given the freedom to do so. On the
other hand, children with overly restrictive or anxious parents who wield too
great an influence over their children's behavior, stifling creativity and
independent exploration of their environment, become shameful and self
doubting.
Between the ages of three and six, children pass through the stage Erikson
refers to as "initiative versus guilt." During this period of development,
children seek to further explore their world by initiating new experiences.
The guilt comes about when there are unexpected consequences involved in
these initiations. The final stage of childhood development is called "industry
versus inferiority," and it lasts from age six to 12. Here, children seek to
become industrious in all areas of life, from school to interpersonal relations.
Mastery of these skills, with adequate support at home and in school, brings
about a sense of overall competence, whereas failure brings about a sense of
inferiority.
Another prominent theorist in developmental psychology was Jean Piaget,
who developed the four stages of cognitive development. He theorized that

people pass from one stage to another not just as a matter of course, but only
when they are confronted with the correct type of stimulation to initiate a
change. Piaget believed that in the absence of the correct kinds of stimulation,
children would never reach their full potential.
According to Piaget, from birth to two years of age, children are in the
"sensorimotor" stage of cognitive development. During this stage, children
first begin to develop motor skills. They also have little or no ability for what
is called symbolic representation, that is, the ability to conceive of things
existing outside of their immediate vicinity. Piaget called this ability object
permanence. Piaget's next stage is called "preoperational" (from ages two to
seven). In this stage, children begin to use language and other
representational systems to conceive of, and even discuss, things or people
who are not physically present. The chief marker of this stage is what Piaget
called egocentric thought. That is, preoperational children can conceive of
things that are not present, but they can not conceive of others perceiving
what they can not. The classic example of this kind of thinking is the young
child who in order to hide simply covers his eyes, thinking that since he can no
longer see, no one else can either.
Piaget's next stage is called "concrete operational" and covers the years 7 to 12.
Here, children begin to develop clearer methods of thinking, and they start to
overcome the egocentrism of the preoperational stage. They begin to better
understand spatial relationships and matters of time, but they are largely
bound by the concrete world and have trouble conceiving abstract thought.
During the formal operational stage, from age 12 to adulthood, people develop
the ability to think logically and systematically and to understand abstractions
and the concepts of causality and choice. They see that different outcomes can
proceed from different actions, and that they are free to choose between
various actions depending on a desired outcome. According to Piaget, and to
many who believe in his framework, not everyone reaches this stage of
cognitive development. Some researchers assert that as few as 25 percent of
the general population reaches the formal operational stage. Still others
suggest that it is a culture-based phenomena and that in less technological
societies, almost no one reaches the stagemainly because such thinking is
not valued or even necessary.
A final theory dealing with developmental psychology was devised
by Lawrence Kohlberg and presented in his 1981 book The Philosophy of
Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice. Kohlberg's stages
deal with how children formulate moral reasoning at various stages of
cognitive development. He called the earliest stage the "preconventional."

Here, children base moral decisions on how they themselves are affected.
Something is "right," in other words, if they are not likely to be punished for
doing it. The next level is the "conventional" stage. During this stage, people
base their moral judgments on the conventions of society (or of family or
religion or some other social order). Something is "right" during this stage of
development if it is something most people would agree is right. Many people
do not pass beyond the conventional level of moral reasoning. If they do, they
arrive at what Kohlberg calls the "post-conventional level," where moral
judgments are based on personal beliefs. People in this stage of moral
development will do what they consider is "right" even if it contradicts social
norms.

Read more: Theories of Developmental Stages - STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

- Trait Theory, Famous Psychologists, Children, and Moral - JRank
Articles http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/183/Developmental-StagesTheories.html#ixzz3qjSyJJip
http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/183/Developmental-Stages-Theories.html

Psychosocial Stages
Eriksons (1959) theory of psychosocial development has eight distinct stages. Like Freud,
Erikson assumes that a crisis occurs at each stage of development. For Erikson (1963),
these crises are of a psychosocial nature because they involve psychological needs of the
individual (i.e. psycho) conflicting with the needs of society (i.e. social).
According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality
and the acquisition of basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego
can use to resolve subsequent 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.

1. Trust vs. Mistrust

Is the world a safe place or is it full of unpredictable events and accidents waiting to
happen?
Erikson's first psychosocial crisis occurs during the first year or so of life (like Freud's oral
stage of psychosexual development). The crisis is one of trust vs. mistrust.
During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these
feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and
consistency of care.
If the care the infant receives is consistent, predictable and reliable, they will develop a
sense of trust which will carry with them to other relationships, and they will be able to feel
secure even when threatened.
Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope. By developing a sense of trust, the
infant can have hope that as new crises arise, there is a real possibility that other people will

be there are a source of support. Failing to acquire the virtue of hope will lead to the
development of fear.
For example, if the care has been harsh or inconsistent, unpredictable and unreliable, then
the infant will develop a sense of mistrust and will not have confidence in the world around
them or in their abilities to influence events.
This infant will carry the basic sense of mistrust with them to other relationships. It may
result in anxiety, heightened insecurities, and an over feeling of mistrust in the world around
them.
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

The child is developing physically and becoming more mobile. Between the ages of 18
months and three, children begin to assert their independence, by walking away from their
mother, picking which toy to play with, and making choices about what they like to wear, to
eat, etc.
The child is discovering that he or she has many skills and abilities, such as putting on
clothes and shoes, playing with toys, etc. Such skills illustrate the child's growing sense of
independence and autonomy. Erikson states it is critical that parents allow their children to
explore the limits of their abilities within an encouraging environment which is tolerant of
failure.
For example, rather than put on a child's clothes a supportive parent should have the
patience to allow the child to try until they succeed or ask for assistance.

So, the parents need to encourage the child to becoming more independent whilst at the same
time protecting the child so that constant failure is avoided.
A delicate balance is required from the parent. They must try not to do everything for the
child but if the child fails at a particular task they must not criticize the child for failures and
accidents (particularly when toilet training). The aim has to be self control without a loss of
self-esteem (Gross, 1992). Success in this stage will lead to the 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.
If children are criticized, overly controlled, or not given the opportunity to assert themselves,
they begin to 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 own
abilities.

3. Initiative vs. Guilt

Around age three and continuing to age five, children assert themselves more frequently.
These are particularly lively, rapid-developing years in a childs life. According to Bee (1992)
it is a time of vigor of action and of behaviors that the parents may see as aggressive".
During this period the 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 through initiating activities.
Children begin to plan activities, make up games, and initiate activities with others. If given
this opportunity, children develop a sense of initiative, and feel secure in their ability to lead
others and make decisions.
Conversely, if this tendency is squelched, either through criticism or control, children
develop a sense of guilt. They may feel like a nuisance to others and will therefore remain
followers, lacking in self-initiative.
The child takes initiatives which the parents will often try to stop in order to protect the child.
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 as his thirst for knowledge
grows. If the parents treat the childs 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.
Too much guilt can make the child slow to interact with others and may inhibit their creativity.
Some guilt is, of course, necessary, otherwise the child would not know how to exercise self
control or have a conscience.
A healthy balance between initiative and guilt is important. Success in this stage will lead to
the virtue ofpurpose.

4. Industry (competence) vs. Inferiority

Children are at the stage (aged 5 to 12 yrs) where they 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 childs
life as they teach the child specific skills.

It is at this stage that the childs peer group will gain greater significance and will become a
major source of the childs self esteem. The child now feels the 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
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.
If the child cannot develop the specific skill they feel society is demanding (e.g. being
athletic) then they may develop a sense of inferiority. Some failure may be necessary so that
the child can develop some modesty. Yet 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

During adolescence (age 12 to 18 yrs), the transition from childhood to adulthood is most
important. Children are becoming 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.
This is a major stage in development where the child has to learn the roles he 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.
According to Bee (1992), what should happen at the end of this stage is a reintegrated
sense of self, of what one wants to do or be, and of ones appropriate sex role. During this
stage the body image of the adolescent changes.
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 will lead to the virtue
of fidelity.
Fidelity involves being able to commit one's self to others on the basis of accepting others,
even when there may be ideological differences.
During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon
the outcome of their explorations. Failure to establish a sense of identity within society ("I
dont 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). Also pressuring someone into
an identity can result in rebellion in the form of establishing a negative identity, and in
addition to this feeling of unhappiness.

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation

Occurring in young adulthood (ages 18 to 40 yrs), we begin to share ourselves more
intimately with others. We explore relationships leading toward longer term commitments
with someone other than a family member.
Successful completion of this stage can lead to comfortable relationships and a sense of
commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment
and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression. Success in
this stage will lead to the virtue of love.

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

During middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65 yrs), we establish our careers, settle down within a
relationship, begin our own families and develop a sense of being a part of the bigger
picture.
We give back to society through raising our children, being productive at work, and
becoming involved in community activities and organizations.
By failing to achieve these objectives, we become stagnant and feel unproductive. Success
in this stage will lead to the virtue of care.

8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair

As we grow older (65+ yrs) and become senior citizens, we tend to slow down our
productivity, and explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that we contemplate
our accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a
successful life.
Erik Erikson believed if we see our lives as unproductive, feel guilt about our past, or feel
that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop
despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness.
Success in this stage will lead to the 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.

Critical Evaluation
Erikson is rather vague about the causes of development. What kinds of experiences must
people have in order to successfully resolve various psychosocial conflicts and move from
one stage to another? The theory does not have a universal mechanism for crisis resolution.
Indeed, Erikson (1964) acknowledges his 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.
One of the strengths of Erikson's theory is its ability to tie together important psychosocial
development across the entire lifespan.
Although support for Erikson's stages of personality development exists (McAdams,
1999), critics of his theory provide evidence suggesting a lack of discrete stages of
personality development (McCrae & Costa, 1997).
\
http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

Psychological development, the development of human beings cognitive, emotional,

intellectual, and social capabilities and functioning over the course of the life span,
from infancy through old age. It is the subject matter of the discipline known as developmental
psychology. Child psychology was the traditional focus of research, but since the mid-20th
century much has been learned about infancy andadulthood as well. A brief treatment of
psychological development follows. For full treatment, seehuman behaviour.

Infancy
Infancy is the period between birth and the acquisition of language one to two years later.
Besides a set of inherited reflexes that help them obtain nourishment and react to danger,
newborns are equipped with a predilection for certain visual patterns, including that of the
human face, and for certain sounds, including that of the human voice. Within a few months they
are able to identify their mother by sight, and they show a striking sensitivity to the tones,
rhythmic flow, and individual sounds that make up human speech. Even young infants are
capable of complex perceptual judgments involving distance, shape, direction, and depth, and
they are soon able to organize their experience by creating categories for objects and events (e.g.,
people, furniture, food, animals) in the same way older people do.

Infants make rapid advances in both recognition and recall memory, and this in turn increases
their ability to understand and anticipate events in their environment. A fundamental advance at
this time is the recognition of object permanencei.e., the awareness that external objects exist
independently of the infants perception of them. The infants physical interactions with his
environment progress from simple uncoordinated reflex movements to more coordinated actions
that are intentionally repeated because they are interesting or because they can be used to obtain
an external goal. About 18 months of age, the child starts trying to solve physical problems by
mentally imagining certain events and outcomes rather than through simple trial-and-error
experimentation.
Three-month-old infants already display behavioral reactions suggestive of such emotional states
as surprise, distress, relaxation, and excitement. New emotional states, including anger, sadness,
and fear, all appear by the first year. Infants emotional life is centred on the attachments they
form toward the mother or other primary caregiver, and through these mutual interactions infants
learn to love, trust, and depend on other human beings. Babies begin to smile at other people
beginning about two months, and by six months they have developed an attachment to their
mother or other caregiver. These attachments form the basis for healthy emotional and social
development throughout childhood.

Childhood
The second major phase in human development, childhood, extends from one or two years of age
until the onset of adolescence at age 12 or 13. The early years of childhood are marked by
enormous strides in the understanding and use of language. Children begin to comprehend words
some months before they themselves actually speak. The average infant speaks his first words by
1214 months, and by the 18th month he has a speaking vocabulary of about 50 words. The child
begins to use two- and then three-word combinations and progresses from simple noun-verb
combinations to more grammatically complex sequences, using conjunctions, prepositions,
articles, and tenses with growing fluency and accuracy. By the fourth year most children can
speak in adultlike sentences and have begun to master the more complex rules of grammar and
meaning.
In their cognitive abilities, children make a transition from relying solely on concrete, tangible
reality to performing logical operations on abstract and symbolic material. Even a two-year-old
child behaves as though the external world is a permanent place, independent of his perceptions;
and he exhibits experimental or goal-directed behaviour that may be creatively and
spontaneously adapted for new purposes. During the period from two to seven years, the child
begins to manipulate the environment by means of symbolic thought and language; he becomes
capable of solving new types of logical problems and begins to use mental operations that are
flexible and fully reversible in thought. Between the ages of 7 and 12, the beginnings of logic
appear in the form of classifications of ideas, an understanding of time and number, and a greater
appreciation of seriation and other hierarchical relationships.

Emotionally, children develop in the direction of greater self-awarenessi.e., awareness of their

own emotional states, characteristics, and potential for actionand they become increasingly
able to discern and interpret the emotions of other people as well. This contributes to empathy, or
the ability to appreciate the feelings and perceptions of others and understand their point of view.
These new abilities contribute to the childs moral development, which typically begins in early
childhood as concern over and avoidance of acts that attract pain and punishment and progresses
to a more general regulation of conduct so as to maintain parental regard and approval. A further
shift in moral reasoning to one based on the avoidance of internal guilt and self-recrimination
marks the passage from childhood and adolescence to adulthood. All of these emotional
advances enhance the childs social skills and functioning.

Adolescence
Physically, adolescence begins with the onset of puberty at 12 or 13 and culminates at age 19 or
20 in adulthood. Intellectually, adolescence is the period when the individual becomes able to
systematically formulate hypotheses or propositions, test them, and make rational evaluations.
The formal thinking of adolescents and adults tends to be self-consciously deductive, rational,
and systematic. Emotionally, adolescence is the time when the individual learns to control and
direct his sex urges and begins to establish his own sexual role and relationships. The second
decade of life is also a time when the individual lessens his emotional (if not physical)
dependence on his parents and develops a mature set of values and responsible self-direction.
Physical separation and the establishment of material independence from parents mark the
adolescents transition to adulthood.

Adulthood
Adulthood is a period of optimum mental functioning when the individuals intellectual,
emotional, and social capabilities are at their peak to meet the demands of career, marriage, and
children. Some psychologists delineate various periods and transitions in early to middle
adulthood that involve crises or reassessments of ones life and result in decisions regarding new
commitments or goals. During the middle 30s people develop a sense of time limitation, and
previous behaviour patterns or beliefs may be given up in favour of new ones.
Middle age is a period of adjustment between the potentialities of the past and the limitations of
the future. An emotional rebellion has been observed in some persons, sometimes referred to as
a mid-life crisis, engendered by the recognition that less time remains to be lived than has been
lived already. In women, dramatic shifts in hormone production lead to the onset of menopause.
Often women whose children have grown or have left home experience the empty-nest
syndromefeeling unwanted or unneeded. During late middle age individuals become more
aware of ill health and thus may consciously or unconsciously alter the patterns of their lives.
Individuals accept the limits of their accomplishments and either take satisfaction in them or
despair and become anxious over unobtained objectives. During old age sensory and perceptual
skills, muscular strength, and memory tend to diminish, though intelligence does not. These

changes, together with retirement from active employment, tend to make the elderly more
dependent on their children or other younger people, both emotionally and physically.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/psychological-development