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# Erikson's psychosocial stages

- Theory

Erikson described eight life stages, each with a social conflict to resolve, from trust in infancy to integrity in old age.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Trust versus mistrust (0 to 1): depends on reliable, responsive care.
- Autonomy versus shame and doubt (1 to 3): toilet training, feeding self, saying no.
- Initiative versus guilt (3 to 6) and industry versus inferiority (6 to 11): play and then school competence.
- Identity versus role confusion (adolescence): who am I, values, roles.
- Intimacy versus isolation (young adult), generativity versus stagnation (middle age), integrity versus despair (old age).
- Each stage builds on the earlier ones, and stages can be revisited in a crisis or illness.

## What it is

Erik Erikson extended psychoanalytic ideas to the whole life span and placed the focus on social relationships. He proposed eight stages, each defined by a conflict between two outcomes; resolving it well gives a lasting strength (virtue), while unresolved conflicts can be revisited later. It is a descriptive framework that is useful clinically, but it has limited direct research support and reflects a Western view of the life course.

## Key facts

- Erikson's stages cover the whole life; Freud's psychosexual stages stop at adolescence.
- Identity diffusion, foreclosure (identity taken over without exploration), moratorium and achievement were later described by Marcia as identity statuses.
- The ages are approximate and vary with culture, education and life events.
- Chronic illness can disturb the task of the stage: a hospitalized adolescent may struggle most with loss of privacy and independence.

## Erikson's eight stages

| Approximate age | Conflict | Strength if resolved | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 0 to 1 year | Trust versus mistrust | Hope | A baby whose cries are answered learns the world is safe |
| 1 to 3 years | Autonomy versus shame and doubt | Will | A toddler insists on putting on his own shoes |
| 3 to 6 years | Initiative versus guilt | Purpose | A child plans a game and leads friends in it |
| 6 to 11 years | Industry versus inferiority | Competence | A pupil is proud of finishing a science project |
| Adolescence (about 12 to 18) | Identity versus role confusion | Fidelity | A teenager tries out styles, groups and career ideas |
| Young adulthood (about 19 to 29) | Intimacy versus isolation | Love | A young adult builds a committed partnership |
| Middle adulthood (about 30 to 64) | Generativity versus stagnation | Care | A surgeon mentors residents |
| Late adulthood (65 and older) | Integrity versus despair | Wisdom | An older woman reviews her life with acceptance |

## Clinical notes

- Respect for autonomy in toddlers (simple choices) and for privacy in adolescents follows directly from Erikson's tasks.
- In palliative care, life review supports the integrity task of old age.

## Memory aid

Trust, Act, Plan, Work, Find myself, Love, Give, Look back: one task per chapter of life.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## Which Erikson stage corresponds to a 2-year-old insisting on feeding himself?

Autonomy versus shame and doubt (about 1 to 3 years).

## Which conflict defines adolescence in Erikson's model?

Identity versus role confusion.

## What is generativity?

Concern for guiding and supporting the next generation, through parenting, work or mentoring; its failure is stagnation.

## What is a main limitation of Erikson's theory?

It is descriptive, has limited direct research support and reflects a Western view of the life course.

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## Connections

## Related 6

- [Piaget's stages of cognitive development](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/piaget-s-stages-of-cognitive-development/)
- [Attachment: Bowlby, Ainsworth and the attachment styles](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/attachment-bowlby-ainsworth-and-the-attachment-styles/)
- [Adolescence: development and the HEADSSS interview](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/adolescence-development-and-the-headsss-interview/)
- [Adulthood and middle age](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/adulthood-and-middle-age/)
- [Normal psychological ageing vs dementia](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/normal-psychological-ageing-vs-dementia/)
- [Personality: traits, the Big Five and Freud's models](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/personality-traits-the-big-five-and-freud-s-models/)

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Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Midlife Eriksonian Psychosocial Development: Setting the Stage for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Late Life](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5398200/) (Developmental Psychology (PubMed Central), 2016); [Human Development and Pastoral Care in a Postmodern Age: Donald Capps, Erik H. Erikson, and Beyond](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5854735/) (Journal of Religion and Health (PubMed Central), 2018).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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