Stage 1: Infancy -- Age 0 to 1
Crisis: Trust vs . Mistrust
Infants depend on others for food, warmth, & affection, & therefore must be able to blindly trust
the caregivers.
Outcomes:
Positive: If needs are met consistently, the child will develop a secure attachment with the caregiver, & will
learn to trust their environment as well.
Negative: If needs are not met, infant will develop mistrust towards people and things in their environment, even
towards themselves.
Stage 2: Toddler -- Age 1 to 2
Crisis: Independence vs. Doubt (or Shame)
Children learn to walk, talk, use toilets, & do things for themselves. Self-control &
confidence begin to develop.
Outcomes:
Positive: If caregivers encourage initiatives & reassure them when mistakes are made the child will
develop the confidence needed to cope with furure situations that require choice, control, & independence.
Negative: If caregivers are overprotective, they may begin to feel ashamed of their behavior, or doubt
their abilities.
Stage 3: Early Childhood -- Age 2 to 6
Crisis: Initiave vs. Guilt
Children find a new found power (motor skills have developed & social interactions occur).
They must learn to achieve balance between eagerness for adventure, responsibility, & control.
Outcomes:
Positive: If parents are encouraging, but consistent in discipline, children will learn to accept without
guilt, that certain things are not allowed, but at the same time will not feel shame when using their imagination and engaging
in make-believe role plays.
Negative: If not, children may develop a sense of guilt and may come to believe that it is wrong to
be independent.
Stage 4: Elementary & Middle School Years
Age 6 to 12
Crisis: Competence vs. Inferiority
School is important at this stage. Children learn to make things, use tools, & acquire skills
to be a worker and provider. They do this while making a transition from a world at home to a world of peers.
They balance school and fun.
Outcomes:
Positive: If children discover pleasure in intellectual stimulation, being productive, seeking success,
they will develop a sense of competence.
Negative: If not, they will develop a sense of inferiority.
Stage 5: Adolescence -- Age 12 to 18
Crisis: Identity vs. Role Confusion
They ask "Who am I?" To answer this they must integrate the healthy resolution of all earlier
conflicts. This is the most important stage an individual faces.
Outcomes:
Positive: If they solve this successfully, they will come out of this stage with a strong identity, and
ready to plan for the future.
Negative: If not, they will be confused, unable to make decisions & choices, especially about
vocation, sexual orientation, and his role in life in general.
Stage 6: Young Adulthood -- Age 19 to 40
Crisis: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Love relationships are essential. No matte how successful in work, you are not developmentally
complete until you are capable to intimacy. An individual who has not developed an identity will fear a committed relationship.
Outcomes:
Positive: Adult individuals can form close relationships & share them with others if they have achieved
a sense of identity.
Negative: If not, they will fear commitment, feel isolated and unable to depend on anybody in the world.
Stage 7: Middle Adulthood -- Age 40 to 65
Crisis: Generativity vs. Stagnation
By "generativity" he means an adult's ability to look outside oneself & care for others (ex.
parenting). Believes adults need children as much as children need adults. This stage reflects the need to create
a living legacy.
Outcomes:
Positive: People can solve this crisis by having & nurturing children, or helping the next generation
in other ways.
Negative: If this crisis is not successfully resolved, the individuals will remain self-centered
& experience stagnation later in life.
State 8: Late Adulthood -- Age 65 to death
Crisis: Integrity vs. Depspair Important
Old age is a time for reflecting upon one's own life and its role in the big scheme of things, and
seeing it filled with pleasure and satisfaction or disappointments and failures.
Outcomes:
Positive: If the adult feels a sense of fullfillment about life and a sense of unity within himself and
others, he will accept death with integrity. Just as the healthy child will not fear life, the healthy adult will not
fear death.
Negative: If not, the individual will despair and fear death.
