Testing Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

Lopiga RV, Alavado AL, Perez MEL, Silvio N, Tugade GF

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Sta. Mesa, Manila

March 2011

Abstract

This study was conducted to test if Erikson’s psychosocial stages have predictive validity based

on the self-reported concerns of the participants. There were 20 participants in the said study: ten

males and ten females. The researchers asked and recorded the self-reported concerns of the

participants. The researchers identified what particular psychosocial stage a participant was in.

The percentage correct for the group was 90%. The percentage correct for each psychosocial

stages were the following: stage 3 (Initiative vs. Guilt) -100%, stage 4 (Industry vs. Inferiority)

-93.75%, stage 5 (Identity vs. Role Confusion)-93.75%, stage 6 (Intimacy vs. Isolation)-93.75%,

stage 7 (Generativity vs. Stagnation)-93.75%, and stage 8 (Integrity vs. Despair)-100%. In favor

of the male subjects, 87.5% were correct, while the percentage correct for female subjects was

92.5%. Based on the results, Erikson’s psychosocial stages is true based on the self-reported

concerns of the participants.

Introduction

According to Erik Homburger Erikson (1902-1994), it is human to have a long childhood

and it is civilized to have an even longer childhood. Long childhood makes a technical and

mental virtuoso out of man, but it also leaves a life-long residue of emotional immaturity in him.
 Personality traits come in opposites. People think of themselves as optimistic or

pessimistic, independent or dependent, emotional or unemotional, adventurous or cautious,

leader or follower, aggressive or passive. Many of these are inborn temperament traits, but other

characteristics, such as feeling either competent or inferior, appear to be learned, based on the

challenges and support we receive in growing up.

The man who did a great deal to explore this concept is Erik Erikson. Although he was

influenced by Freud, he believed that the ego exists from birth and that behavior is not totally

defensive. Based in part on his study of Sioux Indians on a reservation, Erikson became aware of

the massive influence of culture on behavior and placed more emphasis on the external world,

such as depression and wars. He felt the course of development is determined by the interaction

of the body (genetic biological programming), mind (psychological), and cultural (ethos)

influences.

He organized life into eight stages that extend from birth to death which is also called the

Psychosocial Development theory. Since adulthood covers a span of many years, Erikson divided

the stages of adulthood into the experiences of young adults, middle aged adults and older adults.

While the actual ages may vary considerably from one stage to another, the ages seem to be

appropriate for the majority of people.

The first stage is theInfancy (birth to 18 months). The ego development outcome is Trust

vs. Mistrust and the basic strength is drive and hope.Erikson also referred to infancy as the Oral

Sensory Stage (as anyone might who watches a baby put everything in her mouth) where the

major emphasis is on the mother's positive and loving care for the child, with a big emphasis on

visual contact and touch. If the individual passes successfully through this period of life, he or

she will learn to trust that life is basically okay and have basic confidence in the future. If he or
she fails to experience trust and is constantly frustrated because the needs are not met, he or she

may end up with a deep-seated feeling of worthlessness and a mistrust of the world in

general.Incidentally, many studies of suicides and suicide attempts point to the importance of the

early years in developing the basic belief that the world is trustworthy and that every individual

has a right to be here.Not surprisingly, the most significant relationship is with the maternal

parent, or whoever is our most significant and constant caregiver.

The second stage is the Early Childhood (8 months to 3 years). The ego development

outcome is Autonomy vs. Shame and the basic strengths: self-control, courage, and will.During

this stage the individuallearn to master skills for themselves. Not only do theylearn to walk, talk

and feed themselves, they are learning finer motor development as well as the much appreciated

toilet training. Here they have the opportunity to build self-esteem and autonomy as they gain

more control over their bodies and acquire new skills, learning right from wrong. And one of

their skills during the "Terrible Two's" is their ability to use the powerful word "NO!" It may be

pain for parents, but it develops important skills of the will.It is also during this stage, however,

that the individual can be very vulnerable. If he or she is ashamed in the process of toilet training

or in learning other important skills, he or she may feel greatshame and doubt of our capabilities

and suffer low self-esteem as a result.The most significant relationships are with parents.

The third stage is the Pre-school Age (3 to 5 years). The ego development outcome is

Initiative vs. Guilt and the basic strength is purpose. During this period, the individual

experiences a desire to copy the adults around him or her and take initiative in creating play

situations. He or she makes up stories with Barbie's and Ken's, toy phones and miniature cars,

playing out roles in a trial universe, experimenting with the blueprint for what he or she believes

it means to be an adult. He or she also begins to use that wonderful word for exploring the world
—"WHY?"While Erikson was influenced by Freud, he downplays biological sexuality in favor

of the psychosocial features of conflict between child and parents. Nevertheless, he said that at

this stage we usually become involved in the classic "Oedipal struggle" and resolve this struggle

through "social role identification." If the individual was frustrated over natural desires and

goals, he or she may easily experience guilt.The most significant relationship is with the basic

family.

The fourth stage is the School Age (6 to 12 years). The ego development outcome is

Industry vs. Inferiority and the basic strengths are Method and Competence. During this stage,

often called the Latency, the individual is capable of learning, creating and accomplishing

numerous new skills and knowledge, thus developing a sense of industry. This is also a very

social stage of development and if he or she experiences unresolved feelings of inadequacy

andinferiority among his or her peers, he or she can have serious problems in terms of

competence and self-esteem. As the world expands a bit, the individual’s most significant

relationship is with the school and neighborhood. Parents are no longer the complete authorities

they once were, although they are still important.

The fifth stage is the Adolescence (12 to 20 years). The ego development outcome is

Identity vs. Role Confusion and the basic strengths are Devotion and Fidelity.Up to this stage,

according to Erikson, development mostly depends upon what is done to the individual. From

here on out, development depends primarily upon what the individual does. And while

adolescence is a stage at which he or she is neither a child nor an adult. Life is definitely getting

more complex as he or sheattempts to find his or her own identity, struggle with social

interactions, and grapple with moral issues. The individual’s task is to discover who he or she

isas individuals separate from his or her family of origin and as members of a wider society.
Unfortunately for those around the individual, in this process many of them go into a period of

withdrawing from responsibilities, which Erikson called a "moratorium." And if he or she is

unsuccessful in navigating this stage, he or she will experience role confusion and upheaval. A

significant task for him or her is to establish a philosophy of life and in this process he or she

tends to think in terms of ideals, which are conflict free, rather than reality, which is not. The

problem is that he or she doesn't have much experience and find it easy to substitute ideals for

experience. However, the individual can also develop strong devotion to friends and causes. It is

no surprise that the individuals most significant relationships are with peer groups.

The sixth stage is the Young adulthood (21 to 40 years). The ego development outcome

is Intimacy vs. Isolation and the basic strengths are Affiliation and Love.In the initial stage of

being an adult the individual seeks one or more companions and love. As he or she tries to find

mutually satisfying relationships, primarily through marriage and friends, he or she generally

also begins to start a family, though this age has been pushed back for many couples who today

don't start their families until their late thirties. If negotiating this stage is successful, the

individual can experience intimacy on a deep level.If he or she is not successful, isolation and

distance from others may occur. And when he or she doesn't find it easy to create satisfying

relationships, his or her world can begin to shrink as, in defense, he or she can feel superior to

others. The significant relationships are with marital partners and friends.

The seventh stage is the Middle Adulthood (41 to 65 years). The ego development

outcome is Generativity vs. Stagnation and the basic strengths are Production and Care.Now

work is most crucial. Erikson observed that middle-age is when the individual tends to be

occupied with creative and meaningful work and with issues surrounding his or her family. Also,

middle adulthood is when he or she can expect to "be in charge," the role he or she longer
envied.The significant task is to perpetuate culture and transmit values of the culture through the

family (taming the kids) and working to establish a stable environment. Strength comes through

care of others and production of something that contributes to the betterment of society, which

Erikson calls generativity, so when the individual in this stage often fear inactivity and

meaninglessness.As his or her children leaves home, or his or her relationships or goals change,

he or shemay be faced with major life changes—the mid-life crisis—and struggle with finding

new meanings and purposes. If he or shedoesn't get through this stage successfully, he or shecan

become self-absorbed and stagnate.Significant relationships are within the workplace, the

community and the family.

The eighthstage is the Late Adulthood (65 to Death). The ego development outcome is

Integrity vs. Despair and the basic strength is Wisdom.Erikson felt that much of life is preparing

for the middle adulthood stage and the last stage is recovering from it. Perhaps that is because as

older adultscan often look back on our lives with happiness and are content, feeling fulfilled with

a deep sense that life has meaning and he or she made a contribution to life, a feeling Erikson

called integrity. The individual’s strength comes from a wisdom that the world is very large and

he or shenow has a detached concern for the whole of life, accepting death as the completion of

life.On the other hand, some adults may reach this stage anddespair at their experiences and

perceived failures. They may fear death as they struggle to find a purpose to their lives,

wondering "Was the trip worth it?" Alternatively, they may feel they have all the answers (not

unlike going back to adolescence) and end with a strong dogmatism that only their view has been

correct.The significant relationship is with all of mankind—"my-kind."

Thus, within the framework of psychosocial theory, the concept of stages of development

refers to a pattern of changes in the self-concept based on new cognitive capacities, new
learning, and the acquisition of new relationship skills. At each stage, the biological,

psychological, and the societal systems converge around a set of defining challenges that require

a new view of the self in the society, and a new way of relating to others. In this study, the

researchers’ aim to find out if individuals’ self-reported concern affects Erikson’s psychosocial

stages’ predictive validity. Could an individual accurately predict a person’s stage or age based

from their self-reported concerns? If it does, what stage is most or the least likely to be predicted

correct? Is the prediction between male and female respondents the same or not?

By exploring this theory, the researchers assumed that Erikson’s psychosocial stages have

no predictive validity (that is an individual can not accurately predict a person’s stage or age

based from their self-reported concerns).

Methodology

There were ten subjects in the said study: five males and five females. Their age ranges

from 5-65 and older. The materials used in this experiment are paper and pen for recording of the

answers made by the subjects.

The group experimenter interviewed ten willing subjects between the ages 5-65 and

older. The interview was done face to face or over the phone with relatives or friends, as the

experimenters prefer. The experiment tried to achieve a balance of different age ranges and

genders as possible. The subject was asked by the researchers with the question “What is your

major concern or issue in life right now?” The answer made by the subject was recorded in a

sheet of paper and the age and gender of the subjects were written down on the back side of the

paper. After gathering the necessary information, the group met and analyzed the answers made
by the subjects. Upon reading the answers, the members of the group identified which

psychosocial stage that particular subject is currently in. After identifying, the group calculated

the correct identification of the stages each member gets. The percentage correct for the group

was also calculated, as well as for the 6 stages of development required for the experiment. The

percentage correct for the male and female subjects was calculated to see if there is a significant

difference between them.

Results

The researchers expected that Erikson’s psychosocial stages have no predictive validity.

The findings showed the participants' age and gender with their corresponding answers towards

the researchers' question as follows: 38, Male (Magpayaman. Mabigyan ng magandang buhay

ang pamilya ko.), 19, Male (Buhay ko at kung sino na ako pagkatapos ko makagraduate.), 5,

Male (School po, mahirap yung science.), 42, Male (Tumataas ang presyong mga bilihin ngayon

at kung paano kumita ng pera.), 9, Male (Sa school po, nahihirapan ako kasi madalas akong

absent.), 17, Male (Sa porma o kaya sa kalusugan), 52, Male (Yung araw- araw na pamumuhay.),

27, Male (Makahanap ng girlfriend o asawa.), 67, Male (May mga regrets ako. Sa ngayon

nakafocus ako na magawa o matupad yung mga regrets na meron ako.), 52, Female (Mapagtapos

ang mga anak ko sa pag- aaral.), 52 Female (Mapagtapos ko ang aking mga anak. Sana wag

muna sila mag-asawa.), 18, Female (Maipasa yung course ko ngayon.), 31, Female (Tumatanda

na ako. Di' pa ako makahanap ng partner sa buhay.), 74, Female (Magkaroon ng malusog na

pangangatawan at humaba pa ang aking buhay.), 5, Female (Magkaroon po ako ng maraming

laruan.), 8, Female (Nahihirapan ako sa school.), 19, Female (Nakapokus lang talaga ako sa

studies ko.), 29, Female (Makahanap nang fiance.), 36, Female (Di kasya ang salary ko sa araw-

araw na gastusin.).
 There were four researchers in the said study who attempted to identify which

psychosocial stage the particular subject was currently in and individually got correct with the

percentage of 95, 90, 85, and 90 respectively. The calculated percentage correct for the group

was 90 %. The percentages correct for each psychosocial stage were the following: The

percentage correct for each psychosocial stages were the following: stage 3 (Initiative vs. Guilt)

-100%, stage 4 (Industry vs. Inferiority) -93.75%, stage 5 (Identity vs. Role Confusion)-93.75%,

stage 6 (Intimacy vs. Isolation)-93.75%, stage 7 (Generativity vs. Stagnation)-93.75%, and stage

8 (Integrity vs. Despair)-100%. In favor of the male subjects, 87.5% were correct, while the

percentage correct for female subjects was 92.5%.

Discussion

Due to the restrictions of the ages in the stages 1 (Basic Trust vs. Mistrust) and 2

(Autonomy vs. Shame), the experiment excluded them in this study. Babies and kids in the age

bracket 0-2 cannot obviously answer the required question, thus the researchers started the study

in the stage 3 and above.

The results suggest that by analyzing the researchers’ percentage of individually got

correct in identifying what psychosocial stage the particular subject was in, that is 95%, 90%,

85%, 90% respectively, and the percentage correct for the group which is 90%, Erikson’s

psychosocial stages do have a predictive validity. The results suggest that an individual can

accurately predict a person’s stage or age based on their self-reported concerns. The researchers

noticed that the predictions were most accurate in the psychosocial stages of 3 (Initiative vs.

Guilt) and 8 (Integrity vs. Despair) having a percentage of correct identification made by the

researchers of 100%. On the other hand, the least accurate predictions were in the psychosocial
stages of 4 (Industry vs. Inferiority), 5 (Identity vs. Role Confusion), 6 (Intimacy vs. Isolation), 7

(Generativity vs. Stagnation) having a percentage of 93.75%.

By comparing also the percentage correct for males and females, the researchers noticed

that it was different. The percentage correct for males was 87.5% while the percentage correct

for females was 92.5%. This implies that Dr. Erikson’s psychosocial stages better describe the

female development than male development. However, further researches should be conducted in

order to fully determine who among the male or female is better describe by Erikson’s

psychosocial stages. More number of participants is suggested.

References

Harder, Arlene F.(2002).The Developmental Stages of Erik Erikson.

McLeod, Saul. (2008). Simply Psychology: Erik Erikson.Retrieved 21 February 2012,

From<http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html>

Newman, Barbara M. and Newman, Phillip R. (2010).Development Through Life: Psychosocial

Approach . Wadsworth Cengage Learning: New York.

Web.Wikipedia: Erikson's theory of personality. .Retrieved 21 February 2012,

From<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson>
Appendix A

Table 1. Respondents’ Answers

Respondent Age Gender Answer

No.
1 38 Male Magpayaman. Mabigyan ng magandang
buhay ang pamilya ko.
2 19 Male Buhay ko at kung sino na ako pagkatapos ko
makagraduate.
3 5 Male School po, mahirap yung science.
4 42 Male Tumataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin ngayon
at kung paano kumita ng pera.
5 9 Male Sa school po, nahihirapan ako kasi madalas
akong absent.
6 11 Male Binubugbog, binubully ako sa school.
7 17 Male Sa porma, o kaya sa kalusugan.
8 52 Male Yung pang-araw- araw na pamumuhay.
9 27 Male Makahanap ng girlfriend o asawa.
10 67 Male May mga regrets ako. Sa ngayon nakafocus
ako na magawa o matupad yung mga regrets
na meron ako.
11 50 Female Mapagtapos ang mga anak ko sa pag- aaral.
12 52 Female Mapagtapos ko ang aking mga anak. Sana
wag muna sila mag-asawa.
13 18 Female Maipasa yung course ko ngayon.
14 31 Female Tumatanda na ako. Di' pa ako makahanap ng
partner sa buhay.
15 74 Female Magkaroon ng malusog na pangangatawan
at humaba pa ang aking buhay .
16 5 Female Magkaroon po ako ng maraming laruan.
17 8 Female Nahihirapan ako sa school.
18 19 Female Nakapokus lang talaga ako sa studies ko.
19 29 Female Makahanap na ng fiance.
20 36 Female Di kasya ang salary ko sa araw-araw na
gastusin.
Table 2.Researcher’s Identification of the Respondents’ Psychosocial Stage based on their Self-

Reported Concerns

Respondent No. Researcher Researcher Researcher Researcher Correct

1 2 3 4 Identification
1 Stage 7 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6
2 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5
3 Stage 3 Stage 3 Stage 3 Stage 3 Stage 3
4 Stage 7 Stage 7 Stage 6 Stage 7 Stage 7
5 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 3 Stage 4
6 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4
7 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5
8 Stage 7 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 7 Stage 7
9 Stage 8 Stage 8 Stage 8 Stage 8 Stage 8
10 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6
11 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4
12 Stage 7 Stage 7 Stage 7 Stage 7 Stage 7
13 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5
14 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6
15 Stage 8 Stage 8 Stage 8 Stage 8 Stage 8
16 Stage 3 Stage 3 Stage 3 Stage 3 Stage 3
17 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4
18 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 5
19 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 6
20 Stage 7 Stage 6 Stage 6 Stage 7 Stage 7
Raw Score: 19 18 17 18
Percentage 95% 90% 85% 90%
Correct:
Percentage 90%
Correct for the
Group:

Table 3. Percentage Correct for the Psychosocial Stages

 Psychosocial Stages Percentage Correct
3 100 %
4 93.75 %
5 93.75 %
6 93.75 %
7 93.75 %
8 100 %

Table 4. Percentage Correct for Male and Female Subjects

Gender Percentage Correct

Male 87.5 %
Female 92.5%