What Are the Eight Stages of

Human Development?
If human development is the study of how people change throughout their lives, how
and when does this development happen? Many scientists and psychologists have
studied various aspects of human development, including ego psychologist Erik
Erikson. He examined the impact of social experiences throughout an individual’s life
and theorized that psychosocial development happens in eight sequential parts.
What are the eight stages of human development?
Stage 1 — Infancy: Trust vs. Mistrust
In the first stage of human development, infants learn to trust based on how well
their caregivers meet their basic needs and respond when they cry. If an infant cries
out to be fed, the parent can either meet this need by feeding and comforting the
infant or not meet this need by ignoring the infant. When their needs are met, infants
learn that relying on others is safe; when their needs go unmet, infants grow up to be
less trusting.

Stage 2 — Toddlerhood: Autonomy vs.

Shame and Doubt
In addition to autonomy versus shame and doubt, another way to think of the second
stage is independence versus dependence. Like in the first stage, toddlers go
through this stage responding to their caregivers. If caregivers encourage them to be
independent and explore the world on their own, toddlers will grow up with a sense
of self-efficacy. If the caregivers hover excessively or encourage dependence, these
toddlers grow up with less confidence in their abilities.

For example, if a toddler wants to walk without assistance in a safe area, the
caregiver should encourage this autonomy by allowing the independent behavior. If
the caregiver insists on holding the toddler’s hand even when it’s not necessary, this
attention can lead to doubt later in life.

Stage 3 — Preschool Years: Initiative vs.

Guilt
During the preschool years, children learn to assert themselves and speak up when
they need something. Some children may state that they’re sad because a friend
stole their toy. If this assertiveness is greeted with a positive reaction, they learn that
taking initiative is helpful behavior. However, if they’re made to feel guilty or
ashamed for their assertiveness, they may grow up to be timid and less likely to take
the lead.

Stage 4 — Early School Years: Industry vs.

Inferiority
When children begin school, they start to compare themselves with peers. If children
feel they’re accomplished in relation to peers, they develop strong self-esteem. If,
however, they notice that other children have met milestones that they haven’t, they
may struggle with self-esteem. For example, a first grader may notice a consistently
worse performance on spelling tests when compared with peers. If this becomes a
pattern, it can lead to feelings of inferiority.

 
 The key components of Erikson’s model of human development include stage one,
infancy, trust versus mistrust; stage two, toddlerhood, autonomy versus shame and
doubt; stage three, preschool years, initiative versus guilt; stage four, early school
years, industry versus inferiority; stage five, adolescence, identity versus role
confusion; stage six, young adulthood, intimacy versus isolation; stage seven,
middle adulthood, generativity versus stagnation; and stage eight, late adulthood,
integrity versus despair.
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Stage 5 — Adolescence: Identity vs. Role
Confusion
The adolescent stage is where the term “identity crisis” originated, and for good
reason. Adolescence is all about developing a sense of self. Adolescents who can
clearly identify who they are grow up with stronger goals and self-knowledge than
teenagers who struggle to break free of their parents’ or friends’ influences.
Adolescents who still deeply depend on their parents for social interaction and
guidance may experience more role confusion than teenagers who pursue their own
interests.

Stage 6 — Young Adulthood: Intimacy vs.

Isolation
In young adulthood, which begins roughly at age 20, people begin to solidify their
lifelong bonds; many people enter committed relationships or marriages, while others
form lifelong friendships. People who can create and maintain these relationships
reap the emotional benefits, while those who struggle to maintain relationships may
suffer from isolation. A young adult who develops strong friendships in college may
feel more intimacy than one who struggles to form and maintain close friendships.

Stage 7 — Middle Adulthood: Generativity

vs. Stagnation
In middle adulthood, people tend to struggle with their contributions to society. They
may be busy raising children or pursuing careers. Those who feel that they’re
contributing experience generativity, which is the sense of leaving a legacy. On the
other hand, those who don’t feel that their work or lives matter may experience
feelings of stagnation. For example, a middle-aged adult who’s raising a family and
working in a career that presumably helps people may feel more fulfilled than an
adult who’s working at a day job that feels meaningless.

Stage 8 — Late Adulthood: Integrity vs.

Despair
As adults reach the end of life, they look back on their lives and reflect. Adults who
feel fulfilled by their lives, either through a successful family or a meaningful career,
reach ego integrity, in which they can face aging and dying with peace. If older adults
don’t feel that they’ve lived a good life, they risk falling into despair.

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 Other Theories of Human
Development
Although widely used, Erikson’s psychosocial development theory has been critiqued
for focusing too much on childhood. Critics claim that his emphasis makes the model
less representative of the growth that people experienced in adulthood. Erikson’s
model of the stages of human development is only one theory addressing growth
and change throughout life, as many other psychologists have researched their
own theories of human development, including the following:
Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget developed the theory of cognitive development. Piaget’s theory is widely
used in education programs to prepare teachers to instruct students in
developmentally appropriate ways. The theory is based on four stages:

 Sensorimotor — In the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years old), children learn
object permanence, which is the understanding that people and objects still exist even when
they’re out of view.
 Preoperational — In the preoperational stage (2-7 years old), children develop
symbolic thought, which is when they begin to progress from concrete to abstract thinking.
Children in this stage often have imaginary friends.
 Concrete operational — In the concrete operational stage (7-11 years old), children
solidify their abstract thinking and begin to understand cause and effect and logical
implications of actions.
 Formal operational — In the formal operational stage (adolescence to adulthood),
humans plan for the future, think hypothetically, and assume adult responsibilities.

Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg created a theory of human development based on moral
development concepts. The theory comprises the following stages:

 Preconventional — In the preconventional stage, people follow rules because

they’re afraid of punishment and make choices only with their best interests in mind.
 Conventional — In the conventional stage, people act to avoid society’s judgment
and follow rules to maintain the systems and structures that are already in place.
 Postconventional — In the postconventional stage, a genuine concern for the
welfare of others and the greater good of society guides people.

Psychosexual Theory
Sigmund Freud popularized the psychosexual theory. The theory comprises five
stages:
 Oral — In the oral stage (birth to 1 year old), children learn to suck and swallow and
may experience conflict with weaning.
 Anal — In the anal stage (1-3 years old), children learn to withhold or expel feces
and may experience conflict with potty training.
 Phallic — In the phallic stage (3-6 years old), children discover that their genitals can
give them pleasure.
  Latency — In the latency stage (roughly 6 years old through puberty), they take a
break from these physical stages and instead develop mentally and emotionally.
 Genital — In the genital stage (puberty through adulthood), people learn to express
themselves sexually.
Ideally, children move through each phase fluidly as their sexual libidos develop, but
if they’re stuck in any of the phases, they may develop a fixation that hinders their
development.
 Behavioral Theory
The behavioral theory focuses solely on a person’s behaviors rather than the
feelings that go alongside those behaviors. It suggests that behaviors are
conditioned in an environment due to certain stimuli. Behavioral theorists believe that
behavior determines feelings, so changing behaviors is important because this will in
turn change feelings.

The attachment theory focuses on the deep relationships between people across

their lifetime. An important attachment theory finding is that children must develop at
least one strong bond in childhood to trust and develop relationships as adults. The
attachment theory comprises four stages:
 Asocial or pre-attachment  (birth to 6 weeks old)
 Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks old to 7 months old)
 Specific or discriminate attachment (7-9 months old)
 Multiple attachments (10 months old or later)

Social Learning Theory

The social learning theory builds upon the behavioral theory and postulates that
people learn best by observing the behavior of others. They watch how others act,
view the consequences, and then make decisions regarding their own behavior
accordingly. The four stages in this theory are:

 Attention
 Retention
 Reproduction
 Motivation
In the attention stage, people first notice the behavior of others. In the retention
stage, they remember the behavior and the resulting consequences. In the
reproduction stage, people develop the ability to imitate the behaviors they want to
reproduce, and in the motivation stage, they perform these behaviors.

Sociocultural Theory
The sociocultural theory ties human development to the society or culture in which
people live. It focuses on the contributions that society as a whole makes to
individual human development. For example, children who are raised to play
outdoors develop differently from children who are raised to play indoors.
An important part of this theory is the zone of proximal development, which is an
area of knowledge and skills slightly more advanced than a child’s current level. The
zone of proximal development helps teachers think about and plan instruction, so
sociocultural theory plays a large role in preservice teacher training.