ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Review the psycho-social stages and fill out the matrix below.

STAGE: Stage 1: Oral-Sensory Birth to 12-18 Months

CRISIS: Trust vs Mistrust
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: adult caregivers/mother 
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Sensory Maladjustment – As a result of being
overly trusting and perhaps even guileful, this person has a hard time believing that
anyone would intentionally injure them and will use whatever means necessary to justify
the wrongdoing of others.
MALIGNANCY (Include description): Withdrawal - Depression, paranoia, and potentially even
psychosis are the defining features of this condition.
VIRTUE (Include description): If the right amount of equilibrium is reached, the infant will
acquire the character trait of hope.

STAGE: Stage 2: Muscular-Anal 18 months to 3 Years of Age

CRISIS: Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: Parents
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Impulsivity - a certain kind of brazen willfulness that,
in later childhood and even in maturity, causes you to rush into things without giving due
attention to your capabilities.
MALIGNANCY (Include description): Compulsiveness -feels as though their very existence
depends on everything that they do, and as a result, everything that they do must to be done
flawlessly.
VIRTUE (Include description): The virtue of willpower or resolve can be cultivated by
experiencing a healthy mix of autonomy, guilt, and doubt

STAGE: Stage 3: Locomotion 3 to 6 Years of Age

CRISIS: Initiative vs Guilt
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: Family
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Ruthlessness-A state of being "without mercy,"
characterized by a lack of emotion or compassion.
MALIGNANCY (Include description): Inhibition-The person who is inhibited will not try new
things because they believe that "nothing ventured, nothing lost" and, more specifically, that
there is nothing that they should feel guilty about.
VIRTUE (Include description): The psychological and cognitive strengths of purpose can
be developed through maintaining a healthy balance.

STAGE: Stage 4: Latency 6 to 12 Years of Age

CRISIS: Industry vs Inferiority
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: Neighbor & School Children
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Narrow Virtuosity-We see this in children who aren't
allowed to "be children," the ones whose parents or teachers force them into one area of
expertise, without allowing for the development of broader interests. This occurs in children who
aren't given the opportunity to "be children.
MALIGNANCY (Include description): Inertia-this encompasses those of us who suffer from
what Alfred Adler referred to as "inferiority complexes."
VIRTUE (Include description): A happier thing would be to develop the appropriate
balance of superiority and inferiority, which would mean primarily superiority with just a
touch of inferiority to keep us sensibly modest. Next, there is the admirable quality
known as competency.

STAGE: Stage 5: Adolescence 12 to 18 Years of Age

CRISIS: Identity vs Role Confusion
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: Peer Cliques Girl/Boy Friend Role Models
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Fanaticism- is the belief that one's own method is
the only way to do anything.
MALIGNANCY (Include description): Repudiation-they do not acknowledge that they are part
of the adult world, and on top of that, they do not acknowledge that they have a requirement for
an identity.
VIRTUE (Include description): You will have achieved the virtue that Erikson referred to
as fidelity if you are successful in navigating this stage.

STAGE: Stage 6: Young Adult 19 to 29 Years of Age

CRISIS: Intimacy vs Isolation
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: Friends & Life Partners
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Promiscuity-is a term that refers specifically to the
inclination to become intimate with someone too quickly, too easily, and without any kind of
depth to your intimacy.
MALIGNANCY (Include description): Exclusion-also known as the inclination to cut oneself off
from love, friendship, and community in order to protect oneself, leading to the development of a
certain degree of hatred as a form of compensation.
VIRTUE (Include description): If you are able to get through this stage without any
problems, Erikson says that you will have acquired the virtue of love and will carry it with
you for the rest of your life.

STAGE: Stage 7: Middle Age 30 to 55 Years of Age

CRISIS: Generativity vs Self-Absorption
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: Household Members & Work Mates
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Overextension-The issue is best demonstrated
by the term "overextension." Some people put so much emphasis on being productive
that they leave little room in their schedules for personal time, let alone time to unwind
and refresh.
MALIGNANCY (Include description): Rejectivity-When you have too little generativity and
too much stagnation, you have rejectivity. When you have rejectivity, you are no longer
contributing to society nor are you participating in society
VIRTUE (Include description): However, if you are able to pass this stage with high
marks, you will have developed a capacity for empathy that will serve you well for the
rest of your life.

STAGE: Stage 8: Old Age 56 to 100 Years of Age

CRISIS: Integrity vs Despair
SIGNIFICANT PERSON: Mankind or “My-kind”
MALADAPTATION (Include description): Presumption-The term "presumption" refers to
the condition that arises when a person "assumes" ego integrity without having actually
dealt with the challenges of advancing years
MALIGNANCY (Include description):Disdain-Disdain, which Erikson defines as a
contempt for life in general, including one's own life and the life of others
VIRTUE (Include description): Someone who approaches death without fear has the
strength Erikson calls wisdom.