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Trust vs. mistrust
3 month old Kenny loves to be carried by his mother who is his full-time caretaker. Whenever members of the family hold Kenny, he begins to cry. In Erikson's first stage, trust vs. mistrust, the crisis is between feeling safe in the arms of the loving caretaker (trust) and being cared by someone one does not know or is used to (mistrust). -
Identity vs. identity confusion
Charlie assumed that he was going to continue his family legacy of making the varsity soccer team in his freshman year of high school. After soccer tryouts, Charlie found out he only made the junior varsity soccer team and question how he was going to carry his family legacy. In Erikson's fifth stage, identity versus identity confusion, the crisis is between an individual becoming mindful of and accepting who they are and what they are capable of (identity), and not being able to obtain these. -
Generativity vs. stagnation
Jenny (age 32) is a manager with three kids. She does whatever she can to make sure her kid's future will be stable. Jenny is often in meetings and spends most of her time at work hanging out with her colleagues. In Erikson's seventh stage, generativity vs stagnation, the crisis is between one taking care of another through spending time with them (generativity) and one only worrying about what he or she needs (stagnation).