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Trust vs. Mistrust
From the time the child is an infant to the age of about 1 1/2 years, they are in Eriksons first stage crisis, trust versus mistrust. The child needs a stable, loving and consistent caregiver. They are learning to trust the world around them and develop loving and stable relationships that the child will build upon and continue to trust in relationships later in life. If the child is neglected or has unstable caregivers, the child will develop mistrust and carry this into future relationships. -
Initiative vs Guilt
From the time the child is approximately 1 1/2 years to about 3, the child is experiencing a crisis known as Initiative versus guilt. This is the time the child is exploring play, and is learning how to initiate play socially with others. If the child is encouraged, they learn to have initiative and become more independent. If the child does not recieve positive feedback and is treated as an inferior, the child will learn guilt, be socially stunted and will be overly dependant on caregivers. -
Identity vs Role Confusion
From the time the child is 12 to 18 years old, they are in the crisis stage identity versus role confusion; they are learning who they are and how they fit in to society and the world around them. They are also learning about their gender and occupational identity. If the child is allowed and encouraged to explore, they identify who they are, and who they will become. If the child is put down or treated negatively; the child will have role confusion, and do not know how they fit into society. -
Ego Integrity Versus Despair
This stage is reached at the age of retirement, 65+ years. In this stage the senior will experience the crisis of whether they lived a full and happy life; full of accomplishments with little to regret. Or, if the senior has many regrets and does not feel as their life was fufilled with purpose, this is despair. In this stage we learn wisdom.
