Psychosocial Development

The primary theory of psychosocial development was created by Erik Erikson, a German developmental psychologist. Erikson divided the process of psychological and social development into eight stages that correspond to the stages of physical development. At each stage, according to Erikson, the individual faces a psychological conflict that must be resolved in order to progress developmentally. Moving from infancy to old age, these conflicts are trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus role diffusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity—that is, creativity and productivity—versus stagnation, and ego integrity versus despair.