in this video we will discuss about erickson's eight stages of psychosocial development as is well known eriksen's eight stages of psychosocial development is a modification of freud's psychosexual theory as we may already know freud describes human personality development as psychosexual this means that for freud what develops in the human person is the way in which libido or sexual energy of the id accumulates and is discharged as human persons mature biologically each stage of freud's five psychosexual stages that is oral anal phallic latency and genital represents a fixation of libido on different areas of the body which as a person grows become important sources of tension and pleasure now freud believes that life is built around tension and pleasure and that the former is caused by a buildup of libido while the latter results from his discharge much like freud eriksen is convinced that personality develops in a series of stages hence ericsson's eight stages of psychosocial development but instead of focusing on the psychosexual aspect of development as freud did ericsson's eight stages of psychosocial development focus on the resolution of a specific crisis that one encounters in each stage of its development as a person eriksen argues that this conflict must be resolved for a child to develop into a healthy and well-adjusted adult which in turn makes her a contributing member of society ericsson calls this ego strength or ego quality and according to erickson if the person fails to overcome this crisis she will emerge with a sense of inadequacy in that aspect of development which in turn prevents her from developing the necessary skills needed for a strong sense of self now as we can see ericsson expanded freud's psychosexual theory by highlighting the cultural aspect of personal development this is the reason why ericsson puts more emphasis on the impact of social experience on personality in fact in ericsson's eight stages of psychosocial development ericsson attempts to explain how social interactions and relationships played out in the development of personality now let's delve into eriksen's eight stages of psychosocial development infancy from birth to 12 months of age trust versus mistrust the first stage in ericsson's eight stages of psychosocial development takes place during infancy which occurs between birth and one year of age according to ericsson this is the most fundamental stage in life during this stage the infant is utterly dependent on the parents especially the mother for sustenance and comfort according to erickson if the parents are consistent in providing the infant with a secure environment including the satisfaction of the infant's basic needs such as food love and safety the infant develops a sense of trust if parents on the other hand are inconsistent in providing the infant with what she needs erickson argues that a sense of mistrust will develop on the part of the infant in the long run according to ericsson mistrust will lead to feelings of frustration with role suspicion and a lack of confidence it must be noted however that for ericsson it is impossible for the infant to develop 100 trust for sure the infant cannot avoid developing some kind of mistrust during this stage although negative in itself eriksen believes that some experience of mistrust is advantageous on the part of the infant as it allows her to gain some understanding of what constitutes dangerous situations later in life this explains why eriksen believes that a successful development of the infant's personality during this stage involves striking a balance between trust and mistrust however erickson cautions that it is not advisable for the infant to be exposed to prolonged situations of mistrust early childhood ages one to three years autonomy versus shame and doubt the second stage in eriksen's eight stages of psychosocial development occurs during early childhood between ages 1 and 3 years according to ericsson the child during this stage begins to explore the world and learns that she can control her actions and eventually acts in her environment to get results it is also during this stage that the child begins to show strong and clear preferences over things of interest such as food toys and clothing thus it is in the stage that the child develops a sense of personal control and starts to gain a little independence now for ericsson if parents allow their children to make choices of their own which in turn allows them to develop personal control and gain independence children will develop a sense of autonomy erickson believes that children who successfully complete this stage that is develop a sense of autonomy will feel secure and confident on the other hand those who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy which in turn results in a feeling of shame and self-doubt preschool ages three to six years initiative versus guilt the third stage in eriksen's eight stages of psychosocial development is the preschool stage which takes place between ages 3 and 6. during this stage children are now capable of initiating activities and begin to assert control over the environment through social interactions and play according to ericsson children who are successful in this stage feel capable and able to lead others it is also in this stage where children want to begin and complete their own actions for a specific purpose when such initiatives according to ericsson do not yield the desired results children may feel guilt ericsson argues that for children to become successful in this stage they must resolve the task of initiative and guilt ericsson asserts that the task of initiative which is commonly understood as a sense of ambition and responsibility can be fulfilled when parents allow their children to explore the world on their own and then support their choices in the end as ericsson would have us believe these children will develop self-confidence and feel a sense of purpose as already noted earlier if children are not successful in this stage that is when their initiatives are stifled by their parents they develop a sense of guilt school age ages 6 to 12 years industry versus inferiority the fourth stage in ericsson's eight stages of psychosocial development is the school age stage which takes place between ages six and twelve during this stage children are faced with a task of industry and inferiority here through social interactions children begin to develop a sense of pride in their abilities and accomplishments particularly in school works sports social activities and family life according to ericsson if children are encouraged and commended by the parents and teachers they develop a sense of competence and belief in their skills however if children don't get the support of parents and teachers in the form of encouragement and appreciation they will doubt their abilities to be successful which might be responsible for the development of inferiority complex in their adolescence and adulthood years adolescence ages 12 to 18 identity versus role confusion the fifth stage in eriksen's eight stages of psychosocial development is the adolescent stage which takes place between ages 12 and 18. according to ericsson the adolescent stage plays a crucial role in the development of a sense of personal identity hence it is in this stage that the adolescents explore their independence and develop a sense of self as a matter of fact according to ericsson the adolescent's main task in this stage is to develop a sense of self erickson argues that when adolescents received proper encouragement and reinforcement in their personal exploration they will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of identity and are able to remain true to their values and beliefs when faced with problems those who do not receive proper encouragement and reinforcement will develop a weak sense of identity and experience role confusion confusion not only about themselves but also their future young adulthood 20s through early 40s intimacy versus isolation the sixth stage in ericsson's eight stages of psychosocial development is the young adulthood stage this takes place in a person's life from the 20s through the early 40s according to ericsson after the person developed a sense of self in adolescence he is now ready to share his life with others thus in this stage young adults want to blend with their friends and peers they want to fit in they want to develop an intimate relationship with other people in fact they want to make long-term commitments to others as they are now capable of forming intimate relationships such as friendship and marriage they are even willing to make compromises and sacrifices that such relationships require and for erickson those who are successful in this stage are able to establish intimate relationships one that is enduring and secure and which may ultimately result in the development of a virtue known as love however if people failed to establish intimate relationships with others they may develop a sense of isolation it must be noted that for ericsson if the crises in the previous stages have not been resolved young adults may find it difficult to develop and maintain intimate relationships with other people thus ericsson insists that people must develop a strong sense of self so they can develop intimate relationships with others middle adulthood 40s through mid-60s generativity versus stagnation according to ericsson when a person reaches his 40s he enters into a stage known as middle adulthood which extends to the mid-60s and according to erickson when a person makes a significant contribution during this stage for example by erasing a family or engaging in a productive work that contributes positively to society a sense of generativity or a sense of productivity and accomplishment ensues those who've failed to fulfill this task may experience stagnation and feel unproductive and uninvolved in the world maturity from mid-60s to end of life ego integrity versus despair the last stage in eriksen's eight stages of psychosocial development is known as the maturity stage this is called the late adulthood stage which takes place from the mid-60s to death eriksen believes that as people get older their productivity slows down and begin to explore life as retired individuals it is also during this period that they contemplate on their accomplishments and when they are proud of them they feel a sense of integrity this will enable them to look back on their life with little regrets however those who failed to fulfill their task during this stage according to ericsson may feel that their life has been wasted and look back on their life with many regrets as a result they face the end of their life with feelings of depression and bitterness which eventually results in despair now lastly here's a diagram that helps illustrate schematically erickson's eight stages of psychosocial development