Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development

the theory proposed by Erik Erikson that ego identity is gradually achieved by facing goals and challenges during eight stages of development across the lifespan. The stages are (a) infancy: basic trust versus mistrust; (b) toddler: autonomy versus shame and doubt; (c) preschool age: initiative versus guilt; (d) school age: industry versus inferiority; (e) adolescence: identity versus identity confusion; (f) young adulthood: intimacy versus isolation; (g) middle age: generativity versus stagnation; and (h) older adulthood: integrity versus despair.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

January 23rd 2025

functional measurement

functional measurement

a procedure that measures the subjective experience of stimuli as that experience changes across different contexts. Two or more stimuli are presented in various combinations to an observer who assigns ratings to each. These ratings are then integrated according to a simple arithmetical law discovered by examining the way in which the observer’s ratings change when the combination of stimuli is changed.