Human Growth and Development / Unit 18 HGD 2557 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Erikson's Crises in Order
The idea
Erikson's eight crises, entry 0029, run through the whole course. Trust versus mistrust fills the first year, entry 0466; autonomy versus shame and doubt follows, entry 0028; initiative versus guilt runs from about three to six, entry 0751; industry versus inferiority spans the elementary years, entry 1051; identity versus role confusion, about twelve to eighteen, entry 1355; intimacy versus isolation in early adulthood, entry 1658; generativity versus stagnation in midlife, entry 1952; and integrity versus despair at life's end, entry 2256.
In practice
One life read as eight turning points, from an infant's trust in caregivers to an older adult's review of a whole life, as entry 0029 frames it.
Where people slip
The age bands are approximate, entry 0029 warns, and textbooks differ. Erikson's crises have been criticized for fitting some cultures better than others. Exam items describe a person's central struggle and ask for the crisis: a middle-aged adult giving back to the next generation is working on generativity, and an older adult reviewing a life on integrity.
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