Erikson's first psychosocial stage, Trust vs Mistrust, occurs during infancy. What determines whether a child develops basic trust?
A: The child's innate temperament and genetic predisposition
B: Consistent, responsive caregiving that meets the infant's physical and emotional needs
C: The absence of any distressing experiences in the first year of life
D: Stimulating cognitive environments such as toys and visual input
Correct: Consistent, responsive caregiving that meets the infant's physical and emotional needs
Basic trust develops when caregivers consistently respond to the infant's needs with warmth and reliability. The infant learns that the world is predictable and safe, and that others can be depended upon. Mistrust arises from inconsistent, neglectful, or abusive care. Crucially, Erikson did not require the complete absence of frustration — some mistrust is normal and adaptive. The "virtue" associated with successful resolution of this stage is hope.
During the Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt stage (ages 1–3), what is the central developmental task?
A: Forming strong peer attachments and learning to cooperate
B: Developing a sense of personal control over physical skills and sense of independence
C: Understanding one's gender role within the family system
D: Acquiring language and symbolic thought to express inner states
Correct: Developing a sense of personal control over physical skills and sense of independence
Toddlers are developing motor skills and beginning to assert their will. When parents encourage independence within safe limits, children develop autonomy — confidence in their ability to act on the world. Excessive control or criticism produces shame (a public sense of failure) and doubt (uncertainty about one's own capacities). The virtue arising from successful resolution is will. Erikson's account maps closely onto Mahler's separation-individuation process.
The Initiative vs Guilt stage (ages 3–6) is characterised by children beginning to:
A: Compare themselves academically with peers and form a sense of competence
B: Plan activities, make up games, and initiate tasks with a sense of purpose
C: Question the values instilled by their parents and form their own moral code
D: Form romantic attachments and explore intimate relationships
Correct: Plan activities, make up games, and initiate tasks with a sense of purpose
Preschoolers begin to initiate activities — in play, in social interactions, in asking endless questions. When this initiative is encouraged, children develop purpose and a sense of direction. When it is consistently met with criticism or ridicule, guilt develops — a sense that their desires and actions are fundamentally wrong. Erikson connected this stage to Freud's Oedipal period, though he reframed the conflict in social rather than purely sexual terms. The virtue is purpose.
Industry vs Inferiority (ages 6–12) is the school-age stage. What does "industry" refer to in Erikson's model?
A: An interest in how things are made and a drive to engage in productive work and skill-building
B: The development of economic understanding and work ethic
C: Competitive behaviour toward peers in academic settings
D: The ability to sustain prolonged attention on abstract tasks
Correct: An interest in how things are made and a drive to engage in productive work and skill-building
Industry refers to the child's growing investment in learning skills, completing tasks, and producing things — whether academic work, crafts, sports, or music. Success leads to a sense of competence (the virtue of this stage); persistent failure or discouragement from adults and peers leads to inferiority — a belief that one is less capable than others. Cross-cultural research supports the universality of this stage, though the specific skills valued vary widely by culture.
Erikson's fifth stage, Identity vs Role Confusion, is central to adolescence. What did Erikson mean by a "psychosocial moratorium"?
A: A period of identity foreclosure in which adolescents adopt their parents' values without question
B: A sanctioned delay before adult commitments, allowing adolescents to explore different roles and ideologies
C: A phase of depression and withdrawal that precedes identity achievement
D: The legal protection afforded to minors from adult responsibilities
Correct: A sanctioned delay before adult commitments, allowing adolescents to explore different roles and ideologies
Erikson coined "psychosocial moratorium" to describe the socially permitted interval — characteristic of adolescence in industrialised societies — during which young people can experiment with different roles, beliefs, and relationships before making lasting commitments. It is not a passive waiting period but an active process of exploration. Societies that offer little or no moratorium (through early forced labour or marriage) risk premature foreclosure of identity. James Marcia later operationalised this concept empirically.
In the Intimacy vs Isolation stage (young adulthood), successful resolution requires:
A: Establishing a clear occupational identity before pursuing any close relationships
B: Fusing one's identity with another person in a committed relationship
C: The capacity to commit to relationships while maintaining a stable sense of self
D: Prioritising friendship networks over romantic partnerships
Correct: The capacity to commit to relationships while maintaining a stable sense of self
Erikson argued that intimacy — the capacity for genuine closeness, mutuality, and commitment — presupposes a secure identity. Without a stable sense of self, closeness feels threatening (identity dissolution), leading to isolation or superficial relationships. The virtue is love. Notably, Erikson's model has been critiqued for reflecting a male developmental trajectory; Carol Gilligan and others argued that for many women, identity and intimacy develop more concurrently rather than sequentially.
Generativity vs Stagnation is the crisis of middle adulthood. Generativity refers to:
A: Creative productivity in art, science, or business during peak earning years
B: Concern for establishing and guiding the next generation through parenting, mentoring, or societal contribution
C: The desire to leave a financial legacy for one's children
D: Reviewing and consolidating the achievements of early adulthood
Correct: Concern for establishing and guiding the next generation through parenting, mentoring, or societal contribution
Generativity is the concern for investing in and nurturing the next generation — through parenting, teaching, mentoring, or contributing to society in ways that will outlast oneself. Its opposite, stagnation, is a sense of self-absorption and personal impoverishment when this broader investment fails to develop. The virtue is care. Research by McAdams et al. links high generativity to greater life satisfaction and a tendency to construct one's personal narrative around themes of redemption and growth.
Erikson's final stage, Ego Integrity vs Despair, involves older adults reflecting on their lives. What characterises ego integrity?
A: The conviction that one's life was entirely without regret or failure
B: A sense of acceptance and meaning — that one's life, with its successes and failures, was one's own and had value
C: Religious faith and belief in an afterlife that gives meaning to death
D: Continued productivity and contribution to society into old age
Correct: A sense of acceptance and meaning — that one's life, with its successes and failures, was one's own and had value
Ego integrity is not the absence of regret but the acceptance of one's life as it was — the feeling that things could not have been fundamentally different and that one's existence had meaning. Despair arises when the individual looks back with bitterness, feeling life was wasted and that there is no time to start again. The virtue is wisdom. Erikson and his wife Joan later proposed a ninth stage reflecting the challenges of very old age (80s–90s), when the virtues of earlier stages are revisited under conditions of physical decline.
Erikson's Psychosocial Stages
Erikson's first psychosocial stage, Trust vs Mistrust, occurs during infancy. What determines whether a child develops basic trust?
About this quiz
Erik Erikson proposed that personality develops across eight stages spanning the entire lifespan. At each stage, a person faces a psychosocial crisis — a tension between two opposing outcomes — and how that crisis is resolved shapes the individual's psychological development.
This quiz covers all eight stages, their core conflicts, approximate age ranges, and Erikson's key concepts including virtue, ego integrity, and the psychosocial moratorium.