The man who coined the phrase "identity crisis" knew the feeling well. Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt in 1902 as Erik Salomonsen, grew up as Erik Homburger after his mother married a pediatrician, and never knew who his biological father was. He wandered Europe as a young artist, trained as a psychoanalyst in Vienna, where Anna Freud was his analyst, and later moved to the United States. There he replaced his stepfather's surname with one of his own invention: Erikson. In Childhood and Society (1950), he set out the theory he's known for, and he went on to teach at Harvard without ever earning a university degree.
A common misconception is that a "crisis" in Erikson's theory means something went wrong. It doesn't. He used the word for a turning point that everyone meets.
Development lasts a lifetime
Freud's psychosexual stages center on body zones, with the last one starting at puberty. Erikson kept the idea of stages but changed two things: the focus moved to relationships and culture (so the theory is called psychosocial), and the stages carry on through adulthood into old age.
Each stage poses a crisis, a tension between two pulls. Nobody ends up with pure trust or pure mistrust; Erikson's ideal was a healthy balance tilted toward the positive side. A stage that goes well builds a virtue, a lasting strength.
The eight stages
Textbooks give slightly different ages, especially for adults, so treat them as rough guides.
- Trust vs. mistrust (infancy): can I rely on the people caring for me? Virtue: hope.
- Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (about 1 to 3): can I do things myself? Virtue: will.
- Initiative vs. guilt (about 3 to 6): is it OK to plan and start things? Virtue: purpose.
- Industry vs. inferiority (about 7 to 11): am I capable compared with others? Virtue: competence.
- Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence): who am I, and what do I value? Virtue: fidelity.
- Intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood): can I form close relationships without losing myself? Virtue: love.
- Generativity vs. stagnation (middle adulthood): am I contributing to the next generation? Virtue: care.
- Integrity vs. despair (late adulthood): was my life meaningful? Virtue: wisdom.
Erikson's wife and collaborator, Joan Erikson, later described a ninth stage for very old age, when the earlier tensions can return as health declines.
Identity: the best-studied stage
Erikson saw adolescence as a psychosocial moratorium, a time-out to try roles before committing. In 1966, James Marcia turned this into four identity statuses, based on two questions: have you explored, and have you committed?
- Diffusion: neither.
- Foreclosure: committed without exploring, often to a path chosen by family.
- Moratorium: exploring, not yet committed.
- Achievement: committed after exploring.
In 2000, Jeffrey Arnett proposed emerging adulthood, roughly 18 to 25, arguing that in industrialized countries much of this exploration now happens after the teenage years.
Where the research is shaky
Erikson's theory came mainly from clinical work, case studies and his observations of people in different communities, not from experiments. That makes it a useful map rather than a tested law.
- Evidence is uneven. Most research has focused on identity, largely through Marcia's statuses. Later studies suggest people often keep exploring into their twenties and can move between statuses rather than settling once.
- The order is debatable. There is little strong evidence that the stages always come in this sequence or at these ages.
- Whose life is it? Carol Gilligan argued in 1982 that theories like Erikson's were built mainly around men's lives and underplayed the role of relationships in forming identity. Others point out that the stages reflect a mid-20th-century Western life course.
- The causes are vague. Erikson says less about what resolves each crisis than about what the crisis is.
Common mix-ups
- Psychosocial vs. psychosexual. Erikson's is psychosocial; Freud's is psychosexual.
- Foreclosure vs. achievement. Both are committed. Only achievement comes after exploring.
- Industry vs. initiative. Initiative is a preschooler starting things; industry is a school-age child mastering skills.
- A "failed" stage isn't permanent. Erikson saw later experiences as able to rework earlier ones.
Frequently asked questions
What are Erikson's 8 stages of development?
Trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair.
What is the difference between Erikson and Freud?
Freud's stages center on body zones and early childhood. Erikson's center on social relationships and continue across the whole lifespan.
What is an identity crisis in psychology?
Erikson's term for a period of actively questioning who you are and what you value, most associated with adolescence. It's a normal part of development, not a disorder.
Is Erikson's theory still used?
Yes, as a framework in psychology courses, education and research on aging, though research supports its identity ideas more than its fixed order of stages.
Try it
Write down five answers to "Who am I?" in under a minute. Then mark each one: did you explore other options before choosing this, or did you inherit it? You've just sorted parts of your identity into Marcia's achievement and foreclosure.