Which theorist proposed eight psychosocial crises across the lifespan?

Which theorist proposed eight psychosocial crises across the lifespan?

• A. Erik Erikson
• B. Sigmund Freud
• C. Jean Piaget
• D. Lawrence Kohlberg

Answer: (A)

Erik Erikson introduced a model of human development built around eight psychosocial crises that unfold across the entire lifespan. Each stage presents a central challenge that people must navigate in the context of social relationships and inner growth. When a stage is resolved positively, a lasting strength or virtue develops—trust in infancy, autonomy in toddlerhood, initiative, industry, a cohesive identity, intimate connections, a sense of generativity, and later, integrity. This lifelong, social-emotional focus sets Erikson’s view apart from others: Freud emphasizes psychosexual development, Piaget centers on changing thinking and knowledge structures, and Kohlberg focuses on how moral reasoning evolves.

Erik Erikson introduced a model of human development built around eight psychosocial crises that unfold across the entire lifespan. Each stage presents a central challenge that people must navigate in the context of social relationships and inner growth. When a stage is resolved positively, a lasting strength or virtue develops—trust in infancy, autonomy in toddlerhood, initiative, industry, a cohesive identity, intimate connections, a sense of generativity, and later, integrity. This lifelong, social-emotional focus sets Erikson’s view apart from others: Freud emphasizes psychosexual development, Piaget centers on changing thinking and knowledge structures, and Kohlberg focuses on how moral reasoning evolves.