| Psychosocial Crisis | Central Task | Positive Outcome | Ego Quality | Definition | Developmental Task | |
| Infancy Birth-18 Months |
Trust vs. Mistrust |
Receiving care | Trust in people and the environment | Hope | Enduring belief that one can attain one’s deep and essential wishes | Social attachment; Maturation of sensory, perceptual, and motor functions; Primitive causality |
| Younger Years 18 Months-3 Years |
Autonomy vs. Shame & doubt |
Imitation | Pride in self; Assertion of will in the face of danger |
Will | Determination to exercise free choice and self-control | Locomotion; Fantasy play; Language development; Self-control |
| Early Childhood 3-6 Years |
Initiative vs. Guilt |
Identification | Able to initiate activities and enjoy learning | Purpose | Courage to imagine and pursue valued goals | Sex-role identification; Early moral development; Self-esteem; Group play; Egocentrism |
| Middle Childhood 6-12 Years |
Industry vs. Inferiority |
Education | Acquire skills for and develop competence in work; Enjoy achievement |
Competence | Free exercise of skill and intelligence in completion of tasks | Friendship; Skill learning; Self-evaluation; Team play |
| Early Adolescence 12-18 Years |
Group Identity vs. Alienation |
Peer group | A strong group identity; Ready to plan for the future |
Loyalty | Ability to freely pledge and sustain loyalty to others | Physical maturation; Emotional development; Membership in peer group; Sexual relationships |
| Later Adolescence 18-22 Years |
Individual Identity vs. Identity Confusion |
Role experimentation | Strong moral identity; Ready for intimate relationships |
Fidelity | Ability to freely pledge and sustain values and ideologies | Autonomy from parents; Sex-role identity; Internalized morality; Career choice |
| Early Adulthood 22-34 Years |
Intimacy vs. Isolation |
Caregiving | Form close relationships and share with others | Love | Capacity for mutuality that transcends childhood dependency | Stable relationships; Child rearing; Work etc |
| Middle Adulthood 34-60 Years |
Generativity vs. Stagnation |
Creativity | Nurturing children or helping the next generation in other ways | Care | Commitment to and concern for family and community | Nurture close relationships; Management of career and household; Parenting |
| Later Adulthood 60-75 Years |
Integrity vs. Despair |
Introspection | A sense of fulfillment about life; A sense of unity with self and others |
Wisdom | Detached yet active concern with life in the face of death | Promote intellectual vigor; Redirect energy to new roles and activities; Develop a point of view about death |
| Old Age 75 Years-Death |
Immortality vs. Extinction |
Social Support | Life review; Accept death with a sense of integrity and without fear |
Confidence | Conscious trust in self and assurance about meaningfulness of life | Cope with physical changes of aging; Develop a historical perspective; Storytelling |