Which theorist proposed that personality develops through psychosocial stages across the lifespan?

Which theorist proposed that personality develops through psychosocial stages across the lifespan?

• A. Piaget
• B. Freud
• C. Skinner
• D. Erikson

Answer: (D)

Personality develops through psychosocial stages that span from infancy to old age. Erik Erikson proposed this view, outlining eight stages each with a central crisis that must be resolved to build a healthy personality. Examples include trust versus mistrust in infancy, autonomy versus shame, and integrity versus despair in later life. Successfully navigating each challenge yields a virtue—hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom—that supports a stronger sense of self across the lifespan. This idea emphasizes how social interactions and cultural context shape personality over the entire life course, not just in childhood. In contrast, Piaget focuses on cognitive development, Freud outlines psychosexual stages tied to early childhood, and Skinner emphasizes learning through reinforcement without a lifelong psychosocial stage framework.

Personality develops through psychosocial stages that span from infancy to old age. Erik Erikson proposed this view, outlining eight stages each with a central crisis that must be resolved to build a healthy personality. Examples include trust versus mistrust in infancy, autonomy versus shame, and integrity versus despair in later life. Successfully navigating each challenge yields a virtue—hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom—that supports a stronger sense of self across the lifespan. This idea emphasizes how social interactions and cultural context shape personality over the entire life course, not just in childhood. In contrast, Piaget focuses on cognitive development, Freud outlines psychosexual stages tied to early childhood, and Skinner emphasizes learning through reinforcement without a lifelong psychosocial stage framework.