psychosocial theory
Summary
Psychosocial theory, in the MCAT sense, is Erikson's theory that personality develops through eight lifespan stages, each built around a social crisis such as trust vs mistrust or identity vs role confusion. The most testable point is matching an age or behavior to its stage.
Detail
Meaning: Erikson proposed that development continues across the whole lifespan. Each stage pairs a psychological need with a social demand, creating a crisis that is a turning point rather than a disaster. Resolving it well builds a strength; a poor resolution can carry difficulty into later stages. In order: 1. Trust vs mistrust (infancy) 2. Autonomy vs shame and doubt (toddler) 3. Initiative vs guilt (preschool) 4. Industry vs inferiority (school age) 5. Identity vs role confusion (adolescence) 6. Intimacy vs isolation (young adulthood) 7. Generativity vs stagnation (middle adulthood) 8. Integrity vs despair (late adulthood)
On the MCAT: A vignette describes a person's age and behavior, and you name the stage or crisis. A teenager unsure of values and career is in identity vs role confusion. A retiree reviewing life with regret points to integrity vs despair. Questions may also ask you to tell Erikson from other stage theorists.
Common confusion: Students mix Erikson up with Freud's psychosexual stages, which center on drives and stop at adolescence or early adulthood. Erikson's stages are social, and they extend through adulthood. Piaget covers cognition and Kohlberg covers moral reasoning. Also, each crisis is a balance between two poles, not a pass or fail outcome.
Sources
- Psychology (Myers)
- Psychology (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner)
- Development Through the Lifespan (Berk)
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.