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Autonomy vs Shame
Marjorie (age 3) tries to plate her own plate for dinner, but she accidentally misses her plate and spills food on the floor. Her mom scolds her and finishes plating dinner by herself. After this Marjorie doesn't help with dinner again. Erikson's stage, Autonomy vs Shame, shows the crisis between thinking of yourself as separate from others by performing tasks by yourself (autonomy), and feeling fear of trying new things due to discouragement of performing independent tasks (shame). -
Industry vs. Inferiority
Marjorie (age 12) loves drawing, and draws in her free time. In her art class, however, her teacher tells her that if she wants to improve she needs to draw like her classmate, Emily. Marjorie feels like her art style is inadequate, and her passion for drawing starts to dwindle. Erikson's stage (Industry vs Inferiority), shows the crisis between learning and mastering new skills (Industry) and not developing new skills due to fear of criticism and lack of encouragement from others (Inferiority). -
Generativity vs Stagnation
Marjorie (age 45) decides to volunteer as a mentor at the local school district for teens interested in rheumatology, an area Marjorie has become an expert in. In Erikson's stage 7th stage, the crisis is between feeling accomplished by aiding/leading the younger generation into success (Generativity), and feeling unproductive and disconnected from society because they feel like they didn't contribute experience or knowledge to their communities (stagnation).