What is Erikson's psychosocial stage for age 65 and older?

What is Erikson's psychosocial stage for age 65 and older?

• A. Generativity vs. Stagnation
• B. Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• C. Identity vs. Role Confusion
• D. Initiative vs. Guilt

Answer: (B)

In late adulthood, Erikson’s final psychosocial stage centers on how you view your life as a whole. You either reach ego integrity, accepting your life with a sense of completeness and meaning, or fall into despair, feeling regret and a sense of missed opportunities. This stage is about coming to terms with aging, mortality, and the legacy you leave. If you achieve integrity, you feel satisfied with the choices you made, you trust your memories, and you maintain a sense of wholeness. If you struggle, you might experience despair, with bitterness, a fear of death, and a sense that life was not well spent. The other options reflect stages from earlier periods of life: generativity versus stagnation occurs in middle adulthood and centers on contributing to society and guiding the next generation; identity versus role confusion is the adolescent stage, about developing a stable sense of self; initiative versus guilt is early childhood, about asserting independence and planning activities.

In late adulthood, Erikson’s final psychosocial stage centers on how you view your life as a whole. You either reach ego integrity, accepting your life with a sense of completeness and meaning, or fall into despair, feeling regret and a sense of missed opportunities.

This stage is about coming to terms with aging, mortality, and the legacy you leave. If you achieve integrity, you feel satisfied with the choices you made, you trust your memories, and you maintain a sense of wholeness. If you struggle, you might experience despair, with bitterness, a fear of death, and a sense that life was not well spent.

The other options reflect stages from earlier periods of life: generativity versus stagnation occurs in middle adulthood and centers on contributing to society and guiding the next generation; identity versus role confusion is the adolescent stage, about developing a stable sense of self; initiative versus guilt is early childhood, about asserting independence and planning activities.