What is Erikson's psychosocial stage for ages 40 to 65?

What is Erikson's psychosocial stage for ages 40 to 65?

• A. Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• B. Industry vs. Inferiority
• C. Initiative vs. Guilt
• D. Generativity vs. Stagnation

Answer: (D)

Generativity versus stagnation is the Eriksonian stage tied to middle adulthood, roughly ages 40 to 65. The central question here is whether you feel you are contributing to others and the next generation—through parenting, mentoring, work, volunteering, or creating something that will outlast you. When you successfully foster growth and support others, you develop a sense of usefulness, productivity, and connectedness to the wider world. If you don’t, you may experience stagnation: a sense of being stuck, unproductive, or disconnected from meaningful roles. This fits the 40–65 window because people are typically established in careers and family life and are deciding how to leave a legacy. Earlier stages focus on different tasks—industry vs. inferiority centers on competence during school-age years, and initiative vs. guilt sits in early childhood as children explore autonomy. The later stage, integrity vs. despair, emerges in older adulthood as people reflect on their life.

Generativity versus stagnation is the Eriksonian stage tied to middle adulthood, roughly ages 40 to 65. The central question here is whether you feel you are contributing to others and the next generation—through parenting, mentoring, work, volunteering, or creating something that will outlast you. When you successfully foster growth and support others, you develop a sense of usefulness, productivity, and connectedness to the wider world. If you don’t, you may experience stagnation: a sense of being stuck, unproductive, or disconnected from meaningful roles.

This fits the 40–65 window because people are typically established in careers and family life and are deciding how to leave a legacy. Earlier stages focus on different tasks—industry vs. inferiority centers on competence during school-age years, and initiative vs. guilt sits in early childhood as children explore autonomy. The later stage, integrity vs. despair, emerges in older adulthood as people reflect on their life.