Which theorist proposed a psychosocial development theory consisting of eight stages from infancy to adulthood?

• A. Sigmund Freud
• B. Jean Piaget
• C. Carl Jung
• D. Erik Erikson

Answer: (D)

Development unfolds across eight psychosocial stages spanning infancy to adulthood, with each stage presenting a challenge that, when resolved, strengthens a particular virtue. Erik Erikson proposed this lifelong sequence, where trust vs mistrust in infancy yields hope, autonomy vs shame and doubt in toddler years yields will, initiative vs guilt in early childhood yields purpose, industry vs inferiority in school age yields competence, identity vs role confusion in adolescence yields fidelity, intimacy vs isolation in young adulthood yields love, generativity vs stagnation in middle adulthood yields care, and integrity vs despair in later life yields wisdom. The framework highlights how social and cultural influences shape how these crises are resolved across the lifespan. Other theorists offer different lenses—Freud focused on psychosexual stages centered on early childhood, Piaget mapped cognitive development, and Jung emphasized archetypes and individuation rather than a fixed eight-stage lifespan model. The theorist who proposed this eight-stage psychosocial theory is Erik Erikson.