ABSTRACT
The life of a group is analogous to the life cycle of a human being in a compressed form. Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages are theoretical constructs that are not effectively quantified but rather are guideposts for observation. In Eriksonian terms, a series of crises occurs that must be resolved before a human being can progress further in social development. He described abstractly the physical, psychological, and emotional developmental stages or tasks that were necessary for individuals to move forward and obtain the maximum benefits of life. Each stage relies on the effective completion of the previous stage, as the remnant of an unresolved crisis affects behavior in the ensuing hierarchy of development. His orientation was dynamic and his descriptions of development relied heavily upon his training in this modality. The developmental stages of a group inherently involve a two-track phenomenon: the recapitulation of an individual's developmental stages and the developmental life cycle of the group itself.
