ABSTRACT
Daniel Levinson’s theory of adult development is self-consciously based on Erik Erikson’s life cycle theory. In 1950 Erikson proposed that the life of an individual proceeds through the following eight stages from infancy to old age:
Trust versus mistrust
Autonomy versus shame and self-doubt
Initiative versus guilt
Industry versus inferiority
Identity versus identity diffusion
Intimacy versus isolation
Generativity versus stagnation
Integrity versus despair 1
Erikson locates the first four stages in infancy and childhood, the fifth stage in adolescence, the sixth stage in young adulthood, the seventh stage in adulthood, and the eighth stage in old age. Over the years, Erikson’s theory has influenced our understanding of infancy, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. His theory has not been as influential on our understanding of adulthood. This is largely because he proposes a single stage, that of generativity versus stagnation, to capture the dynamics of a period of life that extends some thirty years or more.