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Industry Vs. Inferiority
James is in third grade and his class is working on timed addition problems. Before doing the problems James thought of himself as good at math. Everyone in his class finishes their problems first and gets more correct answers than him. His teacher tells him he needs to do better in front of the entire class. In Eriksons' fourth stage, the crisis is between industry vs. inferiority. Children start to compare themselves to others and question whether or not they can succeed in life. -
Identity Vs. Role Confusion
James goes to an extremely conservative catholic school. He is constantly surrounded by the notion that relationships are between a man and a women. However, James has been feeling strong emotional feelings towards other boys at his school. James is worried about how others will view his feelings. Eriksons' fifth stage has a crisis of identity vs. role confusion. Teens begin to form their own identities independent of the surrounding environment -
Intimacy Vs. Isolation
James is in College and is surrounded by like minded individuals for the first time. Due to his previous experience with his conservative catholic school he was not able to explore his feelings towards other men. James is afraid to put himself out there and meet other men because he hasn't had any previous experience dating. Eriksons' 6th stage has a crisis of intimacy vs. isolation. Instead of dating and meeting new people James shys away from this because of his past. -
Generativity Vs. Stagnation
James is out of college and has married his partner. At 40 years old James does not have any children and is trying to adopt with his partner Matt. James feels that he is running out of time to raise a family and guide his children. In Eriksons' 7th stage the crisis is generativity vs. stagnation. James is concerned about his impact on the future generation as he does not have children of his own to guide.