Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Erikson’s Stages of Life: Can We Bridge the Gap?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Consumer Psychology

  • 1621 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter is the keystone of the bridge as Erik Erikson’s body of theory takes us from infancy to older men and women using classic stages that unfold over the lifespan. Brian Young navigates skillfully through Erikson’s writings and gives us an up-to-date analysis of how we change psychologically as we grow up and grow older. There is a special review of consumption in these adult stages, the mid-life crisis (what crisis?) and time orientation which changes in interesting ways as we grow older. These provide lots of content for the framework provided by Erikson and this Chapter is essential reading.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abeles, N., Victor, T. L., & Delano-Wood, L. (2004). The impact of an older adult’s death on the family. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35(3), 234–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, A., Mathur, A., Choong, K. F., Moschis, G. P., & Rigdon, E. E. (2013). Using the life course paradigm to explain mechanisms that link family disruptions to compulsive buying. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 47(2), 263–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belfield, C., Britton, J., Dearden, L., & van der Erve, L. (2017). Higher education funding in England: Past, present and options for the future, Briefing note BN211. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Best, R., & Shimili, L. (2012). Social mobility and social housing: Parliamentary taskforce report. Coventry: Chartered Institute of Housing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgoyne, C. B. (2004). Heart-strings and purse-strings: Money in heterosexual marriage. Feminism & Psychology, 14, 165–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgoyne, C. B., Clarke, V., Reibstein, J., & Edmunds, A. (2017). “All my worldly goods I share with you”? Managing money at the transition to heterosexual marriage. The Sociological Review, 54(4), 619–637.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, M., Burgoyne, C., & Clarke, V. (2008). Financial affairs? Money management in same-sex relationships. Journal of Socio-Economics, 37(2), 481–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busch, H., & Hofer, J. (2012). Self-regulation and milestones of adult development: Intimacy and generativity. Developmental Psychology, 48, 282–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, K. (2013, May 23). Bugaboo designer Max Barenbrug: The master of reinvention. The Guardian. Retrieved August 19, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/may/23/bugaboo-designer-max-barenbrug-buggy.

  • Clayton, R. B., Nagurney, A., & Smith, J. R. (2013). Cheating, breakup, and divorce: Is Facebook to blame? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(10), 717–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cozby, P. C. (1973). Self-disclosure: A literature review. Psychological Bulletin, 79(2), 73–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crain, W. (2011). Theories of development: Concepts and applications. London: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Gallier, T. (2017, 16 February). This is how living with your parents affects your relationship. London Evening Standard. Retrieved July 31, 2017, from http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/this-is-how-living-with-your-parents-affects-your-relationship-a3468576.html.

  • Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1964). Insight and responsibility. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). New York: W. W Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ersner-Hershfield, H., Mikels, J. A., Sullivan, S. J., & Carstensen, L. L. (2008). Poignancy: Mixed emotional experience in the face of meaningful endings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(1), 158–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, J., Busch, H., Au, A., Šolcová, I. P., Tavel, P., & Wong, T. T. (2016). For the benefit of others: Generativity and meaning in life in the elderly in four cultures. Developmental Psychology, 52(3), 509–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11(2), 213–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howieson, D. B. (2015, December). Cognitive skills and the aging brain: What to expect. Cerebrum. New York: The Dana Foundation. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from http://www.dana.org/Cerebrum/2015/Cognitive_Skills_and_the_Aging_Brain__What_to_Expect/.

  • Jourard, S. M. (1959). Self-disclosure and other-cathexis. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(3), 428–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. G. (1933). Modern man in search of a soul. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lachman, M. E. (2004). Development in midlife. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 305–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lachman, M. E., Teshale, S., & Agrigoroaei, S. (2015). Midlife as a pivotal period in the life course: Balancing growth and decline at the crossroads of youth and old age. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39(1), 20–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, F. R., & Cartensen, L. L. (2002). Time counts: Future time perspective, goals, and social relationships. Psychology and Aging, 17(1), 125–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laureiro-Martinez, D., Trujillo, C. A., & Unda, J. (2017). Time perspective and age: A review of age associated differences. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(101). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00101.

  • Lawford, H. L., & Ramey, H. L. (2015). “Now I know I can make a difference”: Generativity and activity engagement as predictors of meaning making in adolescents and emerging adults. Developmental Psychology, 51(10), 1395–1406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lea, S. E., & Webley, P. (2006). Money as tool, money as drug: The biological psychology of a strong incentive. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29(2), 161–176; Discussion, 176–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcia, J. (1980). Identity in adolescence. Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, 5, 145–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. P., & de St. Aubin, Ed. (1992). A theory of generativity and its assessment through self-report, behavioral acts, and narrative themes in autobiography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 1003–1015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, R., Fowler, J., & Christakis, N. (2013). Breaking up is hard to do, unless everyone else is doing it too: Social network effects on divorce in a longitudinal sample. Social Forces, 92(2), 491–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKee-Ryan, F., Song, Z., Wanberg, C. R., & Kinicki, A. J. (2006). Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: A meta-analytic study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(1), 53–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Office for National Statistics. (2015). Population estimates by marital status and living arrangements, England and Wales: 2002 to 2014. London: HMSO. Retrieved July 24, 2017, from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/populationestimatesbymaritalstatusandlivingarrangements/2015-07-08.

  • Office for National Statistics (GB). (2015). Statistical bulletin: Divorces in England and Wales: 2015 (1. Main points). London: ONS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prevoo, T., & ter Weel, B. (2015). The effect of family disruption on children’s personality development: Evidence from British longitudinal data. De Economist, 163, 61–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, A., & Wilner, A. (Eds.). (2001). Quarterlife crisis: The unique challenges of life in your twenties. New York: Putnam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Routledge, C., Arndt, J., Sedikides, C., & Wildschut, T. (2008). A blast from the past: The terror management function of nostalgia. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 132–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutt, J. L., & Löckenhoff, C. E. (2016). Age patterns in mental representations of time: Underlying constructs and relevant covariates. Experimental Aging Research, 42(3), 289–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, D. F., & Boland, S. M. (1986). Structure of perceptions of older adults: Evidence for multiple stereotypes. Psychology and Aging, 1(3), 255–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sircova, A., Mitina, O. V., Boyd, J., Davydova, I. S., Zimbardo, P., Nepryaho, T. L., et al. (2007). The phenomenon of time perspective across different cultures: Review of research using ZTPI scale. Kul’turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya [Cultural-Historical Psychology], 4, 19–31 (In Russian, abstract in English).

    Google Scholar 

  • Spock, B., & Needlman, R. (2012). Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care (9th ed.). New York: Gallery Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strough, J., Bruine de Bruin, W., Parker, A. M., Lemaster, P., Pichayayothin, N., & Delaney, R. (2016). Hour glass half full or half empty? Future time perspective and preoccupation with negative events across the life span. Psychology and Aging, 31(6), 558–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taft, L. B., & Nehrke, M. F. (1990). Reminiscence, life review, and ego integrity in nursing home residents. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 30, 189–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaillant, G. E., & Milofsky, E. (1980). Natural history of male psychological health: IX. Empirical evidence for Erikson’s model of the life cycle. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 1348–1359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Arndt, J., & Routledge, C. (2006). Nostalgia: Content, triggers, functions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 975–993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individual-differences metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1271–1288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Business School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Brian M. Young

Authors
  1. Brian M. Young
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian M. Young .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Young, B.M. (2018). Erikson’s Stages of Life: Can We Bridge the Gap?. In: Consumer Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90911-0_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation