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Mary's First Birthday: Trust vs Mistrust
Today is Mary's first birthday. Her mom has invited a lot of friends and family to celebrate. Mary got overwhelmed with the amount of people and started crying. Her mom quickly responded and soothed her. In Erickson's first stage, trust versus mistrust, the crisis is children's development of the sense of trust when cared for by their caregivers and developing mistrust when they are neglected. -
Mary in Highschool: Identity vs Identity confusion
Mary (age 17) had just transferred to a new school and is now junior high school student. She is worried about not being liked by her new classmates, so she started acting bubbly and differently from her normal self. In Erikson’s fifth stage, identity versus identity confusion, the crisis is in being able to figure out our true selves or being confused of who we really are. -
Becoming a Grandmother: Generativity vs Stagnation
Mary, now 50, just became a grandmother. She guides her daughter in navigating through being a new mother. In Erickson's seventh stage, generativity versus stagnation, the crisis is between feeling satisfaction in making contributions for the future generations and feeling the lack of fulfillment.