Category 1: Erikson
According to Erikson, adolescents wrestle primarily with this central crisis as they attempt to figure out who they are.
What is Identity vs. Role Confusion?
An infant playing peek-a-boo who genuinely believes their parent ceases to exist when hidden lacks this cognitive milestone
What is Object Permanence?
At this lowest level of moral reasoning, behavior is driven entirely by avoiding punishment or getting direct rewards.
What is the Preconventional Level?
This brain structure, responsible for impulse control, long-term planning, and decision-making, is the last to fully mature in adolescence.
What is the Prefrontal Cortex?
Mary Ainsworth designed this famous laboratory procedure to observe and classify infant attachment patterns.
What is the Strange Situation?
A toddler who insists on dressing themselves—even putting their shoes on the wrong feet—is trying to master this psychosocial stage.
What is Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
A young child who chooses a tall, narrow glass over a short, wide glass because they believe it holds more liquid lacks this understanding
What is Conservation?
A person operating at this level decides what is right based on social rules, law and order, and gaining approval from others.
What is the Conventional Level?
According to James Marcia, a teenager who adopts their parents' career path without exploring any other options exhibits this identity status.
What is Identity Foreclosure?
Parents who enforce strict obedience with little warmth or open discussion ("Because I said so!") practice this parenting style.
What is Authoritarian?
An 80-year-old looking back on their life during retirement with satisfaction and minimal regret has successfully achieved this state
What is Ego Integrity (or Integrity vs. Despair)?
When a 4-year-old picks out a toy they personally want as a birthday present for their parent, they are exhibiting this preoperational trait.
What is Egocentrism?
Someone who breaks an unjust law because it violates universal human rights and ethical principles operates at this level.
What is the Postconventional Level?
Because this emotion and reward center matures faster than the prefrontal cortex during puberty, teens often engage in higher risk-taking behaviors.
What is the Limbic System (or Amygdala)?
This parenting style—combining high standards with warm responsiveness and clear communication—yields the highest average self-esteem in children.
What is Authoritative?
In middle adulthood, people seek to contribute to the next generation through work, parenting, or community involvement to avoid this stagnant outcome
What is Stagnation (Generativity vs. Stagnation)?
Fitting new information into an existing mental framework without changing the structure is called this (unlike accommodation).
What is Assimilation?
Lawrence Kohlberg tested moral development using this famous ethical dilemma involving a man stealing an overpriced drug to save his dying wife.
What is the Heinz Dilemma?
A student actively trying out different majors, political beliefs, and friend groups but hasn't committed to any yet is in this identity status.
What is Identity Moratorium?
In the Strange Situation, an infant who shows little distress when the mother leaves and actively avoids or ignores her upon return exhibits this style.
What is Insecure-Avoidant Attachment?
An infant whose caregivers consistently meet their needs for food and warmth develops this core quality, laying the foundation for all future stages.
What is Basic Trust (Trust vs. Mistrust)?
The ability to engage in systematic, hypothetical-deductive reasoning ("if-then" logic) emerges during this final stage.
What is the Formal Operational Stage?
This researcher famously criticized Kohlberg's theory, arguing it was gender-biased and favored an ethic of individual justice over an ethic of care and relationships.
Who is Carol Gilligan?
A high school senior who hasn't explored any career options and expresses zero interest or commitment to their future is in this status.
What is Identity Diffusion?
Harry Harlow proved that infant rhesus monkeys preferred a soft cloth mother over a wire mother that provided milk, highlighting the critical importance of this concept.
What is Contact Comfort?