Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Life

Erik Erikson described eight stages of human development from childhood through adulthood. Through this stages each person is growing mentally and physically and built his/her own identity. People are pushed through the stages by their biological and by the social clock of the society in which they live.Each stages contain dilemma, in which the person is challenged by new situation and circumstances. Failure to resolve a dilemma suggests that the person might face some difficulties later in life.
Erikson defined the dilemma during adolescence early adulthood as identity versus role confusion. Every individual is challenged to define who he/she is and will be in the future. Young people face many decision such as what work to do, how to be a man/woman and what to believe in.
The dilemma in early adulthood is intimacy versus isolation. Intimacy is being able to merge your identity with someone else's without losing yourself in the process. The basic strength that is acquired by resolving the dilemma of intimacy versus isolation is LOVE, meaning overall sense of caring and generosity toward others. Erikson suggest that women can develop identity and intimacy in the relationship and at the same time, (Carol Gillian also suggest this idea), while men usually can not commit to others until they are sure of their own identity. Adults focus on their contribution to society in the next stage of life, generativity versus stagnation. The challenge of this stage is to decide how to make an individual contribution to society , and by doing so, acquire the basic strenght of CARING.

Jane Loevinger's Theory of Ego Development

She identified 10 stages in the formation of the EGO, a term introduced by Sigmund Freud, meaning the understanding of self.
Ego development begins in infancy with understanding that you are an individual separate from your mother. She describes full ego development as having an AUTONOMOUS SELF, a complex concept that includes being a self- reliant person who accepts oneself and others as multifaceted and unique.
She suggest that few adults ever achieve full ego development , but strive toward that goal for life time. In Loevinger's Theory, young adults are at a transitional SELF- AWARE LEVEL between CONFORMIST STAGE and the CONSCIENTIOUS STAGE.
Adolescent at the conformist stage view life in stereotypical way as black and white.