214 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
identity. Exclusivity becomes pathological when it blocks one’s ability to cooperate,
compete, or compromise—all prerequisite ingredients for intimacy and love.Adulthood
The seventh stage of development is adulthood, that time when people begin to
take their place in society and assume responsibility for whatever society produces.
For most people, this is the longest stage of development, spanning the years from
about age 31 to 60. Adulthood is characterized by the psychosexual mode of pro-
creativity, the psychosocial crisis of generativity versus stagnation, and the basic
strength of care.Procreativity
Erikson’s psychosexual theory assumes an instinctual drive to perpetuate the species.
This drive is the counterpart of an adult animal’s instinct toward procreation and is
an extension of the genitality that marks young adulthood (Erikson, 1982). However,
procreativity refers to more than genital contact with an intimate partner. It includes
assuming responsibility for the care of offspring that result from that sexual contact.
Ideally, procreation should follow from the mature intimacy and love established dur-
ing the preceding stage. Obviously, people are physically capable of producing off-
spring before they are psychologically ready to care for the welfare of these children.
Mature adulthood demands more than procreating offspring; it includes car-
ing for one’s children as well as other people’s children. In addition, it encom-
passes working productively to transmit culture from one generation to the next.Generativity Versus Stagnation
The syntonic quality of adulthood is generativity, defined as “the generation of
new beings as well as new products and new ideas” (Erikson, 1982, p. 67). Gen-
erativity, which is concerned with establishing and guiding the next generation,
includes the procreation of children, the production of work, and the creation of
new things and ideas that contribute to the building of a better world.
People have a need not only to learn but also to instruct. This need extends
beyond one’s own children to an altruistic concern for other young people. Generativ-
ity grows out of earlier syntonic qualities such as intimacy and identity. As noted
earlier, intimacy calls for the ability to fuse one’s ego to that of another person with-
out fear of losing it. This unity of ego identities leads to a gradual expansion of
interests. During adulthood, one-to-one intimacy is no longer enough. Other people,
especially children, become part of one’s concern. Instructing others in the ways of
culture is a practice found in all societies. For the mature adult, this motivation is not
merely an obligation or a selfish need but an evolutionary drive to make a contribution
to succeeding generations and to ensure the continuity of human society as well.
The antithesis of generativity is self-absorption and stagnation. The gen-
erational cycle of productivity and creativity is crippled when people become
too absorbed in themselves, too self-indulgent. Such an attitude fosters a pervad-
ing sense of stagnation. Some elements of stagnation and self-absorption, how-
ever, are necessary. Creative people must, at times, remain in a dormant stage