Initiative vs. guilt is the third stage of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. This stage occurs during the preschool years, between the ages of 3 and 5. During the initiative versus guilt stage, children begin to assert their power and control over the world through directing play and other social interactions.
The initiative vs. guilt stage is all about kids learning how to exert control and gain a greater sense of power—over their own actions and over their environment. They explore. They try new things. Sometimes, they make mistakes. The key is having the freedom (with support, guidance, and safety) to try things without fearing they might fail or be shamed or punished.
At a Glance
- Psychosocial Conflict: Initiative vs. guilt
- Major Question: “Am I good or bad?”
- Basic Virtue: Purpose
- Important Event(s): Exploration, play
Verywell / Nusha Ashjaee
Initiative vs. Guilt in the 8 Psychosocial Stages
Erik Erikson was a psychoanalytic theorist who introduced his eight-stage theory of development during the 1950s. While theorists like Freud suggested that early childhood primarily affected personality, Erikson’s theory focused on development throughout life.
At each point in development, kids and adults face challenges that affect later development. These eight stages of development are:
What age does the initiative vs. guilt stage occur?
While the stages aren’t set in stone, Erikson proposed a few ranges when each stage typically occurs. The initiative vs. guilt phase occurs in the preschool years. It begins around age 3 and transitions to the next phase (industry vs. inferiority) at about age 5.
What Is Initiative?
Within the context of Erikson’s theory, initiative is “a truly free sense of enterprise, manifested at the societal level in a society’s economic structure and endeavour.”
In practice, this looks like the enthusiastic desire to attempt new tasks, join or come up with activities with friends, and use new skills in play. The child begins to learn that they can exert power over themselves and the world.
Initiative gives kids a sense of purpose and the confidence to try new things without guilt, fear, or embarrassment.
Benefits of Initiative
Kids who develop initiative are eager to try new activities and experiences without excessive fear of failure. They learn what they can and cannot control. When they do make mistakes, they don’t feel guilty; they understand that they just need to try again. By trying things on their own and exploring their own abilities, they can develop ambition and direction.
How Do Kids Develop Initiative?
At this stage, play and imagination take on an important role. Being given the freedom and encouragement to play helps a child feel excited about exercising some control over what they’re doing.
Having opportunities to make choices in the context of a supportive environment is essential when it comes to developing a sense of initiative. It doesn’t mean allowing kids to do whatever they want. Instead, caregivers should focus on allowing kids to be curious, try new challenges, and solve problems while providing safety and guidance when needed but avoiding criticism that might undermine their confidence.
What Is Guilt?
Guilt is shame over failing to complete a task successfully, provoking irritation in adults, and/or otherwise feeling embarrassed over attempting something. Children who experience guilt interpret mistakes as a sign of personal failure and feel that they are somehow “bad.”
A child who feels more guilt than initiative at this stage learns to resist trying new things for fear of failing.
Success and Failure in Stage 3
Success in this stage relies on a healthy balance between initiative and guilt. Initiative leads to a sense of purpose and can help develop leadership skills; failure results in guilt. Essentially, kids who don’t develop initiative at this stage may become fearful of trying new things. When they do direct efforts toward something, they may feel that they are doing something wrong.
When caregivers stifle efforts to engage in physical and imaginative play, however, children begin to feel that their self-initiated efforts are a source of embarrassment.
How do you build initiative vs. guilt?
Children develop a sense of initiative vs. guilt through having opportunities to explore, initiate activities, and make choices. Children who are not able to do this may develop a sense of guilt.
How to Build Initiative
Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment by taking initiative: planning activities, accomplishing tasks, and facing challenges. During this stage, it is important for caregivers to encourage exploration and to help children make appropriate choices.
Caregivers who are discouraging or dismissive may cause children to feel ashamed of themselves and to become overly dependent upon the help of others.
This stage can sometimes be frustrating for parents and caregivers as children begin to exercise more control over the friends they play with, the activities they engage in, and the way that they approach different tasks. Parents and other adults might want to guide children toward certain choices, but children might resist and insist on making their own choices.
Although this might lead to conflict at times, it is important to give kids a chance to make their own choices. Of course, parents must continue to enforce safe boundaries and encourage children to make good choices through the use of modeling and reinforcement.
Caretakers should be positive and supportive when children undertake new tasks. Should a child fail at a given task, the caretaker should teach them that everyone makes mistakes and encourage the child to try again.
How to Limit Guilt
To help prevent feelings of guilt, caregivers can encourage children to see their mistakes as learning opportunities. It’s very important that parents and teachers avoid excessive criticism, ridicule, and dismissiveness at this stage and encourage children to keep trying through practice and persistence. Encouraging a child’s natural curiosity without judgment or impatience is crucial.
Examples of activities that can help limit guilt and build greater initiative include encouraging a child to initiate a game. Choosing and carrying out the game gives a kid a sense of initiative and helps them feel more confident and secure in their abilities.
Children who are over-directed by adults may struggle to develop a sense of initiative and confidence in their own abilities.
Takeaways
The preschool years are the setting for Erikson’s initiative vs. guilt phase. During this time, children begin to control their environment in small ways. Trying new things poses the risk of failure. Guilt results and initiative diminishes when the child isn’t taught resilience and persistence in the face of difficulty. However, success at this stage produces a child who, rather than giving up after failing a task, keeps trying.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Erikson EH. Childhood and Society. W.W. Norton.
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Mitchell LL, Lodi-Smith J, Baranski EN, Whitbourne SK. Implications of identity resolution in emerging adulthood for intimacy, generativity, and integrity across the adult lifespan. Psychol Aging. 2021;36(5):545-556. doi:10.1037/pag0000537
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Sugarman L. Life-Span Development: Frameworks, Accounts, and Strategies. 2nd ed. Psychology Press.
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Hurrell K, Stack M. Initiative versus guilt. In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds. Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer International Publishing; 2017:1-3. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_597-1
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Chen PY, Ho WC, Lo C, Yeh TP. Predicting ego integrity using prior ego development stages for older adults in the community. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(18):9490. doi:10.3390/ijerph18189490
Additional Reading
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Erikson EH. Identity: Youth and Crisis. W.W. Norton.
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