Week 5 Discussion: Building Integrity in Life’s Final Stage, Erikson’s Integrity vs. Despair
Erikson’s final psychosocial stage, integrity versus despair, usually occurs in late adulthood (65+), when people reflect on their lives and feel either fulfillment and acceptance (integrity) or regret and dissatisfaction (despair). In at least 150 words, framed in terms of this stage:
- What habits or choices could you start now to build a stronger sense of integrity as you grow older?
- Are there areas of your life you would like to change or improve?
- How does thinking about your future self influence how you care for your well-being today?
- How does subjective well-being affect the ability to reflect on life with integrity?
- How can facing difficulties and working through challenges support growth, emotional well-being and, ultimately, integrity?
Live by values, repair relationships
Health, presence with family
Self-care as investment
Challenges become meaning
Model response
Original example for study purposes (about 250 words). Sample voice; describe your own life stage, goals and experiences.
Erikson (1982) described integrity versus despair as the final stage, when older adults look back and either accept their life as meaningful or feel regret that time is running out. Although I am not in late adulthood yet, the choices I make now will shape that review.
[Sample.] To build integrity, I want to live consistently with my values: honesty, family and service. Practical habits include keeping my commitments, apologizing and repairing relationships quickly rather than letting conflicts linger, and volunteering regularly so that my life includes contributions beyond myself. One area I want to improve is being present with my family; I often let work and my phone crowd out time with them, and that is exactly the kind of regret that leads to despair later.
Thinking about my future self makes self-care feel less optional. Exercise, sleep, routine checkups and managing stress are investments in the person I will be at 70, who I hope will be healthy enough to enjoy relationships and reflect calmly.
Subjective well-being, how satisfied and positive people feel about their lives, likely makes integrity easier, because people who feel generally content can look at past mistakes with acceptance instead of bitterness. Finally, working through difficulties, such as losses or failures, builds resilience and perspective. When I look back on hard periods I have survived, I see growth, and I believe that ability to find meaning in struggle is what ultimately allows a person to say, “My life, with all its imperfections, was worth living.”
References
Erikson, E. H. (1982). The life cycle completed: A review. W. W. Norton.
[Course textbook, Chapter 15.2, in APA format.]
Tip: frame every answer in terms of integrity versus despair, as the prompt asks, and cite your textbook’s section 15.2.
Frequently asked questions
What is Erikson’s integrity versus despair stage?
The eighth stage, typically after age 65, in which people review their lives and develop either a sense of fulfillment (integrity) or regret (despair).
What virtue results from successfully resolving this stage?
Erikson called it wisdom.
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