Clancey is in his 50s. He is active and fit and is helping his son remodel a house. He regularly babysits his 10-year-old grandson. His wife enjoys helping their daughter-in-law decorate her home. Clancey and his wife are most likely in which of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development?

Erik Erikson was a German-born American psychologist that developed a theory of the 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development that we through our whole life from birth to death. According to this theory, during every stage we face an existential crisis that we must solve in order to develop a healthy personality.

Erikson defines the period between ages 40-60 as the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage. During this stage, people start looking into helping the coming generations to grow and develop as a means of leaving their mark on the world. Failing to do so will lead to stagnation and profound frustration. In our case, Clancey and his wife are clearly going through the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage. By helping in redecorating, remodeling, and babysitting, Clancey and his wife are helping raise the next generations, and it can be said they are successfully solving the crisis associated with this stage.