Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages of development theory proposes that social development occurs through eight stages from infancy to late adulthood, with each stage presenting an important task centered around developing trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity, intimacy, generativity, and integrity. The first five stages span from infancy to young adulthood and involve developing trust in others, independence, a sense of initiative, skills and industry, and a coherent sense of identity and direction in life.