industry versus inferiority

n. Erik Erikson's fourth of eight stages of psychosocial development, which occurs during childhood. In this stage Erikson believed the child develops a sense of accomplishment through task completion (in particular, he focused on academic task completion). If children can successfully complete assignments and chores, they then feel a sense of accomplishment and industry with the resulting ego strength of competence. However, if children are not able to complete or master tasks successfully, they are likely to develop a sense of inferiority and shame about their lack of ability.

- SRB