To cite Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, you need the correct reference for his original book, “Childhood and Society,” first published in 1950 by W. W. Norton & Co. The exact format depends on whether you’re using APA, MLA, or Chicago style, and whether you read Erikson’s work directly or encountered his theory in a textbook.
Which Edition to Cite
Erikson introduced his eight stages of psychosocial development in “Childhood and Society,” published in 1950. A revised second edition followed in 1963, also from Norton. He later expanded on the theory in “The Life Cycle Completed,” published in 1982. Many academic sources reference the 1963 or 1982 editions, so check which version you actually read before building your citation. Always cite the edition you used, not just the earliest one.
APA 7th Edition Format
APA is the most common style for psychology and social science papers, so this is likely the format you need.
Reference List Entry
The reference list entry follows this structure: Author last name, first initial. (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
For the original 1950 edition:
Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. W. W. Norton & Co.
For the commonly cited 1963 second edition:
Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society (2nd ed.). W. W. Norton & Co.
For the 1982 work:
Erikson, E. H. (1982). The life cycle completed. W. W. Norton & Co.
In-Text Citations
APA gives you two options for working Erikson into your sentences. You can place his name and year in parentheses at the end:
During the first year of life, the primary developmental goal is building a basic sense of trust in one’s caregivers (Erikson, 1982).
Or you can name Erikson in the sentence itself and put only the year in parentheses:
Erikson (1982) believed that toddlers should be encouraged to explore their environments freely, developing a sense of independence that later supports self-esteem and confidence.
If you’re quoting Erikson directly, add the page number:
Erikson argued that those in middle adulthood should “take care of the persons, the products, and the ideas one has learned to care for” (Erikson, 1982, p. 67).
When referencing ideas Erikson discussed across multiple works, you can cite both: Erikson’s (1950, 1968) sixth stage focuses on establishing intimate relationships or risking social isolation.
Chicago Style Format
Chicago style is common in history and humanities papers. In the Notes and Bibliography system, you’ll need both a footnote (or endnote) and a bibliography entry.
Bibliography entry:
Erikson, Erik H. Childhood and Society. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1950.
Note the differences from APA: the author’s full first name is used, the city of publication is included, and the year appears at the end after a comma. The last name comes first in the bibliography, separated from the first name by a comma.
For footnotes, the first reference uses the full citation. If you cite the same source again and your paper includes a bibliography, subsequent notes only need the author’s surname, a shortened title (if the original is longer than four words), and the page number.
MLA Format
MLA is standard for English and humanities courses. The Works Cited entry follows this pattern:
Erikson, Erik H. Childhood and Society. W. W. Norton & Co., 1950.
MLA 9th edition no longer requires the city of publication. In-text citations use the author’s last name and page number in parentheses, with no comma between them: (Erikson 247). If you name Erikson in your sentence, only the page number goes in parentheses.
Citing Erikson From a Textbook
If you learned about Erikson’s stages from a psychology textbook or another secondary source rather than reading his original work, you have two options. The better choice, according to APA guidelines, is to find and read Erikson’s original text and cite it directly. Libraries and digital databases typically carry his major works.
If you can’t access the original, APA 7th edition requires you to use “as cited in” to signal that you’re relying on a secondhand source. In your reference list, you only include the textbook you actually read. In the text, you name Erikson as the original source and identify your textbook as the secondary source:
Erikson (1950, as cited in Powell, 2020) proposed that identity formation is the central task of adolescence.
Your reference list would then contain the entry for Powell’s 2020 textbook, not for Erikson’s 1950 book. This format tells your reader exactly where you found the information. Keep in mind that some instructors prefer you track down the primary source, so this approach works best when the original is genuinely unavailable to you.
Erikson’s Other Citable Works
While “Childhood and Society” is the foundational text, Erikson refined and expanded his stage theory across several books. If your paper discusses a specific stage in depth, citing the work where Erikson gave that stage the most attention strengthens your writing. The most commonly referenced titles beyond “Childhood and Society” include “Identity: Youth and Crisis” (1968), which focuses on the adolescent identity stage, and “The Life Cycle Completed” (1982), which offers Erikson’s mature overview of all eight stages. Each needs its own reference list entry if you cite it.