Erik Levinson's Eight Stages Of Life

Erik Erikson’s Theory of Eight Stages of Life is a theory on life progression based on predictable stage progression. Life is divided into eight separate stages/dilemmas, where there are many lessons and challenges in each. Stage development is determined by an individual’s biological and psychological clock, and is largely influenced by the social clock of their society. In regards to young adulthood, the two main stages are Identity vs. Role Confusion and Intimacy vs. Isolation. The first stage focuses on forming an identity and seeing oneself and others as unique. The aspects of one’s identity include a sense of self, realistic perception of the world, and a sense of control over life. In regards to the second stage, the favourable outcome

He started off working at a disappointing job, where eventually Initech burnt down. Following this, Peter quit his job and joined the clean-up crew of the Initech building. This shows a rapid change in his identity, as his old self has been destroyed, and he is slowly rebuilding into a better individual with a sense of fidelity and love.

Daniel Levinson’s Theory of Seasons of Life is an age-linked theory that focuses around life structure, which is the pattern of an individual’s life. He theorized that young adulthood occurred between the ages of twenty-five to one’s early-forties. Within young adulthood, the major tasks include forming a dream that fits within your life structure, finding a mentor, occupation and forming a love relationship with an individual.
In the movie, Peter is in the stage of early adulthood. This is because he is making initial choices of love and lifestyle, where he is also revaluating his life, and changes in order to suit the need for a proper life structure. To start off, Peter is struggling in his current job and is trying to form a dream that fits within a proper life structure.

So where’s the motivation?”
In continuation to this, there are a variety of distracting and troubling figures surrounding Peter. For example, Milton Waddams is an introvert who doesn’t have emotional stability, which leads to him burning down the Initech building. Also, there is Tom Smykowski, who is constantly paranoid of the fear of being fired. Though, Peter has Michael and Samir, who provide positive judgement to his character as a result of shared opinions of their