In Erikson's final stage, integrity versus despair, individuals evaluate what?

• A. The ability to form intimate relationships
• B. The development of autonomy
• C. The ability to cooperate with others
• D. Whether they have lived a meaningful life and have something valuable to say

Answer: (D)

This stage centers on looking back over one's life and deciding whether it has held meaning. When people reach integrity, they feel a sense of fulfillment, acceptance, and the belief that their life has value to share with others through their stories and wisdom. If they focus on missed opportunities and regrets, despair can take hold, along with a fear of death and a sense that life was not well spent. The statement about having lived a meaningful life and having something valuable to say perfectly captures what this final stage is evaluating. Tasks like forming intimate relationships, developing autonomy, or cooperating with others are aspects of earlier stages, not the concluding reflection of this stage.