Levinson identifies four major eras of life. Which set correctly lists their age ranges?

Levinson identifies four major eras of life. Which set correctly lists their age ranges?

• A. Pre-adulthood (0-22), Early adulthood (17-45), Middle adulthood (40-65), Late adulthood (60 onwards)
• B. Infancy (0-2), Childhood (3-12), Adolescence (13-19), Adulthood (20+)
• C. Early Childhood (0-5), Middle Childhood (6-11), Adolescence (12-18), Adulthood (19+)
• D. Prenatal period, Infancy, Early childhood, Adolescence

Answer: (A)

Levinson groups life into four broad eras, each marked by a major set of tasks and transitions, and uses wide, overlapping age ranges to reflect that people reach milestones at different times. This option fits that structure by naming a first era as pre-adulthood (0–22), followed by early adulthood (about 17–45), then middle adulthood (about 40–65), and finally late adulthood (60 onward). The overlaps around the boundaries acknowledge that people may complete schooling, start careers, or form families at different ages, so the transitions aren’t fixed to strict single years. Other choices don’t align with this four-era framing: they either divide early life into more granular sub-periods or include periods (like prenatal) outside Levinson’s four-era scheme, or place adulthood boundaries in ways that don’t produce four broad, sequential phases.

Levinson groups life into four broad eras, each marked by a major set of tasks and transitions, and uses wide, overlapping age ranges to reflect that people reach milestones at different times. This option fits that structure by naming a first era as pre-adulthood (0–22), followed by early adulthood (about 17–45), then middle adulthood (about 40–65), and finally late adulthood (60 onward). The overlaps around the boundaries acknowledge that people may complete schooling, start careers, or form families at different ages, so the transitions aren’t fixed to strict single years.

Other choices don’t align with this four-era framing: they either divide early life into more granular sub-periods or include periods (like prenatal) outside Levinson’s four-era scheme, or place adulthood boundaries in ways that don’t produce four broad, sequential phases.