Life Cycle definition | Psychology Glossary (2024)

A Life Cycle describes the different stages an organism experiences as it goes through its lifetime. The stages and durations of life stages differ from specie to specie and may have many stages or just a few. An example of differing life stages can be seen in the life of a butterfly: starts as an egg, then the larval stage (caterpillar stage), the pupa stage (where it is inside the cocoon), and the adult stage (the butterfly who lays eggs, starting the cycle over again).

In psychology Erik Erikson developed a theory of human development involving differing stages of human development that cover the entire human lifespan (or life cycle). He discerned eight differing stages that humans experience. Each stage has a centralized conflict that is significant at the time and certain traits and behavioral outcomes are associated with different stages. The stages go from infancy (birth to 18 months) during which trust is established, to childhood (2-3 years) when toilet training happens, to the preschool stage (3-5 years), school age (6-11 years), and so on, all the way to maturity, which lasts from age 65 to death, when when people reflect on their life and try to have a sense of fulfillment.

Click here to learn more about Erik Erikson, including all the stages of the life cycle.

Life Cycle definition | Psychology Glossary (2024)

FAQs

What is a life cycle simple answer? ›

A life cycle is a series of changes that an organism will go through throughout its life, marked by significant stages starting with fertilization and ending with death. The cycle of life is unique to all organisms, and overall stages can change based on the species.

What is the best definition of life cycle? ›

life cycle, in biology, the series of changes that the members of a species undergo as they pass from the beginning of a given developmental stage to the inception of that same developmental stage in a subsequent generation.

What is a life cycle kids dictionary? ›

Kids Definition

life cycle. noun. 1. : the series of stages of form and activity through which a living thing passes from a beginning stage (as an egg) in one individual to the same stage in its offspring.

What is a life cycle definition for kids? ›

LIFE CYCLE DEFINITION. A life cycle is a series of stages a living thing goes through during its life. All plants and animals go through life cycles. It is helpful to use diagrams to show the stages, which often include starting as a seed, egg, or live birth, then growing up and reproducing.

What is the life cycle simplified? ›

A life cycle is presented as a circle to show that the process is cyclical from birth, through the different stages of adolescence then into the reproductive stage and starting the cycle again. These animals have three stages - before birth, young and adult. The young are typically similar to the parent, just smaller.

How do you describe the life cycle? ›

In biology, a life cycle represents a series of changes that an organism undergoes, from birth to death.

What is a word that means life cycle? ›

biological clock. Weak matches. biorhythm circuition life process wheel of life.

What does cycle life mean? ›

Cycle life refers to the number of charge and discharge cycles that a storage device can provide before performance decreases to an extent that it cannot perform the required functions.

What is the simple definition of human life cycle? ›

In summary, the human life cycle has six main stages: foetus, baby, child, adolescent, adult and elderly. Although we describe the human life cycle in stages, people continually and gradually change from day to day throughout all of these stages.

What is a definition cycle for kids? ›

definition 1: a circle of events that repeats in a regular pattern.

How do you explain the cycle of life to a child? ›

Animals are small when they start life. Over time they grow bigger and their bodies change. When they are grown up, they might reproduce and have young animals of their own. These children will get older and may eventually also have children too, and so the life cycle keeps going!

Is life cycle all one word? ›

Though the single-word “lifecycle” is occasionally seen, the noun phrase “life cycle” is the more prevalent form.

What is a life cycle short answer? ›

Life Cycles: A life cycle is the sequence of biological changes that occurs as an organism develops from an egg into an adult until its death.

What is simple life cycle? ›

Animals that Grow Up (Simple Life Cycle):

These animals have three stages -- before birth, young and adult. The young are typically similar to the parent, just smaller. The young slowly "grow" to become adults.

What is family life cycle in simple words? ›

What is a family life cycle? The emotional and intellectual stages you pass through from childhood to your retirement years as a member of a family are called the family life cycle. In each stage, you face challenges in your family life that allow you to build or gain new skills.

What is cell life cycle simple? ›

A cell cycle is a series of events that takes place in a cell as it grows and divides. A cell spends most of its time in what is called interphase, and during this time it grows, replicates its chromosomes, and prepares for cell division.

What is system life cycle simple? ›

The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project, from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. SDLC can apply to technical and non-technical systems.

What is the life cycle of a human? ›

In summary, the human life cycle has six main stages: foetus, baby, child, adolescent, adult and elderly. Although we describe the human life cycle in stages, people continually and gradually change from day to day throughout all of these stages.

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