When 84-year-old Jim was younger, he never wanted to talk about his experiences in the Korean War. Over the last 10 years he openly and proudly talks about his experiences, attends veteran reunions, and wears his Purple Heart hat proudly. Jim is in

(A) Integrity versus despair (B) the invincibility fable (C) maturation (D) second puberty (E) filial devotion.

The correct answer is A. Integrity versus despair

Explanation:

"Integrity versus despair" is one of the stages in the theory of psychosocial development proposed by the German-American psychologist Erik Erikson. According to Erikson "Integrity versus despair" occurs in the last stage of human life (approximately from 70 years old to death) and during this individuals evaluate past experiences and depending on this evaluation they feel integrity in the case they accept positively experiences from the past or despair in case they regret experiences, this implies during this stage individuals can either feel satisfied or unsatisfied with their lives which also affects behavior and thoughts.

This concept can be applied to Jim, not only because according to age he is in the last stage of psychological development; but also, because Jim has evaluated his past experiences in the Korean War and at the end accept them positively which shows "integrity" according to Erikson and satisfaction. In the same way, this integrity leads Jim to speak about the war and even joined others who had similar experiences.