Psychology Essay

2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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M o d u le 8 .2 : L if e s p a n T h e o r ie s

There are m any theories regarding how babies and children grow and develop into happy, healthy adults. W e explore several of these theories

in this m odule.

P s y c h o s e x u a l T h e o ry o f D e v e lo p m e n t

Sigm und Freud (1856–1939) believed that personality develops during early childhood. For Freud, childhood experiences shape our

personalities and behavior as adults. Freud view ed developm ent as discontinuous; he believed that each of us m ust pass through a series of

stages during childhood, and that if w e lack proper nurturance and parenting during a stage, w e m ay becom e stuck, or ﬁxated, in that stage.

Freud's stages are called the stages of psychosexual developm ent. This theory w ill be covered in m ore detail during Lesson 11, but here it is

im portant to understand that Freud thought children's pleasure-seeking urges are focused on a different area of the body, called an erogenous

zone, at each of the ﬁve stages of developm ent: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

W hile m ost of Freud's ideas have not found support in m odern research, w e cannot discount the contributions that Freud has m ade to the ﬁeld

of psychology. Psychologists today dispute Freud's psychosexual stages as a legitim ate explanation for how one's personality develops, but

w hat w e can take aw ay from Freud's theory is that personality is shaped, in som e part, by experiences w e have in childhood. These stages are

discussed in detail in the lesson on personality.

P s y c h o s o c ia l T h e o ry o f D e v e lo p m e n t

Erik Erikson (1902–1994) (Figure 8.4), another stage theorist, took Freud's theory and m odiﬁed it. Erikson's psychosocial developm ent theory

em phasizes the social nature of our developm ent rather than its sexual nature. W hile Freud believed that personality is shaped only in

childhood, Erikson proposed that personality developm ent takes place all through the lifespan. Erikson suggested that how w e interact w ith

others is w hat affects our sense of self, or w hat he called the ego identity.

Erikson proposed that w e are m otivated by a need to achieve com petence in certain areas of our lives. According to psychosocial theory, w e

experience eight stages of developm ent over our lifespan, from infancy through late adulthood. At each stage there is a conﬂict, or task, that w e

need to resolve. Successful com pletion of each developm ental task results in a sense of com petence and a healthy personality. Failure to

m aster these tasks leads to feelings of inadequacy. Figure 8.5 provides a brief illustration of Erikson's psychosocial stages.

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Figure 8.4 Erik Erikson proposed the

psychosocial theory of developm ent. In each

stage of Erikson's theory, there is a

psychosocial task that we m ust m aster in

order to feel a sense of com petence. 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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Figure 8.5 Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory of developm ent consists of 8 stages that correspond to different age ranges. 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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U se the slideshow below to learn m ore about the individual stages of Erikson's theory. Click the arrow s to m ove from one stage to the next.

Access a printable copy of this slideshow

C o g n itiv e T h e o ry o f D e v e lo p m e n t

Im portant ﬁgures in cognitive developm ent are Sw iss psychologist Jean Piaget and Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. Piaget and Vygotsky

studied child developm ent. Piaget theorized that children's thinking developed through four stages. Vygotsky theorized that children's cognitive

developm ent w as inﬂuenced by interactions betw een children and their social environm ent, sociocultural inﬂuences. Both contributed

signiﬁcantly to the study of m ental developm ent in children, giving later psychologists a rich set of theoretical ideas and observable phenom ena

as foundational for the science of m ind that blossom ed in the m iddle and late 20th century and is the core of 21st century psychology.

In fan cy: B irth to 1 2 m o n th s

Task: trust vs. m istrust

Infants are dependent upon their caregivers, so

caregivers w ho are responsive and sensitive to their

infant’s needs help their baby to develop a sense of

trust; their baby w ill see the w orld as a safe,

predictable place. U nresponsive caregivers w ho do not

m eet their baby’s needs can engender feelings of

anxiety, fear, and m istrust; their baby m ay see the

w orld as unpredictable. 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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Figure 8.6 Jean Piaget spent over 50 years

studying children and how their m inds

develop.

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) is another stage theorist w ho studied childhood developm ent (Figure 8.6).

Instead of approaching developm ent from a psychoanalytical or psychosocial perspective, Piaget

focused on children's cognitive grow th. H e believed that thinking is a central aspect of developm ent

and that children are naturally inquisitive. H ow ever, he said that children do not think and reason like

adults. H is theory of cognitive developm ent holds that our cognitive abilities develop through speciﬁc

stages, w hich exem pliﬁes the discontinuity approach to developm ent. As w e progress to a new stage,

there is a distinct shift in how w e think and reason.

According to Piaget, children develop schem ata to help them understand the w orld. As you learned in

Lesson 7, schem ata are concepts (m ental m odels) that are used to help us categorize and interpret

inform ation. By the tim e children have reached adulthood, they have created schem ata for alm ost

everything. W hen children learn new inform ation, they adjust their schem ata through tw o processes:

assim ilation and accom m odation.

Assim ilation is w hen they take in inform ation that is com parable to w hat they already know and

understand it w ithin that context.

Accom m odation describes w hen they change their schem ata based on new inform ation. This

process continues as children interact w ith their environm ent.

For exam ple, 2-year-old Blake learned the schem a for dogs because his fam ily has a Labrador

retriever. W hen Blake sees other dogs in his picture books, he says, "Look m om m y, dog!" Thus, he has

assim ilated them into his schem a for dogs. O ne day, Blake sees a sheep for the ﬁrst tim e and says,

"Look m om m y, dog!" H aving a basic schem a that a dog is an anim al w ith four legs and fur, Blake thinks

all furry, four- legged creatures are dogs. W hen Blake's m om tells him that the anim al he sees is a

sheep, not a dog, Blake m ust accom m odate his schem a for dogs to include m ore inform ation based on

his new experiences. Blake's schem a for dog w as too broad, since not all furry, four-legged creatures are dogs. H e now m odiﬁes his schem a for

dogs and form s a new one for sheep (Figure 8.7). 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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Figure 8.7 The difference between assim ilation and accom m odation.

Like Freud and Erikson, Piaget thought developm ent unfolds in a series of stages approxim ately associated w ith age ranges. H e proposed a

theory of cognitive developm ent that unfolds in four stages: sensorim otor, preoperational, concrete operational, and form al operational (Table

8.1).

Table 8.1 Piaget's Stages of Cognitive D evelopm ent 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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Age

(Years) Stage D escription D evelopm ental

Issue(S)

0-2 Sensorim otor W orld experienced through senses

and actions

O bject

perm anence,

Stranger anxiety

2-6 Preoperational

U se w ords and im ages to

represent things, but lack logical

reasoning

Pretend play,

Egocentrism

Language

developm ent

7-11 Concrete

operational

U nderstand concrete events and

analogies logically; perform

arithm etical operations

Conservation,

M athem atical

transform ations

12- Form al

operational

Form al operations U tilize abstract

reasoning

Abstract logic,

M oral reasoning

D uring the sensorim otor stage, children learn about the w orld through their senses and m otor behavior. Young children put objects in their

m ouths to see if the item s are edible, and once they can grasp objects, they m ay shake or bang them to see if they m ake sounds.

Lin k to Le a rn in g

O bject Perm anence 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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Betw een 5 and 8 m onths old, the child develops object perm anence, w hich is the understanding that even if som ething is

out of sight, it still exists. According to Piaget, young infants do not rem em ber an object after it has been rem oved from

sight. Piaget studied infants' reactions w hen a toy w as ﬁrst show n to an infant and then hidden under a blanket. Infants w ho

had already developed object perm anence w ould reach for the hidden toy, indicating that they knew it still existed, w hereas

infants w ho had not developed object perm anence w ould appear confused.

Please take a few m inutes to view the brief video below dem onstrating different children's ability to understand object

perm anence.

Piaget - Stage 1 - Sensorimot or stage : Object P ermanence

In Piaget's view , around the sam e tim e children develop object perm anence, they also begin to exhibit stranger anxiety, w hich is a fear of

unfam iliar people. Babies m ay cry and turn aw ay from a stranger, cling to a caregiver, or attem pt to reach their arm s tow ard fam iliar faces such

as parents. Stranger anxiety results w hen a child is unable to assim ilate the stranger into an existing schem a; therefore, she can't predict w hat

her experience w ith that stranger w ill be like, w hich results in a fear response.

D uring the preoperational stage, children can use sym bols to represent w ords, im ages, and ideas, w hich is w hy children in this stage engage in

pretend play. Children also begin to use language in the preoperational stage, but they cannot understand adult logic or m entally m anipulate 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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inform ation.

Lin k to Le a rn in g

Conservation

The term operational refers to logical m anipulation of inform ation, so children at this stage are considered to be pre-

operational. Children's logic is based on their ow n personal know ledge of the w orld so far, rather than on conventional

know ledge.

For exam ple, dad gave a slice of pizza to 10-year-old Keiko and another slice to her 3-year-old brother, Kenny. Kenny's pizza

slice w as cut into ﬁve pieces, so Kenny told his sister that he got m ore pizza than she did. Children in this stage cannot

perform m ental operations because they have not developed an understanding of conservation, w hich is the idea that even

if you change the appearance of som ething, it is still equal in size as long as nothing has been rem oved or added.

The video below show s a 4.5-year-old boy in the preoperational stage as he responds to Piaget's conservation tasks.

A typical child on Piaget' s conser vation tasks 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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D uring this stage, w e also expect children to display egocentrism , w hich m eans that the child is not able to take the perspective of others. A

child at this stage thinks that everyone sees, thinks, and feels just as they do.

Lin k to Le a rn in g

Piaget developed the Three-M ountain Task to determ ine the level of egocentrism displayed by children. Children view a 3-

dim ensional m ountain scene from one view point, and are asked w hat another person at a different view point w ould see in

the sam e scene. W atch the Three-M ountain Task in action in the short video below from the U niversity of M innesota and the

Science M useum of M innesota.

Piaget' s Mountains T ask 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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D uring the concrete operational stage, children can think logically, but only about real (concrete) events; they have a ﬁrm grasp on the use of

num bers and start to em ploy m em ory strategies. They can perform m athem atical operations and understand transform ations, such as addition

is the opposite of subtraction, and m ultiplication is the opposite of division. In this stage, children also m aster the concept of conservation and

realize that even if som ething changes shape, its m ass, volum e, and num ber stay the sam e.

In this stage, children also understand the principle of reversibility, w hich m eans that objects can be changed and then returned back to their

original form or condition. Take, for exam ple, w ater that you poured into the short, fat glass; you can pour w ater from the fat glass back to the

thin glass and still have the sam e am ount.

D uring the form al operational stage, children can also deal w ith abstract ideas and hypothetical situations in addition to concrete events.

Children in this stage can use abstract thinking to problem solve, look at alternative solutions, and test these solutions. In adolescence, a

renew ed egocentrism occurs. For exam ple, a 15-year-old w ith a very sm all pim ple on her face m ight think it is huge and incredibly visible, under

the m istaken im pression that others m ust share her perceptions.

B eyo n d Fo rm al O p eratio n al Th o u g h t

As w ith other m ajor contributors of theories of developm ent, several of Piaget's ideas have com e under criticism based on the results of further

research. For exam ple, several contem porary studies support a m odel of developm ent that is m ore continuous than Piaget's discrete stages.

M any others suggest that children reach cognitive m ilestones earlier than Piaget describes.

According to Piaget, the highest level of cognitive developm ent is form al operational thought, w hich develops betw een 11 and 20 years old.

H ow ever, m any developm ental psychologists disagree w ith Piaget, suggesting a ﬁfth stage of cognitive developm ent, know n as the postform al

stage. In postform al thinking, decisions are m ade based on situations and circum stances, and logic is integrated w ith em otion as adults develop

principles that depend on contexts. O ne w ay that w e can see the difference betw een an adult in postform al thought and an adolescent in

form al operations is in term s of how they handle em otionally charged issues.

It seem s that once w e reach adulthood our problem solving abilities change: As w e attem pt to solve problem s, w e tend to think m ore deeply

about m any areas of our lives, such as relationships, w ork, and politics. Because of this, postform al thinkers are able to draw on past

experiences to help them solve new problem s. Problem -solving strategies using postform al thought vary, depending on the situation. W hat

does this m ean? Adults can recognize, for exam ple, that w hat seem s to be an ideal solution to a problem at w ork involving a disagreem ent w ith

a colleague m ay not be the best solution to a disagreem ent w ith a signiﬁcant other.

T h e o ry o f M o ra l D e v e lo p m e n t

A m ajor task beginning in childhood and continuing into adolescence is discerning right from w rong. Psychologist Law rence Kohlberg (1927–

1987) extended upon the foundation that Piaget built regarding cognitive developm ent. Kohlberg believed that m oral developm ent, like

cognitive developm ent, follow s a series of stages. To develop this theory, Kohlberg posed m oral dilem m as to people of all ages, and then he 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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analyzed their answ ers to ﬁnd evidence of their particular stage of m oral developm ent. Before reading about the stages, take a m inute to

consider how you w ould answ er one of Kohlberg's best-know n m oral dilem m as, com m only know n as the H einz dilem m a:

In Europe, a w om an w as near death from a special kind of cancer. There w as one drug that the doctors

thought m ight save her. It w as a form of radium that a druggist in the sam e tow n had recently

discovered. The drug w as expensive to m ake, but the druggist w as charging ten tim es w hat the drug cost

him to m ake. H e paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a sm all dose of the drug. The sick

w om an's husband, H einz, w ent to everyone he knew to borrow the m oney, but he could only get

together about $1,000, w hich is half of w hat it cost. H e told the druggist that his w ife w as dying and

asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "N o, I discovered the drug and I'm

going to m ake m oney from it." So H einz got desperate and broke into the m an's store to steal the drug

for his w ife. Should the husband have done that? (Kohlberg, 1969, p. 379)

H ow w ould you answ er this dilem m a? Kohlberg w as not interested in w hether you answ er yes or no to the dilem m a: Instead, he w as interested

in the reasoning behind your answ er.

After presenting people w ith this and various other m oral dilem m as, Kohlberg review ed people's responses and placed them in different stages

of m oral reasoning (Figure 8.6) ). According to Kohlberg, an individual progresses from the capacity for pre-conventional m orality (before age 9)

to the capacity for conventional m orality (early adolescence), and tow ard attaining post-conventional m orality (once form al operational thought

is attained), w hich only a few fully achieve. 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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Figure 8.6 Kohlberg identiﬁed three levels of m oral reasoning: pre-conventional,

conventional, and post-conventional: Each level is associated with increasingly com plex

stages of m oral developm ent.

It is im portant to realize that even those people w ho have the m ost sophisticated, post-conventional reasons for som e choices m ay m ake other

choices for the sim plest of pre-conventional reasons. M any psychologists agree w ith Kohlberg's theory of m oral developm ent but point out that

m oral reasoning is very different from m oral behavior. Som etim es w hat w e say w e w ould do in a situation is not w hat w e actually do in that

situation. In other w ords, w e m ight "talk the talk," but not "w alk the w alk."

H ow does this theory apply to m ales and fem ales? Kohlberg (1969) felt that m ore m ales than fem ales m ove past stage four in their m oral

developm ent. H e w ent on to note that w om en seem to be deﬁcient in their m oral reasoning abilities. These ideas w ere not w ell received by

Carol G illigan, a research assistant of Kohlberg, w ho consequently developed her ow n ideas of m oral developm ent. In her groundbreaking book, 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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In a D ifferent Voice: Psychological Theory and W om en's D evelopm ent, G illigan (1982) criticized her form er m entor's theory because it w as

based only on upper class W hite m en and boys. She argued that w om en are not deﬁcient in their m oral reasoning— she proposed that m ales

and fem ales reason differently.

In addition, she argued that, because of differences in their socialization, m ales tend to value principles of justice and rights, w hereas fem ales

value caring for and helping others. G irls and w om en focus m ore on staying connected and the im portance of interpersonal relationships.

Therefore, in the H einz dilem m a, m any girls and w om en respond that H einz should not steal the m edicine. Their reasoning is that if he steals

the m edicine, is arrested, and is put in jail, then he and his w ife w ill be separated, and she could die w hile he is still in prison. 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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Directions: Test your understanding of Kohlberg’s theory by m atching the stage of m oral developm ent with the

response given to the scenario. Click and drag each reasoning to m atch it with the appropriate stage of m oral

developm ent.

GET KEYBOARD TIPS

RESET ALL QUESTIONS

C h e ck Y o u r K n o w le d g e

STAGE OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment

Stage 2: Individual Interest

Stage 3: Interpersonal

Stage 4: Authority

Stage 5: Social Contract

Stage 6: Universal Ethics

REASONING

M odule 8.1 M odule 8.3He shouldn't steal the drug because people will

think he is a thief. His wife wouldn't want to be

saved by thievery . He should not steal the drug. The druggist's

decision is reprehensible, but mutual respect for the

rights of others must be maintained. He should steal the drug and then inform the

authorities that he has done so. He will have to face

the penalty , but he will have saved a human life. Although his wife needs the drug, he shouldn't

break the law in order to get it for her . Everyone is

equal in the eyes of the law and his wife's condition

does not justify stealing. He shouldn't steal the drug because he could get

caught and sent to jail. It won't do him any good to steal the drug because

his wife will probably die before he gets out of jail. 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.2

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