major psychological theories of lifespan development
...stinguished from an ethical sense, which is an egoic property, since ethics requires an eligibility for deliberation on matters of fairness or justice. The Superego, Freud stated, is the moral agent that links both our conscious and unconscious minds. The Superego stands in opposition to the desires of the Id. The Superego is itself part of the unconscious mind; it is the internalization of the world view and norms and mores a child absorbs from parents and peers. As the conscience, it is a primitive or child based knowledge of right and wrong, it maintains the taboos specific to a child's internalization of parental culture. Freud considered the Oedipus Complex to be a formative stage in the development of the superego. The Ego In Freud's view the Ego stands in between the Id and the Superego to balance our primitive needs and our moral beliefs and taboos. He stated that the Ego consists of our conscious sense of self and world, a highly structured set of unconscious defenses that are central in defining both individual differences in character or personality, and the symptoms and inhibitions that define the neuroses. Relying on experience, a healthy Ego provides the ability to adapt to reality and interact with the outside world in a way that accommodates both Id and Superego. Psycho sexual stages THE CONCEPT OF THE LIBIDO is "a fundamental pleasure-seeking drive which unconsciously motivates us from the moment of our birth". According to Freud, our personality develops through various Psycho-sexual Stages. His revolutionary claim was that sexual desires begin in earliest childhood through the following stages: 1. ORAL - during the first year of life the libido is gratified through stimulation of the mucous membrane of the mouth (breast feeding, sucking behaviour). 2. ANAL - (2nd/3rd years) pleasure gained from anus by excretion and retention of faeces. This is why some psychologists gave great stress to Potty Training in the 1950s. 3. GENITAL / PHALLIC (3rd/4th years) erotic pleasure from the genitals. Young boys were once punished if fondled their sex organs. 4. LATENCY / FORGETFUL (5 years to puberty) the period when psychosexual desires are inactive or forgotten until puberty. 5. PUBERTY - development of normal heterosexual behaviour. Adult emotional neuroses stem from disturbances at any of the above Psycho-sexual stages when Libido energy gets blocked or fixated at one of the stages. The greater the level of fixation the greater the problem the patient has in achieving a satisfactory adult emotional relationship. It can result in regression to earlier psychosexual stage. Psychosocial Theory Erikson’s development theory Erikson recognized the basic notions of Freudian theory, but believed that Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development. Erikson said that humans develop throughout their life span, while Freud said that our personality is shaped by the age of five. Erikson developed eight psychosocial stages that humans encounter throughout their life. The stages are Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Integrity vs. Despair. The first stage, Trust vs. Mistrust, occurs from approximately birth to one year. Erikson defined trust as an essential trustfulness of others as well as a fundamental sense of one's own trustworthiness. He thought that an infant who gets fed when he is hungry and comforted when he needs comforting will develop trust. He also said that some mistrust is necessary to learn to discriminate between honest and dishonest persons. If mistrust wins over trust in this stage, the child will be frustrated, withdrawn, suspicious, and will lack self-confidence. The second stage, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt, occurs between ages two and three. During this period it is important that the parents create a supportive atmosphere in which the child can develop a sense of self-control without a loss of self-esteem. Shame and doubt about the child's self-control and independence occur if basic trust was insufficiently developed or was lost such as when the child's will is broken by an over controlling parent. In this stage, Erikson said the child encounters rules, such as which areas of the house he is allowed to explore. The third stage, Initiative vs. Guilt, occurs between ages four and five. This is the stage in which the child must find out what kind of person he/she is going to be. The child develops a sense of responsibility which increases initiative during this period. If the child is irresponsible and is made to feel too anxious then they will have uncomfortable guilt feelings. Erikson believed that most guilt is quickly compensated for by a sense of accomplishment. Erikson's fourth stage, Industry vs. Inferiority, occurs between six years and puberty. This is the period in which the child wants to enter the larger world of knowledge and work. One of the great events of this time is the child's entry into school. This is where he is exposed to the technology of his society: books, multiplication tables, arts and crafts, maps, microscopes, films, and tape recorders. However, the learning process does not only occur in the classroom according to Erikson, but also at home, friend's houses, and on the street. Erikson said that successful experiences give the child a sense of industry, a feeling of competence and mastery, while failure gives them a sense of inadequacy and inferiority, a feeling that one is a good-for-nothing. Components of Erikson's prior four stages contribute to the fifth stage, Identity vs. Identity Confusion. This occurs during adolescence. During this period the identity concern reaches climax. According to Erikson this is the time when adolescents seek their true selves. Erikson's sixth stage, Intimacy vs. Isolation, occurs during young adulthood. Intimacy with other people is possible only if a reasonably well integrated identity emerges from stage five. The main concern of Erikson's seventh stage, Generativity vs. Stagnation, is to assist the younger generation in developing and leading useful lives. When the individual feels that he has done nothing to help the next generation then they experience stagnation. The final stage, Integrity vs. Despair, occurs during late adulthood. This is the time in which the individual looks back and evaluates their life. If the previous stages have developed properly then they will experience integrity. If the previous stages have not developed in a positive way then they will feel despair. Erikson believed that development is primarily qualitative because changes are stage like, but also quantitative as one's identity becomes stronger and one's convictions solidify. He believed that nature determines the sequence of the stages and sets the limits within which nurture operates. However, all must pass through one stage before entering the next in the stated order. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development Lawrence Kohlberg was, for many years, a professor at Harvard University. He became famous for his work there beginning in the early 1970s. He started as a developmental psychologist and then moved to the field of moral education. He was particularly well-known for his theory of moral development which he popularized through research studies conducted at Harvard's Center for Moral Education. His theory of moral development was dependent on the thinking of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and the American philosopher John Dewey. He was also inspired by James Mark Baldwin. These men had emphasized that human beings develop philosophically and psychologically in a progressive fashion. Kohlberg believed...and was able to demonstrate through studies...that people progressed in their moral reasoning (i.e., in their bases for ethical behavior) through a series of stages. He believed that there were six identifiable stages which could be more generally classified into three levels. Kohlberg's classification can be outlined in the following manner: LEVEL STAGE SOCIAL ORIENTATION Pre-conventional 1 Obedience and Punishment 2 Individualism, Instrumentalism, and Exchange Conventional 3 "Good boy/girl" 4 Law and Order Post-conventional 5 Social Contract 6 Principled Conscience The first level of moral thinking is that generally found at the elementary school level. In the first stage of this level, people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they are told to do so by some authority figure (e.g., parent or teacher). This obedience is compelled by the threat or application of punishment. The second stage of this level is characterized by a view that right behavior means acting in one's own best interests. The second level of moral thinking is that generally found in society, hence the name "conventional." The first stage of this level (stage 3) is characterized by an attitude which seeks to do what will gain the approval of others. The second stage is one oriented to abiding by the law and responding to the obligations of duty. The third level of moral thinking is one that Kohlberg felt is not reached by the majority of adults. Its first stage (stage 5) is an understanding of social mutuality and a genuine interest in the welfare of others. The last stage (stage 6) is based on respect for universal principle and the demands of individual conscience. While Kohlberg always believed in the existence of Stage 6 and had some nominees for it, he could never get enough subjects to define it, much less observe their longitudinal movement to it. Kohlberg believed that individuals could only progress through these stages one stage at a time. That is, they could not "jump" stages. They could not, for example, move from an orientation of selfishness to the law and order stage without passing through the good boy/girl stage. They could only come to a comprehension of a moral rationale one stage above their own. Thus, according to Kohlberg, it was important to present them with moral dilemmas for discussion which would help them to see the reasonableness of a "higher stage" morality and encourage their development in that direction. The last comment refers to Kohlberg's moral discussion approach. He saw this as one of the ways in which moral development can be promoted through formal education. Note that Kohlberg believed, as did Piaget, that most moral development occurs through social interaction. The discussion approach is based on the insight that individuals develop as a result of cognitive conflicts at their current stage. Humanistic Theory Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Maslow's hierarchy of needs was an alternative to the depressing determinism of Freud and Skinner. He felt that people are basically trustworthy, self-protecting, and self-governing. Humans tend toward growth and love. Although there is a continuous cycle of human wars, murder, deceit, etc., he believed that violence is not what human nature is meant to be like. Violence and other evils occur when human needs are thwarted. In other words, people who are deprived of lower needs such as safety may defend themselves by violent means. He did not believe that humans are violent because they enjoy violence. Or that they lie, cheat, and steal because they enjoy doing it. According to Maslow, there are general types of needs (physiological, safety, love, and esteem) that must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. He called these needs "deficiency needs." As long as we are motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving towards growth, toward self-actualization. Satisfying needs is healthy, blocking gratification makes us sick or evil. In other words, we are all "needs junkies" with cravings that must be satisfied and should be satisfied. Else, we become sick. Needs are prepotent. A prepotent need is one that has the greatest influence over our actions. Everyone has a prepotent need, but that need will vary among individuals. A teenager may have a need to feel that he/she is accepted by a group. A heroin addict will need to satisfy his/her cravings for heroin to function normally in society, and will not worry about acceptance by other people. According to Maslow, when the deficiency needs are met: At once other (and higher) needs emerge, and these, rather than physiological hungers, dominate the organism. And when these in turn are satisfied, again new (and still higher) needs emerge, and so on. As one desire is satisfied, another pops up to take its place. Physiological Needs Physiological needs are the very basic needs such as air, water, food, sleep, sex, etc. When these are not satisfied we may feel sickness, irritation, pain, discomfort, etc. These feelings motivate us to alleviate them as soon as possible to establish homeostasis. Once they are alleviated, we may think about other things. Safety Needs Safety needs have to do with establishing stability and consistency in a chaotic world. These needs are mostly psychological in natu...