Learning Objectives
The Students Will:

Understand how developmental theories explain the changing dynamics of the human experience over a lifetime of experience.

Describe and give examples of Freud's Stages of development.

Explain the distinctions between Piaget's stages of development.

Elaborate on Eric Erikson's eight stages of development.

Communicate the significance of Kohlberg's Moral Development in relationship to the developing human.

 

Developmental Psychology


    The study of physical, mental, and behavioral changes, from conception through old age, taking into consideration the biological, genetic, neurological, psychosocial, cultural, and environmental factors of human growth.

 

Developmental Psychology: Freud

 

Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development
   Five childhood stages associated with a particular conflict that must be resolved before the individual can successfully advance to the next stage. Failure to resolve conflict in the stage results in a fixation related to that stage.
The Oral Stage: Birth to 1 Year
    Pleasure is focused on the mouth. Smoking, overeating, or nail biting are results of oral stage fixation.
Anal Stage: 1 To 3 Years
    Focuses on bowel and bladder movements. Adults Fixated in the anal stage are messy, careless, disorganized, and prone to emotional outbursts.
Phallic Stage: 3 To 6 Years
   The age when children become aware of the differences between boys and girls. Conflict arises when the child feels a desire for the opposite-sex parent, and jealousy and hatred toward the same-sex parent. For boys, this is called the Oedipus Complex. For girls, this is the Electra Complex. Failure to resolve issues in the Phallic Stage may result in fixation and development of a personality that might be described as vain and overly ambitious.
Latency Stage: 6 Years To Puberty
    A dormant period when children focus on other pursuits, such as school, friendships, hobbies, and sports. Children generally engage in activities which serves to consolidate a child’s gender-role identity.
Genital Stage: Puberty To Adult
    People in this stage have mature interests and relationships. Individuals who successfully completed the previous stages, reaching the genital stage with no fixations, are said to be well-balanced, healthy adults.
Fixation
    The theoretical notion that a portion of the individual’s libido has been permanently “invested” in a particular stage of his development.
libido
    A psychic energy that is built when the goal of the stage is blocked.

Freud Pros
    Freud was the first to discuss how human life is influenced by the experiences of early childhood and takes place outside of our conscious awareness, paving the way for other theorists

Freud Criticism
   While most of Freud’s ideas have not found support in modern research, we cannot discount the contributions that Freud has made to the field of psychology.

 

Developmental Psychology: Piaget

 

Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 Years
    The infant focuses on physical sensations and on learning to co-ordinate his body, learning about the world through their senses and through their actions. The main achievement during this stage is object permanence.
Object Permanence
    Knowing that an object still exists, even if it is hidden. It requires the ability to form a mental representation (i.e., a schema) of the object.

Nonoperational Stage: 2 to 7 Years
    Toddlers and young children acquire the ability to internally represent the world through language and mental imagery, thinking about things symbolically. A child’s thinking is dominated by how the world looks, not how the world is and is not yet capable of logical (problem solving) type of thought. Thinking is intuitive (based on subjective judgments about situations) and egocentric (centered on the child’s own view of the world).
Concrete Operational Stage: 7 to 11 Years
    Children still have difficulties with abstract thinking; however, they can use operations (a set of logical rules) to understand the concept of conservation. Children also become less egocentric and begin to think about how other people might think and feel.
Conservation
   Although things may change in appearance, certain properties remain the same, such as pouring water from a short fat glass to a tall skinny glass yields the same amount of water.
Formal Operational Stage: Ages 12 and Up
    The individual gains the ability to think in an abstract manner, to combine and classify items in a more sophisticated way, and the capacity for higher-order reasoning.
Schema
   A way of organizing knowledge. Schemas are developed to create a mental pattern on how to purchase a drink from a vending machine, or classifying a type of vehicle as a car of a truck. A person may use a "script" to dictate appropriate social behavior
Script
    A type of schema that dictates appropriate behavior in social situations, such as at a football game or in church.


Developmental Psychology: Erikson


Erikson's theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan and how social interactions and relationships influence the development and growth of humans. Each Stage has a conflict that needs to be resolved in order to progress to the next stage as a healthy individual. If a child successfully develops trust, the child will feel the world is safe and secure. Failure to develop trust will result in lifelong fear, mistrust, and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable.

Trust vs. Mistrust: Birth to 18 Months
    the child is utterly dependent upon adult caregivers for everything they need to survive including food, love, warmth, safety, and nurturing. If a caregiver fails to provide adequate care and love, the child will come to feel that they cannot trust or depend upon the adults in their life.
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt: 18 Months to 3 Years)
    Children learn to perform basic actions and make decisions about what they prefer. By allowing kids to make choices and gain control, parents and caregivers can help children develop a sense of autonomy. This stage corresponds with Freud's Anal Stage in that children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success during this stage of development leads to feelings of autonomy; failure results in shame and doubt.
Initiative vs. Guilt: From 3 to 5 Years
    Children begin to assert their power and control over the world through directing play and other social interactions by asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Failure, by exerting too much—or too little—power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.
Industry vs. Inferiority: From 6 to 11
    Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and abilities through social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.
Identity vs. Confusion: 12 to 18 Years
    In this stage, teens develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will feel insecure and confused about themselves and the future making the next step difficult to navigate.
Intimacy vs. Isolation: 18 to 40
    Transitioning into adulthood, individuals need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.
Generative vs. Stagnation: 40 to 65
    Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, through children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world. During adulthood, we continue to build our lives, focusing on our career and family. Those who are successful during this phase will feel that they are contributing to the world by being active in their home and community. Those who fail to attain this skill will feel unproductive and uninvolved in the world.
Integrity vs. Despair: 65 to death
    At this point in development, people reflect on the events of their lives and determine if they are happy with the life that they lived or if they regret the things they did or didn't do. Is it a life well spent, or squandered.

 

 

Moral Development: Kohlberg

 

Kohlberg’s theory proposes that there are three levels of moral development, with each level split into two stages. Kohlberg suggested that people move through these stages in a fixed order and that moral understanding is linked to cognitive development (Piaget). The three levels of moral reasoning include preconventional, conventional, and postconventional.

Level One: Preconventional Morality: 3 to 7ish Years Old
   The preconventional morality level is at the most basic level of moral development. In this level, moral reasoning is based on externally controlled rules that are handed down from authority figures. At the preconventional level, children don’t have a personal code of morality. Instead, moral decisions are shaped by the standards of adults and the consequences of following or breaking their rules. For example, if an action leads to punishment, it must be bad, and if it leads to a reward, it must be good. Authority is outside the individual, and children often make moral decisions based on the physical consequences of actions.
   Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation. The child/individual is good to avoid being punished. If a person is punished, they must have done wrong. At very young ages children define the morality of a behavior as a direct function of its consequences.
   Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange. At this stage, children recognize that there is not just one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints. At this stage, children will begin to understand that different people may have different perspectives regarding the same situation.

Level 2 – Conventional Morality: 8ish to 13ish Years Old
    Conventional morality is the second stage of moral development, and is characterized by an acceptance of social rules concerning right and wrong. At the conventional level (most adolescents and adults), we begin to internalize the moral standards of valued adult role models. Authority is internalized but not questioned, and reasoning is based on the norms of the group to which the person belongs. A social system that stresses the responsibilities of relationships as well as social order is seen as desirable and must, therefore, influence our view of what is right and wrong.
    Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships. The child/individual is good in order to be seen as being a good person by others. Therefore, answers relate to the approval of others. At this stage, moral decisions are based on how they affect interpersonal relationships.
    Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order. The child/individual becomes aware of the wider rules of society, so judgments concern obeying the rules to uphold the law and avoid guilt. Individuals now become less concerned about interpersonal consequences and more focused on a broader perspective of maintaining social order.


Level 3 – Postconventional Morality: Adulthood
   Postconventional morality is the third stage of moral development and is characterized by an individual’s understanding of universal ethical principles. These are abstract and ill-defined but might include: the preservation of life at all costs and the importance of human dignity. Individual judgment is based on self-chosen principles, and moral reasoning is based on individual rights and justice. This level of moral reasoning is defined in terms of abstract principles that have much broader relevance to civilization.
   Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights. The child/individual becomes aware that while rules/laws might exist for the good of the greatest number, there are times when they will work against the interest of particular individuals. The issues are not always clear-cut. For example, in Heinz’s dilemma, the protection of life is more important than breaking the law against stealing. Laws are regarded as a social contract for the greater good, but are not perfect.
   Stage 6. Universal Principles. People at this stage have developed their own set of moral guidelines based on abstract reasoning and universal ethical principles, which may or may not fit the law. The principles apply to everyone. E.g., human rights, justice, and equality. The person will be prepared to act to defend these principles even if it means going against the rest of society in the process and having to pay the consequences of disapproval and or imprisonment. Kohlberg doubted few people had reached this stage.

Kohlberg in Practice

Consider the following story proposed by Kohlberg:

   Heinz’s wife was dying from a particular type of cancer. Doctors said a new drug might save her. The drug had been discovered by a local chemist, and Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the chemist was charging ten times the money it cost to make the drug, and this was much more than the Heinz could afford. Heinz could only raise half the money, even after help from family and friends. He explained to the chemist that his wife was dying and asked if he could have the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the money later. The chemist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and was going to make money from it. The husband was desperate to save his wife, so later that night he broke into the chemist’s and stole the drug.

Kohlberg then asked a series of questions:
    1. Should Heinz have stolen the drug?
    2. Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife?
    3. What if the person dying was a stranger, would it make any difference?
    4. Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the woman dies?
Each question can be separately addressed and answered using the six stages as relative benchmarks. How would someone at stage one answer a question verses someone at stage six tackling the same question?