Developmental Theories II: Erikson, Piaget, Kohlberg, and Gilligan

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Identity vs. role confusion (age 11-21)

-Adolescence -Climax of the question "who am I?" -A period of trying on a variety of roles and identities -Requires both exploration and commitment to achieve successfully. -Need to develop a stable sense of self across varies roles and settings. -A difficult period, with high baseline rates of emotional distress.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: Formal Operational

-Age 12-19 -Development of the capacity for abstract thought and formal-deductive reasoning. -Will solve problems systematically and thoroughly. -Interest in abstract ideas and process of thinking itself. -Reason based on abstract principles; interested in universal ethical principles (may be applied rigidly). -Encouraged and enhanced by Western-style schools and emphasis on hypothesis testing. -As few as 30-40% of well-educated Americans reach this by their early 20s. Within an individual, not always used.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: Preoperational

-Age 2-6 -Ability to mentally represent things in the world that are not currently present; object permanence is mastered. -Ability to use symbols to represent reality (e.g. play with dolls) -Egocentrism (e.g. lightning struck my house because I was bad) -Difficulty distinguishing their own viewpoint from that of others (theory of mind); discounting of intent in determining morality -Confused about causation; confusion of appearance and reality

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: Concrete Operational

-Age 6-12 -Ability to use logic to mentally manipulate objects and perform actions (e.g. addition and subtraction). -Objects and events under consideration need to have been experienced directly. -Can consider more than one attribute of an object at a time. -Development of conservation -Declining egocentrism. -Play rule-based games; take intent into account and punish proportionately.

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (age 1-3)

-Associated with the "terrible twos" -The capacity to say "no" signals a developing sense of self, sense of free will, and awareness of ability to control the environment. -Independence and self-assertion increase; "I do it!!!" Can the infant gain a sense of being competent to solve problems and accomplish tasks? -Ideally, parents structure the environment to foster mastery (e.g. child-size utensils and tools) and avoid excess control.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: General Concepts

-Basic unit of cognitive functioning is the schema: "a general framework that provides a model for understanding some aspect of the world" -Accommodation and assimilation -Equilibration- back-and-forth process of experiencing the world and adjusting understanding.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: Sensorimotor

-Birth to Two. -Infants learn to coordinate their sensory input with their motor output.

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Industry vs. Inferiority (age 5-11)

-Challenge is to establish a sense of competence. -Marked increase in comparison of self to others. -Development of self-esteem, which is promoted by parental acceptance and affection, setting and enforcement of clear limits, and a respect for individuality and independence.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning Level II: Conventional, Stage 3

-Good-child morality (begins around 10-11) -Right is determined by living up to expectations, having good motives, and being pro-social (rather than individualistic). -Reason to do right is to be a good person and to care for others.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning Level I: Preconventional, Stage 1

-Heteronomous morality (begins around the end of preschool). -Right is determined by adherence to external rules. -The reason for doing right is the avoidance of punishment .

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning Level I: Preconventional, Stage 2

-Instrumental morality (begins around age 7-8). -Right is determined by acting in one's own interest and allowing others to do the same; interest in fairness -Reason for doing right is to serve one's own needs, includes awareness that others have separate needs -No longer dependent on external authority to determine right and wrong.

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Trust vs. mistrust (birth-1 year)

-Issue of whether others are trustworthy to provide for one's basic needs. -Is the world safe for exploration, play, and relaxation, or unpredictable and threatening? -Infant who is not fed, or comforted, or kept warm learns that others are not to be trusted. -If others are seen as basically untrustworthy, then the individual will not follow advice, seek help, let down their guard, or be able to have emotionally intimate connections.

Carol Gilligan's critique of Kohlberg

-Kohlberg promotes a morality of justice emphasizing abstract principles of rights and fairness. His original participants were all boys. -A morality of care, with a focus on relationships and individual needs (rather than principles), can also be a key dimension of moral reasoning. -Gilligan argued that women tend to reason more out of a morality of care, and that girls are socialized to be nurturant, compassionate and non-judgmental, and are reluctant to judge right and wrong in absolute terms. (Subsequent research has not upheld strong gender differences in moral reasoning.)

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Integrity vs. Despair (age 60-death)

-Late adulthood -Review of life with the need to make sense of one's own story and to find meaning in it.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning Level II: Conventional, Stage 4

-Law-and-order mentality (begins between adolescence and early 20s). -Right is determined by following the law and helping the society or group as a whole. -Reason to do right is to promote the rules of the social group as a whole (as opposed to relationships between individuals).

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Initiative vs. guilt (age 3-5)

-Learning to declare autonomy and individuality in ways that begin to conform to societal expectations. -Enjoy joining peers and adults in carrying out activities and making things. -Begin to see self as a member of the community who can contribute to activities and goals and act towards a large purpose. -Identification: trying to emulate a significant person in the child's life, or be a part of a particular (ethnic, religious, etc.) group. -Sex-role identity develops, particularly during preschool years.

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Generativity vs. Stagnation (age 40-60)

-Middle adulthood -Choice to raise the next generation -Capacity to contribute meaningfully in the world of work

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning Level III: Postconventional (Principled), Stage 5

-Social-contract reasoning (early adulthood). -Right is determined by upholding universal values and rights; awareness that people hold a variety of values and beliefs. -Reason to do right is to abide by the social contract that promotes everyone's welfare.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning Level III: Postconventional (Principled), Stage 6

-Universal Principles (more an ideal than a reality). -Right is determined by following ethical principles that were self-chosen (rather than societal) because they are universal principles of justice. Principles override law in the case of conflict. -Reason to do right is a belief in the validity of universal moral principles.

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development: Intimacy vs. Isolation (age 21-40)

-Young adulthood -Originally, the need to find and commit to a spouse. -More broadly, the ability to develop deep, lasting, emotionally intimate relationships.