Transcript Level I

General Psych 2
Adolescence and Adulthood – Mod. 9 & 10
March 30, 2004
Class #17
Module 9: Adolescence
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Physical Growth
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Challenges to Self-Esteem
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Numerous stressors
 School, opposite sex, respect from others, sense of
self-worth, etc.
Sexual Interests
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Sudden spurts
Becomes a focus as do temptations to drink, smoke,
etc.
Ethnic Identity
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The part of a person’s identity that reflects the racial,
religious, or cultural group to which he or she belongs
Lawrence Kohlberg
(1927-1987)
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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
Adolescents and Morality:
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning
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Kohlberg believed...and was able to
demonstrate through studies...that people
progressed in their moral reasoning (ethical
behavior) through a series of stages
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He believed that there were six identifiable
stages which could be more generally classified
into three levels
Level I:
Preconventional Morality
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Level I:
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Typical of most children under the age of nine – behavior tends to
be selfish in nature
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Stage 1:
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Moral values reside in external events (bad acts)
The child is responsive to rules and evaluative labels, but
views them in terms of pleasant or unpleasant
consequences of actions, or in terms of the physical power
of those who impose the rules
Very selfish – may do things just to stay out of trouble
Obedience and punishment orientation or to gain concrete
rewards
Stage 2:
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Basically the same as in stage one as bottom line is to
satisfy one’s own needs but occasionally others as well
Level II: Conventional Morality
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Level II:
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By early adolescence, moral values reside in performing the right
role, in maintaining the conventional order and expectancies of
others as a value in its own right – uphold laws and social order
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Stage 3: Good-boy/good-girl orientation
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Orientation to approval, to pleasing and helping others
Conformity to stereotypical images of majority or natural
role behavior
Action is evaluated in terms of intentions
Stage 4: Authority and social-ordermaintaining orientation
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Orientation to "doing duty" and to showing respect for
authority and maintaining the given social order for its own
sake
Level III:
Postconventional Morality
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Level III:
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Abstract reasoning that not everyone develops…
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Stage 5:
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Morality is defined in terms of institutionalized rules that
have a rational basis
Society vs. Individual (any conflict favors society)
Stage 6:
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The standards conformed to are internal, and actiondecisions are based on an inner process of thought and
judgment concerning right and wrong
Social laws are very important but conscience is what
dictates behavior – not what others might think
Society vs. Individual (any conflict favors individual)
The Heinz Dilemma:
Scenario 1
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A woman was near death from a unique kind of cancer.
There is a drug that might save her. The drug costs $4,000
per dosage. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to
everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every
legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000.
He asked the doctor scientist who discovered the drug for a
discount or let him pay later. But the doctor scientist
refused.
Should Heinz break into the laboratory to
steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?
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See page 145 of your book for answers from
people in different stages of Kohlberg’s moral
development theory
The Heinz Dilemma:
Scenario 2
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Heinz broke into the laboratory and stole the
drug. The next day, the newspapers reported the
break-in and theft. Brown, a police officer and a
friend of Heinz remembered seeing Heinz last
evening, behaving suspiciously near the
laboratory. Later that night, he saw Heinz running
away from the laboratory.
Should Brown report what he saw? Why or
why not?
The Heinz Dilemma:
Scenario 3
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Officer Brown reported what he saw. Heinz
was arrested and brought to court. If
convicted, he faces up to two years in
prison. Heinz was found guilty.
Should the judge sentence Heinz to
prison? Why or why not?
Dilemma II:
The case of the promised rock concert…
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Scene 1:
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Judy is a 16-year-old girl. Her mother promised her that she could go to a
special rock concert coming to their town if she saved up from baby-sitting
and lunch money to buy a ticket to the concert.
Judy managed to save up the fifteen dollars (the ticket cost) plus another
twenty dollars and proudly told her mother she had enough saved to have a
“good time at the concert”. Her mother said great, this shows what you can
do when you put your mind to it.
But later that same evening her mother read a front page article on the
dangers of the upcoming concert…how there would be a “bad element”
present doing drugs. It was also mentioned that tattoos and piercings
would be taking place as well.
She called Judy and Judy’s 17 year-old sister in for a “family meeting” and
for nearly an hour lectured on the evils of drugs, sex, and rock and roll.
She told Judy that she had to spend the money on new clothes for school
instead.
What Kohlberg stage is Judy’s mother at??? Why??
Dilemma II:
The case of the promised rock concert…
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Scene 2:
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The next day Judy screamed at her mother calling her a liar that
should never be trusted
The strong-willed Judy later decided to go to the concert anyway.
That Saturday she told her mother she was forgiven that she was
spending the day with a friend going shopping.
In reality, Judy and her friend went to the performance and had a
great time
A week passed without her mother finding out.
In confidence, Judy then told her older sister, Louise, that she had
gone to the concert and had lied to her mother about it. Louise
wonders whether to tell their mother what Judy did.
What Kohlberg stage is Judy at??? Why???
If Judy’s sister was at the top level what would her actions
be??? Why???
Portions of previous slides taken from:
http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/kohlberg.dilemmas.html
Limitations to Kohlberg’s
Theory
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Cross-Cultural Studies
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Levels 1 and 2 appear universal; Level 3 does
not
Moral judgments in some cultures do not fit into
Kohlberg’s stages
Gender and Morality
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Men concerned with the abstract, impersonal
concept of justice
Females concerned with protecting enduring
caring relationships and fulfilling human needs
Erik Erikson
(1902-1994)
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Erikson was a follower of Sigmund Freud
who broke with his teacher over the
fundamental point of what motivates or
drives human behavior…
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For Freud it was biology or more specifically the
biological instincts of life and aggression
For Erikson, who was not trained in biology
and/or the medical sciences the most important
force driving human behavior and the
development of personality was social interaction
Erik Erikson
(1902-1994)
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Felt we developed in psychosocial stages…
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Emphasized developmental change throughout the
human life span
In Erikson’s theory, eight stages of development unfold
as we go through the life span
Each stage consists of a crisis that must be faced
According to Erikson, this crisis is not a catastrophe but a
turning point of increased vulnerability and enhanced
potential
The more an individual resolves the crises
successfully, the healthier development will
be
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial
Development
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Trust vs. Mistrust
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Initiative vs. Guilt
Industry vs. Inferiority
Identity vs. Role Confusion
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Integrity vs. Despair
Trust vs. Mistrust
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Experienced in the first year of life…
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A sense of trust requires a feeling of physical
comfort and a minimal amount of fear and
apprehension about the future
Trust in infancy sets the stage for a lifelong
expectation that the world will be a good and
pleasant place to live
Autonomy vs. Shame and
Doubt
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Occurs in late infancy and toddlerhood
(1-3 years)…
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They start to assert their sense of independence,
or autonomy
They realize their will
Parents need to allow them to do things for
themselves
If infants are restrained too much or punished
too harshly, they are likely to develop a sense of
shame and doubt
Initiative vs. Guilt
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Occurs during the preschool years…
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As preschool children encounter a widening social world,
they are challenged more than when they were infants
Active, purposeful behavior is needed to cope with these
challenges
Children are asked to assume responsibility for their
bodies, their behavior, their toys, and their pets
Developing a sense of responsibility increases initiative
Uncomfortable guilt feelings may arise, though, if the
child is irresponsible and is made to feel too anxious
about being independent
Competence vs. Inferiority
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From about age 5 or 6 to puberty…
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Children develop a sense of industry and
curiosity and are eager to learn
Or they feel inferior and lose interest in the
tasks before them
Identity vs. Role Confusion
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Adolescents come to see themselves as
unique and integrated persons with an
ideology
Or they become confused about what they
want out of life
Intimacy vs. Isolation
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Individuals experience this during the early
adulthood years…
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At this time, individuals face the developmental task of
forming intimate relationships with others
Erikson describes intimacy as finding oneself yet losing
oneself in another
If the young adult forms healthy friendships
and an intimate relationship with another
individual, intimacy will be achieved; if not,
isolation will result
Generativity vs.
Stagnation
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Individuals experience this during middle
adulthood…
 A chief concern is to assist the younger
generation in developing and leading useful
lives…
 This is what Erikson means by generativity
 The feeling of having done nothing to help the
next generation is stagnation
Integrity vs. Despair
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Individuals experience this during late
adulthood
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In the later years of life, we look back and evaluate what
we have done with our lives
Through many different routes, the older person may
have developed a positive outlook in most of all of the
previous stages of development
If so, the retrospective glances will reveal a picture of a
life well spent, and the person will feel a sense of
satisfaction (integrity will be achieved)
If the older adult resolved many of the earlier stages
negatively, the retrospective glances likely will yield
doubt or gloom (despair)
Module 9: Adulthood
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What developmental changes occur in
adulthood?
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Physical Changes
Cognitive Changes
Social Changes
Physical Changes
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Physical growth continues in early
adulthood
In middle adulthood, physical changes
slowly emerge, including loss of sensory
sharpness
Most are well into late adulthood before
bodily functions show noticeable
impairment
Cognitive Changes
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Important cognitive abilities improve until
at least age 60
Adult thought becomes more complex and
adaptive than adolescent thought
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Thinking becomes more dialectical
Not until late in adulthood do some
intellectual abilities decline in some people
Cognitive Changes
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Crystallized intelligence
 One’s accumulated knowledge such as
vocabulary
 This continues to increase with age
Fluid intelligence
 One’s ability to reason and problem solve
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For example: to think critically about TV commercials
Unfortunately, decrease with age (fortunately
this is a slow decrease until at least age 75)
Social Changes
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Early Adulthood: Individuals become concerned
with occupational choices as well as issues of love
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Experiences of parenthood are accompanied by personal,
social, and often occupational changes
Middle Adulthood: People become concerned with
producing something that will outlast them, usually
through parenthood or job achievements
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Erikson’s crisis of generativity
Around age 40, people go through a midlife transition
Social Changes
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Late Adulthood
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Most between 65 and 75 are active and
influential politically and socially
During old age people become generally more
inward looking, cautious, and conforming
Coping skills are increasingly developed to take
into account the limits of one’s control
Relationships found to be more satisfying,
supportive, and fulfilling than earlier in life
Death and Dying
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With onset of old age, people become aware
that death is approaching…
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Some experience a sharp decline in mental
functioning, or terminal drop, a few years or a
few months before death
According to Erickson, awareness of impending
death brings about the crisis of ego integrity
versus despair
Death and Dying
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Longevity is not related to higher levels of
education, income, or occupation
Longevity is associated with certain personality
characteristics such as being curious,
conscientious, and not overemphasizing the
importance of negative events in life
Longevity is associated with diet, physical and
mental exercise, and a sense of control over one’s
life