Transcript Fundamental Issues in Developmental Psychology

Social Development
 To live with people, children must learn what
behavior is acceptable and unacceptable
Learn when to apply rules and when to
bend them
Gaining an identity (society, family, and
individual)
Learning to live with people and yourself
Children must learn that other people have
rights and that they have limitations
Theories on Social
Development
 Sigmund Freud believed that all children are
born with powerful sexual and aggressive
urges.
 Erik Erikson believed that a child’s need for
social approval is just as important as sexual
urges.
 Lawrence Kohlberg studied the development
of moral reasoning—deciding what is right
and what is wrong
Psychosexual Development
 Sigmund Freud believed that all children are
born with powerful sexual and aggressive
urges
 Children suppress these urges and learn right
and wrong
 Believed that that for the first few years of
life boys and girls experiences were similar
 Five stages
3
1. Oral Stage
 Ages: first 18 months of life
 Infant’s pleasure seeking focused on the
mouth
Beginning of life erotic pleasures are
obtained through the mouth
Weaning child from nursing is a difficult
process for children
4
2. Anal Stage
 Ages: 1.5 – 3 years
 Infant’s pleasure seeking centered on
functions of elimination
Through toilet training the child learns to
curb freedom and establish social control
5
3. Phallic Stage
 Ages: 3 – 6 years
 Infant’s pleasure seeking focused on the
genitals
 Aware of differences in opposite sex
 Child becomes a rival for the affections of the
parent of the opposite sex
6
4. Latency Stage
 Ages: 6 years to puberty
 Sexual thoughts are repressed; child focuses
on developing social and intellectual skills
 Use of Sublimation
The process of redirecting sexual impulses
into learning tasks
7
5. Genital Stage
 Ages: puberty through adulthood
 Sexual desires are renewed
 Individual seeks relationships with others
One derives as much satisfaction from
giving pleasure as from receiving it
8
Erikson’s Theory
Biological in belief that there are innate
drives to develop social relationships
and that these promote survival
(Darwinism)
Divided life span into eight psychosocial
stages, each associated with a different
drive and a problem or crisis to resolve
Outcome of each stage varies along a
continuum from positive to negative
9
Stage 1 (birth - 1)
Trust vs. Mistrust
Infants must rely on others for care
Consistent and dependable
caregiving and meeting infant
needs leads to a sense of trust
Infants who are not well cared for
will develop mistrust
Example: Is my world predictable
and supportive?
10
Stage 2 (1-3 years)
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Children are discovering their own
independence
Those given the opportunity to
experience independence will gain a
sense of autonomy
Children that are overly restrained or
punished harshly will develop shame
and doubt
Example: Can I do things myself or
must I rely on others?
11
Stage 3 (3-5 years)
Initiative vs. Guilt
Children are exposed to the wider
social world and given greater
responsibility
Sense of accomplishment leads to
initiative, whereas feelings of guilt can
emerge if the child is made to feel too
anxious or irresponsible
Example: Am I good or bad?
12
Stage 4 (5-12 years)
Industry vs. Inferiority
Stage of life surrounding mastery of
knowledge and intellectual skills
Sense of competence and
achievement leads to industry
Feeling incompetent and unproductive
leads to inferiority
Example: Am I successful or
worthless?
13
Stage 5 (adolescence)
Identity vs. Confusion
Developing a sense of who one is and
where s/he is going in life
Successful resolution leads to positive
identity
Unsuccessful resolution leads to
identity confusion or a negative
identity
Example: Who am I?
14
Stage 6 (young adulthood)
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Time for sharing oneself with
another person
Capacity to hold commitments
with others leads to intimacy
Failure to establish commitments
leads to feelings of isolation
Example: Shall I share my life
with someone or live alone?
15
Stage 7 (middle adulthood)
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Caring for others in family, friends
and work leads to sense of
contribution to later generations
Stagnation comes from a sense of
boredom and meaninglessness
Example: Will I succeed in life?
16
Stage 8 (late adulthood to death)
Integrity vs. Despair
Successful resolutions of all previous
crises leads to integrity and the ability
to see broad truths and advise those in
earlier stages
Despair arises from feelings of
helplessness and the bitter sense that
life has been incomplete
Example: Have I lived a full life?
17
Kohlberg’s Theory of
Moral Development
Assessed moral reasoning by posing
hypothetical moral dilemmas and
examining the reasoning behind
people’s answers
Proposed five stages, each taking into
account a broader portion of the social
world
18
Levels of Moral Reasoning
Preconventional - moral reasoning is
based on external rewards and
punishments
Conventional - laws and rules are
upheld simply because they are laws
and rules
Postconventional - reasoning based on
personal moral standards
19
Stage 1
A focus on direct consequences
Egocentric
No sense of right and wrong
Children would fear
Not stealing and being blamed
for wife’s death
Stealing and going to jail.
20
Stage 2
Have understanding of how to avoid
punishment and receive awards
Still slightly egocentric
21
Stage 3: Interpersonal
Accord and Conformity
An attempt to live up to the
expectations of important others
Positive actions will improve relations
with significant others
Negative actions will harm those
relationships
22
Stage 4: Law-and-Order
Morality
To maintain social order, people
must resist personal pressures
and follow the laws of the larger
society
23
Stage 5: Human-Rights and
Social-Welfare Morality
A balance is struck between respect
for laws and ethical principles that
transcend specific laws
Laws that fail to promote general
welfare or that violate ethical
principles can be changed,
reinterpreted, or abandoned
24