Download Theories of Developmental Stages

Theories of Developmental Stages
Havighurst’s Developmental Task Theory
Robert Havighurst emphasized that learning is basic and that it continues throughout life
span. Growth and Development occurs in six stages.
Developmental Tasks of Infancy and Early Childhood:
1. Learning to walk
2. Learning to take solid foods
3. Learning to talk
4. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
5. Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
6. Forming concepts and learning language to describe social and physical reality
7. Getting ready to read
Middle Childhood:
1. Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games
2. Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself as a growing organism
3. Learning to get along with age-mates
4. Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine social role
5. Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating
6. Developing concepts necessary for everyday living
7. Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values
8. Achieving personal independence
9. Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions
Developmental Tasks of Adolescence:
1. Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Accepting one's physique and using the body effectively
4. Achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults
5. Preparing for marriage and family life
6. Preparing for an economic career
7. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior; developing an
ideology
8. Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior
Developmental Tasks of Early Adulthood:
1. Selecting a mate
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Learning to live with a marriage partner
4. Starting a family
5. Rearing children
6. Managing a home
7. Getting started in an occupation
8. Taking on civic responsibility
9. Finding a congenial social group
Developmental Tasks of Middle Age:
1. Achieving adult civic and social responsibility
2. Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of living
3. Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults
4. Developing adult leisure-time activities
5. Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person
6. Accepting and adjusting to the physiologic changes or middle age
7. Adjusting to aging parents.
Developmental Tasks of Later Maturity:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
Adjusting to death of a spouse
Establishing an explicit affiliation with one’s age group
Meeting social and civil obligations
Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangement (http://faculty.mdc.edu).
Psychosocial Stages of Development – Eric Erikson
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of
personality in psychology. Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of
stages. Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole
lifespan.
One of the main elements of Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory is the development of
ego identity. Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social
interaction. According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing due to new
experience and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others. In addition
to ego identity, Erikson also believed that a sense of competence also motivates
behaviors and actions. Each stage in Erikson’s theory is concerned with becoming
competent in an area of life. If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of
mastery. If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of
inadequacy.
In each stage, Erikson believed people experience a conflict that serves as a turning
point in development. In Erikson’s view, these conflicts are centered on either
developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality. During these times,
the potential for personal growth is high, but so is the potential for failure.
Psychosocial Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust
. The first stage of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth
and one year of age and is the most fundamental stage in life.
· Because an infant is utterly dependent, the development of trust is based on the
dependability and quality of the child’s caregivers.
· If a child successfully develops trust, he or she will feel safe and secure in the world.
Caregivers who are inconsistent, emotionally unavailable, or rejecting contribute to
feelings of mistrust in the children they care for. Failure to develop trust will result in fear
and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable.
Psychosocial Stage 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
· The second stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development takes place during
early childhood and is focused on children developing a greater sense of personal
control.
· Erikson believed that toilet training was a vital part of this process. Erikson believe that
learning to control one’s body functions leads to a feeling of control and a sense of
independence.
· Other important events include gaining more control over food choices, toy
preferences, and clothing selection.
· Children who successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident, while those
who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy and self-doubt.
Psychosocial Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt
· During the preschool years, children begin to assert their power and control over the
world through directing play and other social interaction.
· Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to lead others. Those
who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of
initiative.
Psychosocial Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority
· This stage covers the early school years from approximately age 5 to 11.
· Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their
accomplishments and abilities.
· Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a
feeling of competence and belief in their skills. Those who receive little or no
encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their ability to be successful.
Psychosocial Stage 5 - Identity vs. Confusion
· During adolescence, children are exploring their independence and developing a
sense of self.
· Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal
exploration will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of
independence and control. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will
insecure and confused about themselves and the future.
Psychosocial Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation
· This stage covers the period of early adulthood when people are exploring personal
relationships.
· Erikson believed it was vital that people develop close, committed relationships with
other people. Those who are successful at this step will develop relationships that are
committed and secure.
· Remember that each step builds on skills learned in previous steps. Erikson believed
that a strong sense of personal identity was important to developing intimate
relationships. Studies have demonstrated that those with a poor sense of self tend to
have less committed relationships and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation,
loneliness, and depression.
Psychosocial Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation
· 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.
Psychosocial Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair
· This phase occurs during old age and is focused on reflecting back on life.
· Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted
and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness
and despair.
· Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity.
Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few regrets and a general
feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting
death (www.about.com, 2008).
Psychosexual Stages of Development – Sigmund Freud
According to Sigmund Freud, personality is mostly established by the age of five. Early
experiences play a large role in personality development and continue to influence
behavior later in life.
Freud's theory of personality development is one of the best known, but also one of the
most controversial. Freud believed that personality develops through a series of
childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused
on certain erogenous areas. This psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the
driving force behind behavior.
If the stages are completed successfully, the result is a healthy personality. If certain
issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage, fixation can occur. A fixation is a
persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Until this conflict is resolved, the
individual will remain "stuck" in this stage. For example, a person who is fixated at the
oral stage may be over-dependent on others and may seek oral stimulation through
smoking, drinking, or eating.
Oral stage
During the oral stage, the infant's primary source of interaction occurs through the
mouth, so the rooting and sucking reflex is especially important. The mouth is vital for
eating, and the infant derives pleasure from oral stimulation through gratifying activities
such as tasting and sucking. Because the infant is entirely dependent upon caretakers
(who are responsible for feeding the child), the infant also develops a sense of trust and
comfort through this oral stimulation.
The primary conflict at this stage is the weaning process--the child must become less
dependent upon caretakers. If fixation occurs at this stage, Freud believed the individual
would have issues with dependency or aggression. Oral fixation can result in problems
with drinking, eating, smoking, or nail biting.
Anal stage
During the anal stage, Freud believed that the primary focus of the libido was on
controlling bladder and bowel movements. The major conflict at this stage is toilet
training--the child has to learn to control his or her bodily needs. Developing this control
leads to a sense of accomplishment and independence.
According to Freud, success at this stage is dependent upon the way in which parents
approach toilet training. Parents who utilize praise and rewards for using the toilet at the
appropriate time encourage positive outcomes and help children feel capable and
productive. Freud believed that positive experiences during this stage served as the
basis for people to become competent, productive, and creative adults.
However, not all parents provide the support and encouragement that children need
during this stage. Some parents' instead punish, ridicule, or shame a child for accidents.
According to Freud, inappropriate parental responses can result in negative outcomes.
If parents take an approach that is too lenient, Freud suggested that an anal-expulsive
personality could develop in which the individual has a messy, wasteful, or destructive
personality. If parents are too strict or begin toilet training too early, Freud believed that
an anal-retentive personality develops in which the individual is stringent, orderly, rigid,
and obsessive.
Phallic stage
During the phallic stage, the primary focus of the libido is on the genitals. Children also
discover the differences between males and females. Freud also believed that boys
begin to view their fathers as a rival for the mother’s affections. The Oedipus complex
describes these feelings of wanting to possess the mother and the desire to replace the
father. However, the child also fears that he will be punished by the father for these
feelings, a fear Freud termed castration anxiety.
The term Electra complex has been used to describe a similar set of feelings
experienced by young girls. Freud, however, believed that girls instead experience
penis envy.
Eventually, the child realizes begins to identify with the same-sex parent as a means of
vicariously possessing the other parent. For girls, however, Freud believed that penis
envy was never fully resolved and that all women remain somewhat fixated on this
stage. Psychologists such as Karen Horney disputed this theory, calling it both
inaccurate and demeaning to women. Instead, Horney proposed that men experience
feelings of inferiority because they cannot give birth to children.
Latent period
During the latent period, the libido interests are suppressed. The development of the
ego and superego contribute to this period of calm. The stage begins around the time
that children enter into school and become more concerned with peer relationships,
hobbies, and other interests.
The latent period is a time of exploration in which the sexual energy is still present, but it
is directed into other areas such as intellectual pursuits and social interactions. This
stage is important in the development of social and communication skills and selfconfidence.
During the final stage of psychosexual development, the individual develops a strong
sexual interest in the opposite sex. Where in earlier stages the focus was solely on
individual needs and, interest in the welfare of others grows during this stage. If the
other stages have been completed successfully, the individual should now be wellbalanced, warm, and caring. The goal of this stage is to establish a balance between
the various life areas (www.about.com, 2008).
Stages of Cognitive Development – Jean Piaget
The theory of cognitive development, one of the most historically influential theories was
developed by Jean Piaget, a Swiss Philosopher (1896–1980). His genetic
epistemological theory provided many central concepts in the field of developmental
psychology and concerned the growth of intelligence, which for Piaget, meant the ability
to more accurately represent the world and perform logical operations on
representations of concepts grounded in interactions with the world. The theory
concerns the emergence and construction of schemata — schemes of how one
perceives the world — in developmental stages, times when children are acquiring new
ways of mentally representing information. The theory is considered "constructivist",
meaning that, unlike nativist theories (which describe cognitive development as the
unfolding of innate knowledge and abilities) or empiricist theories (which describe
cognitive development as the gradual acquisition of knowledge through experience), it
asserts that we construct our cognitive abilities through self-motivated action in the
world. For his development of the theory, Piaget was awarded the Erasmus Prize Piaget
divided schemes that children use to understand the world through four main periods,
roughly correlated with and becoming increasingly sophisticated with age:
· Sensorimotor period (years 0–2)
· Preoperational period (years 2–7)
· Concrete operational period (years 7–11)
· Formal operational period (years 11 and up) Piaget's four stages
Sensorimotor period
Infants are born with a set of congenital reflexes that allow them to float in the heavily
dense world, according to Piaget, in addition to a drive to explore their world. Their initial
schemes are formed through differentiation of the congenital reflexes. The sensorimotor
period is the first of the four periods. According to Piaget, this stage marks the
development of essential spatial abilities and understanding of the world in six substages:
1. The first sub-stage, known as the reflex scheme stage, occurs from birth to one
month and is associated primarily with the development of reflexes.
2. The second sub-stage, primary circular reaction phase, occurs from one month to
four months and is associated primarily with the development of habits.
3. The third sub-stage, the secondary circular reactions phase, occurs from four to eight
months and is associated primarily with the development of coordination between vision
and prehension (aka, "hand-eye coordination").
4. The fourth sub-stage; called the co-ordination of secondary course round modest
circular reactions stage, which occurs from eight to twelve months, is when Piaget
(1954) thought that object permanence developed.
5. The fifth sub-stage; the tertiary circular reactions phase, occurs from twelve to
eighteen months. New means through active experimentation and creativity in the
actions of the "little scientist".
6. The sixth sub-stage, considered "beginnings of symbolic representation", from
eighteen months to twenty four months. New means through mental combinations
considering before doing provides the child with new ways of achieving a goal without
resorting to trial-and-error experiments.
Preoperational stage
(Pre)Operatory Thought in Piagetian theory is any procedure for mentally acting on
objects. The hallmark of the preoperational stage is sparse and logically inadequate
mental operations. During this stage the child learns to use and to represent objects by
images and words, in other words they learn to use symbolic thinking. Thinking is still
egocentric: The child has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others.
The child can classify objects by a single feature: e.g. groups together all the red blocks
regardless of shape or all the square blocks regardless of color. According to Piaget,
the Pre-Operational stage of development follows the Sensorimotor stage and occurs
between 2–7 years of age. In this stage, children develop their language skills. They
begin representing things with words and images. However, they still use intuitive rather
than logical reasoning. At the beginning of this stage, they tend to be egocentric, that is,
they are not aware that other people do not think, know and perceive the same as them.
Children have highly imaginative minds at this time and actually assign emotions to
inanimate objects. The theory of mind is also critical to this stage.
The Preoperational Stage can be further broken down into the Preconceptual Stage and
the Intuitive Stage. The Preconceptual stage (2-4 years) is marked by egocentric
thinking and animistic thought. A child who displays animistic thought tends to assign
living attributes to inanimate objects, for example that a glass would feel pain if it were
broken.
The Intuitive(4-7 years) stage is when children start employing mental activities to solve
problems and obtain goals but they are unaware of how they came to their conclusions.
For example a child is shown 7 dogs and 3 cats and asked if there are more dogs than
cats. The child would respond positively. However when asked if there are more dogs
than animals the child would once again respond positively. Such fundamental errors in
logic show the transition between intuitiveness in solving problems and true logical
reasoning acquired in later years when the child grows up.
Piaget considered that children primarily learn through imitation and play throughout
these first two stages, as they build up symbolic images through internalized activity.
Concrete operational stage
The Concrete operational stage is the third of four stages of cognitive development in
Piaget's theory. This stage, which follows the Preoperational stage, occurs between the
ages of 7 and 11 years and is characterized by the appropriate use of logic. Important
processes during this stage are:
Seriation—the ability to sort objects in an order according to size, shape, or any other
characteristic. For example, if given different-shaded objects they may make a color
gradient.
Classification—the ability to name and identify sets of objects according to
appearance, size or other characteristic, including the idea that one set of objects can
include another.
Decentering—where the child takes into account multiple aspects of a problem to solve
it. For example, the child will no longer perceive an exceptionally wide but short cup to
contain less than a normally-wide, taller cup.
Reversibility—where the child understands that numbers or objects can be changed,
then returned to their original state. For this reason, a child will be able to rapidly
determine that if 4+4 equals 8, 8−4 will equal 4, the original quantity.
Conservation—understanding that quantity, length or number of items is unrelated to
the arrangement or appearance of the object or items. For instance, when a child is
presented with two equally-sized, full cups they will be able to discern that if water is
transferred to a pitcher it will conserve the quantity and be equal to the other filled cup.
Elimination of Egocentrism—the ability to view things from another's perspective
(even if they think incorrectly). For instance, show a child a comic in which Jane puts a
doll under a box leaves the room, and then Melissa moves the doll to a drawer, and
Jane comes back. A child in the concrete operations stage will say that Jane will still
think it's under the box even though the child knows it is in the drawer.
Children in this stage can, however, only solve problems that apply to actual (concrete)
objects or events, and not abstract concepts or hypothetical tasks.
Formal operational stage
The formal operational period is the fourth and final of the periods of cognitive
development in Piaget's theory. This stage, which follows the Concrete Operational
stage, commences at around 12 years of age (puberty) and continues into adulthood. It
is characterized by acquisition of the ability to think abstractly, reason logically and draw
conclusions from the information available. During this stage the young adult is able to
understand such things as love, "shades of gray", logical proofs, and values. Lucidly,
biological factors may be traced to this stage as it occurs during puberty (the time at
which another period of neural pruning occurs), marking the entry to adulthood in
Physiology, cognition, moral judgement, psychosexual development, and psychosocial
development. Some two-thirds of people do not develop this form of reasoning fully
enough that it becomes their normal mode for cognition, and so they remain, even as
adults, concrete operational thinkers (W://en.wikipedia.org. 2008)
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
Kohlberg's stages of moral development are planes of moral adequacy conceived by
Lawrence Kohlberg to explain the development of moral reasoning. Created while
studying psychology at the University of Chicago, the theory was inspired by the work of
Jean Piaget and a fascination with children's reactions to moral dilemmas. He wrote his
doctoral dissertation at the university in 1958, outlining what are now known as his
stages of moral development.
His theory holds that moral reasoning, which is the basis for ethical behavior, has six
identifiable developmental constructive stages - each more adequate at responding to
moral dilemmas than the last. In studying these, Kohlberg followed the development of
moral judgment far beyond the ages originally studied earlier by Piaget, who also
claimed that logic and morality develop through constructive stages. Expanding
considerably upon this groundwork, it was determined that the process of moral
development was principally concerned with and that its development continued
throughout the lifespan, even spawning dialogue of philosophical implications of such
research.
Kohlberg used stories about moral dilemmas in his studies, and was interested in how
people would justify their actions if they were put in a similar moral crux. He would then
categorize and classify evoked responses into one of six distinct stages. These six
stages are grouped into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional and postconventional.
Kohlberg's six stages were grouped into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional,
and post-conventional. Following Piaget's constructivist requirements for a stage model
(see his theory of cognitive development), it is extremely rare to regress backward in
stages - to lose functionality of higher stage abilities. Even so, no one functions at their
highest stage at all times. It is also not possible to 'jump' forward stages; each stage
provides a new yet necessary perspective, and is more comprehensive, differentiated,
and integrated than its predecessors.
Level 1 (Pre-Conventional)
1. Obedience and punishment orientation (How can I avoid punishment?)
2. Self-interest orientation (What's in it for me?)
Level 2 (Conventional)
3. Interpersonal accord and conformity (The good boy/good girl attitude)
4. Authority and social-order maintaining orientation (Law and order morality)
Level 3 (Post-Conventional)
5. Social contract orientation
6. Universal ethical principles (Principled conscience)
Pre-Conventional
The pre-conventional level of moral reasoning is especially common in children, although
adults can also exhibit this level of reasoning. Reasoners in the pre-conventional level
judge the morality of an action by its direct consequences. The pre-conventional level
consists of the first and second stages of moral development, and is purely concerned
with the self in an egocentric manner.
In Stage one (obedience and punishment driven), individuals focus on the direct
consequences that their actions will have for themselves. For example, an action is
perceived as morally wrong if the person who commits it gets punished. The worse the
punishment for the act is, the more 'bad' the act is perceived to be. In addition, there is
no recognition that others' points of view are any different from one's own view. This
stage may be viewed as a kind of authoritarianism.
Stage two (self-interest driven) espouses the what’s in it for me position, right behavior
being defined by what is in one's own best interest. Stage two reasoning shows a
limited interest in the needs of others, but only to a point where it might further one's
own interests, such as you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. In stage two
concerns for others is not based on loyalty or intrinsic respect. Lacking a perspective of
society in the pre-conventional level, this should not be confused with social contract
(stage five), as all actions are performed to serve one's own needs or interests. For the
stage two theorists, the perspective of the world is often seen as morally relative.
Conventional
The conventional level of moral reasoning is typical of adolescents and adults. Persons
who reason in a conventional way judge the morality of actions by comparing these
actions to societal views and expectations. The conventional level consists of the third
and fourth stages of moral development.
In Stage three (interpersonal accord and conformity driven), the self enters society by
filling social roles. Individuals are receptive of approval or disapproval from other people
as it reflects society's accordance with the perceived role. They try to be a good boy or
good girl to live up to these expectations, having learned that there is inherent value in
doing so. Stage three reasoning may judge the morality of an action by evaluating its
consequences in terms of a person's relationships, which now begin to include things
like respect, gratitude and the 'golden rule'. Desire to maintain rules and authority exists
only to further support these stereotypical social roles. The intentions of actions play a
more significant role in reasoning at this stage; 'they mean well...'
In Stage four (authority and social order obedience driven), it is important to obey laws,
dictums and social conventions because of their importance in maintaining a functioning
society. Moral reasoning in stage four is thus beyond the need for individual approval
exhibited in stage three; society must learn to transcend individual needs. A central
ideal or ideals often prescribe what is right and wrong, such as in the case of
fundamentalism. If one person violates a law, perhaps everyone would - thus there is an
obligation and a duty to uphold laws and rules. When someone does violate a law, it is
morally wrong; culpability is thus a significant factor in this stage as it separates the bad
domains from the good ones.
Post-Conventional
The post-conventional level, also known as the principled level, consists of stages five
and six of moral development. Realization that individuals are separate entities from
society now becomes salient. One's own perspective should be viewed before the
society. It is due to this 'nature of self before others' that the post-conventional level,
especially stage six, is sometimes mistaken for pre-conventional behaviors.
In Stage five (social contract driven), individuals are viewed as holding different opinions
and values. Along a similar vein, laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid
dictums. Those that do not promote the general welfare should be changed when
necessary to meet the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This is attained
through majority decision, and inevitably compromise. In this way democratic
government is ostensibly based on stage five reasoning.
In Stage six (universal ethical principles driven), moral reasoning is based on abstract
reasoning using universal ethical principles. Laws are valid only insofar as they are
grounded in justice, and that a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to
disobey unjust laws. Rights are unnecessary as social contracts are not essential for
deontic moral action. Decisions are not met hypothetically in a conditional way but
rather categorically in an absolute way (see Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative).
This can be done by imagining what one would do being in anyone's shoes, who
imagined what anyone would do thinking the same. The resulting consensus is the
action taken. In this way action is never a means but always an end in itself; one acts
because it is right, and not because it is instrumental, expected, legal or previously
agreed upon. While Kohlberg insisted that stage six exists, he had difficulty finding
participants who consistently used it. It appears that people rarely if ever reach stage six
of Kohlberg's model (http://en.wikipedia.org).