Theories of Life Stages and Human Development

Lily Clark and Baylee Talan

Consider the following scenario:

A seven year old girl named Susie was always told to wait for her parents to wake up in the morning before helping herself to breakfast. One morning, Susie decides to help herself to some orange juice. Susie’s hand slips as she begins to poor the juice and she drops the jug, spilling the contents all over the floor. Susie’s mother wakes up and comes downstairs to find Susie at the counter eating a bowl of

cereal and a giant mess of orange juice all over the floor. When Susie’s mom asks Susie what happened, Susie refuses to answer. After her mother asks her to help clean up Susie screams, “I didn’t do it!” and then bursts into tears.

Now consider the following questions:

• Why is Susie behaving this way? Did something provoke this reaction?

• Is Susie afraid that her mother will punish her? Or does she think that crying will get her off the loose? Did she learn this behaviour?

• Are her actions related to her age, family, or personality?

These are the sort of questions that developmental psychologists would ponder when considering a situation like this. They try to find out what influences a person’s behaviour by creating different theories that could answer questions like the ones from above.

What is the Purpose of Development Theories?

• To provide insight into what motivates human thought and behaviour. If we have a better understanding of how our behaviours are developed and why, we will have a better understanding of those around us as well as ourselves.

• Theories are constantly changing and we need to keep track of these somehow. When we discover new things about behaviour, these theories are then changed to fit the new discovery. This will also help for future research.

Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

• He wasn’t just interested in the nature of thought, but also how it develops and how genetics impact this process.

• Piaget believed that children think differently than adults and stated that they go through four stages of cognitive development.

• Therefore, he said that development changes as the child matures.

Stage 1: Sensorimotor Stage• Takes place between birth and age two of a child.

• In this stage, the main development for the child is they know that objects exist and events occur in the world. Piaget called this “object permanence”.

• Experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue8y-JVhjS0

Stage 2: Preoperational Stage

• The child is between the ages of two and six.

• This is when a child has not yet learned how to understand concrete logic.

• Experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLj0IZFLKvg#t=42

Stage 3: Concrete Operational Stage

• This stage begins at age seven and goes till around age eleven.

• Children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract concepts

• Experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA04ew6Oi9M

Stage 4: Formal Operational

• This stage begins at around age eleven and will continue on in adulthood.

• During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts

• Experiment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJyuy4B2aKU

Piaget’s Impact on Education

• He changed the way people studied and viewed children since he proved that children think differently from adults.

• With the knowledge that he gathered from the numerous experiments he started, he has helped us to communicate and connect with children easier.

• This has been very helpful for those in the field of education. He was able to explain to people how children learn intellectually and how this changes as they move through the four stages. This is particularly helpful for teachers since they would be able to use this theory to help them create lessons and different approaches of learning.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s stages of development are loosely based on Piaget’s stages, but he wanted to develop his ideas even further.

• He used a storytelling technique where he would tell someone a story that involved moral dilemmas and then would questions. By doing this, Kohlberg hoped to discover how moral reasoning changes as people grow older.

• He used the information he gathered from his experiments and came to a conclusion, which resulted in the stages of moral development.

Level 1 – Pre-conventional Morality

At this level, most are either nine years old or under. We don’t have a personal code of morality, instead our moral code is shaped by what adults want us to do. We are also influenced by our want to gain rewards and avoid punishments.

Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation

Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange

The child/ individual is good in order to avoid punishment.

Children recognize that there is not just one view handed down by authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints.

Level 2 – Conventional Morality

At this level, most are adolescents and adults. We begin to internalize the moral standards of valued adult role models. Reasoning is based on the norms of the group to which the person belongs.

Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships

Stage 4. Maintaining Social Order

The individual is good to gain others approval.

The individual becomes aware of society’s rules so he/ she obeys rules in order to uphold the law and avoid guilt.

Level 3 – Post-conventional Morality

At this level, individual judgment is based on self-chosen principles and moral reasoning is based on individual rights and justice. Only 10-15% of people will reach this level.

Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights

Stage 6. Universal Principles

The individual becomes aware that although rules and laws exist for the good of society, there will be times when they need to work against the interest of particular individuals.

The individual has developed his/ her own set of moral guidelines which may or may not fit the law.

Kohlberg’s Impact on Education

• Kohlberg brought a new perspective to moral development inquiry which is that a child’s moral decisions develops with experience.

• He encouraged students and colleagues to challenge his work and bring forth their own opinions which influenced numerous other individuals like Carol Gilligan and Erik Erikson.

• He created moral education programs for schools, prisons, and community organizations. The program with the most impact was his “just community approach” where every person involved, whether it be staff or students, had an equal voice and equal decision.

Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

• Psychosocial: “of or involving the influence of social factors or human interactive behavior”

• His theory was that there are specific crises that every person will go through and the way the person will develop will all depend on how successful they are at resolving these crises.

• He also focused on the role that culture and society play in people’s lives.

• I have briefly described each stage in the next four slides, but here’s a video I found on YouTube in case you need a better understanding: http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

1. Trust vs. Mistrust

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

3. Initiative vs. Guilt

4. Industry vs. Inferiority

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

5. Identity vs. Role Confusion

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

During this stage the infant is uncertain about the world in which they live. To resolve these feelings of uncertainty the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. If the care the infant receives is consistent, they will develop a sense of trust. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope.

Erik Erikson’s Impact on Society

• Despite the fact that many people critique Erikson’s theory, there is some truth to it. The fact is that the things we experience in our lives will ultimately shape the kind of person we become.

• Through his theory, he made it clear that children need to find some kind of independence from their parents. This has contributed to education and made parents more aware that while they do need to supervise, they should not completely interfere in the child’s life.

• This has also made teachers more aware of what is appropriate for each stage of student. It has influenced approaches to teaching and learning because using this theory as an outline will show them what each student needs.

Carol Gilligan’s Stages of the Ethic of Care

• Began to criticize Kohlberg’s work because a) he only studied privileged, white boys and men which caused a biased opinion of girls and b) in the stage theory of moral development, the male view was conceded higher than a female view

• Women were taught to “care for other people and expect people to care for them”, so she helped to form a new psychology through listening to women, and reevaluating self and selfishness

Pre-conventional

In this stage, the person’s attitude is considered selfish since they only care for themselves to ensure survival. This is how everyone is as a child.

Conventional

In this stage, the person displays more responsibility and care towards others. A great example would be either a parent or spouse since there will be instances where the individual will ignore their own needs and put the needs of others first. There is tension between responsibility of caring for others versus caring for self.

Post-conventional

Not everyone will reach it, but in this stage, the person has accepted the importance of caring for both self and others.

Gilligan’s Impact on Society

• Carol challenged “social norms” and the idea that white men were the only significant members of society. She began a movement for gender equality in hopes for freedom from patriarchy.

• Her teaching on moral development spread past the classroom walls and got people talking.

• If highly educated individuals are talking about women equality, and that spreads to the world around education and into society then business owners at cooperate levels and governmental bodies will then too begin to talk about this change.

This issue is still a work in progress, however it had to start somewhere. Carol did start this, and the vision is to have work forces leaded equally by men and women.