Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development  

What is Psychosocial Development?   Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality in psychology. Much like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. Unlike Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages, Erikson’s theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan. L 2

  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, which he sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy.

Erikson's Psychosocial Stages Summary Chart Basic Conflict Important Events Outcome Stage-1 infancy (birth to 18 months) Trust vs. mistrust Feeding Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust.

Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt. Toilet Training Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Stage-2 Early Childhood (2 to 3 years)

Stage-3 Initiative vs. Guilt Preschool (3 to 5 years) Initiative vs. Guilt Exploration Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.

Children need to cope with new social and academic demands Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority. School Industry vs. Inferiority Stage-4 School Age (6 to 11 years)

Stage-5 Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Identity vs. Role Confusion Social Relationships Teens needs to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self.

Stage-6 young Adulthood (19 to 40 years intimacy vs. isolation relationships Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation.

Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world. Work and Parenthood Generativity vs. Stagnation Stage-7 Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years)

Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair. Reflection on Life Ego Integrity vs. Despair Stage-8 Maturity (65 to death)

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg Author of a three-stage theory on how moral reasoning develops Moral reasoning is the aspect of cognitive development that has to do with the way an individual reasons about moral decisions

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Assessed moral reasoning by posing hypothetical moral dilemmas and examining the reasoning behind people’s answers Proposed three distinct levels of moral reasoning: Pre-Conventional Conventional Post-Conventional Each level is based on the degree to which a person conforms to conventional standards of society Each level has two stages that represent different degrees of sophistication in moral reasoning.

Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemma In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. the drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug. 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, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz steal the drug? Why or why not?

Other Dilemmas to Consider

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

1. Preconventional Moral Reasoning Characterized by the desire to avoid punishment or gain reward Typically children under the age of 10

2. Conventional Moral Reasoning Primary concern is to fit in and play the role of a good citizen People have a strong desire to follow the rules and laws. Typical of most adults

3. Postconventional Moral Reasoning Characterized by references to universal ethical principles that represent protecting the rights or of all people Most adults do not reach this level.

Preconventional Moral Reasoning Stages 1 & 2

Stage 1: Punishment & Obedience A focus on direct consequences Negative actions will result in punishments EXAMPLE: Heinz shouldn’t steal the drug because he’d go to jail if he got caught.

Stage 2: Mutual Benefit Getting what one wants often requires giving something up in return “Right” is a fair exchange. Morals guided by what is “fair” EXAMPLE: Heinz should steal the drug because the durggist is being greedy by charging so much.

Conventional Moral Reasoning Stages 3 & 4

Stage 3: Interpersonal Expectations An attempt to live up to the expectations of important others Follow rules or do what others would want so that you win their approval Negative actions will harm those relationships EXAMPLE: Heinz should try to steal the drug because that’s what a devoted husband would do.

Stage 4: Law-and-Order To maintain social order, people must resist personal pressures and follow the laws of the larger society Respect the laws & authority EXAMPLE: Heinz should not steal the drug because that would be against the law and he has duty to uphold the law.

Postconventional Moral Reasoning Stages 5 & 6

Stage 5: Legal Principles Must protect the basic rights of all people by upholding the legal principles of fairness, justice, equality & democracy. Laws that fail to promote general welfare or that violate ethical principles can be changed, reinterpreted, or abandoned EXAMPLE: Heinz should steal the drug because his obligation to save his wife’s life must take precedence over his obligation to respect the druggist’s property rights.

Stage 6: Universal Moral Principles Self-chosen ethical principles Profound respect for sanctity of human life, nonviolence, equality & human dignity Moral principles take precedence over laws that might conflict with them, Conscientious objectors – refuses to be drafted because they are morally opposed to war. EXAMPLE: Heinz should steal the drug even if the person was a stranger and not his wife. He must follow his conscience and not let the druggist’s desire for money outweigh the value of a human life.

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory Research has not supported Kohlberg’s belief that the development of abstract thinking in adolescence invariably leads people to the formation of idealistic moral principles Some cross-cultural psychologists argue that Kohlberg’s stories and scoring system reflect a Western emphasis on individual rights, harm, and justice that is not shared in many cultures. Kohlberg’s early research was conducted entirely with male subjects, yet it became the basis for a theory applied to both males and females.