1. Psychology in Action (8e)
PowerPoint  Lecture Notes Presentation
Chapter 3: Life Span Development II

2. Lecture Overview Moral Development Personality Development
Meeting the Challenges of Adulthood
Grief and Death

3. Moral Development
Kohlberg developed a model of moral development based on responses to moral dilemmas.

4. Moral Development— Kohlberg’s Levels and Stages
PRECONVENTIONAL LEVEL
Stage 1: punishment-obedience orientation
Stage 2: instrumental-exchange orientation
CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
Stage 3: good child orientation
Stage 4: law-and-order orientation
POSTCONVENTIONAL LEVEL
Stage 5: social-contract orientation
Stage 6: universal ethics orientation

6. Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg contended that moral thinking likewise proceeds through a series of stages
from a preconventional morality of self-interest (gains rewards, avoids punishment)
to a conventional morality that cares for others and upholds laws and rules (gains approval, does duty; obeys because rules exist)
to (in some people) a postconventional morality of agreed-upon rights or basic ethical principles.

7. Preconventional (birth to adolescence)
Stage 1- punishment and obedience orientation
Self-centered
Rewards, punishment
Will not admit intentionality
Stage 2- instrumental-exchange orientation
Aware of perspective of others
Reciprocal-exchange of favors

8. Conventional (adolescence to young adulthood)- other focussed
Stage 3- good child orientation
Being nice to gain approval
People judged by intentions of their behavior
Stage 4- law-and-order orientation
Takes into account larger perspective- society
One’s duty to respect law and order

9. Postconventional (adulthood)- develop own standards of right and wrong/abstract
Stage 5- social-contract orientation
Appreciate underlying purposes of laws
Interests in majority versus individual
OK to steal drug to save a life
Stage 6- universal ethics orientation
“right” is determined by universal ethics
Human dignity, nonviolence, freedom, equality
Regardless of whether agree, will conform

10. Personality Development
Thomas & Chess’s Temperament Theory
Temperament: Basic, inborn disposition.
Three temperament styles: easy, difficult and slow-to-warm-up.
Styles seem consistent and enduring.

11. Temperament
Person’s characteristic, biologically based way of approaching and reacting to people and situations. Consistent and enduring patterns that are fairly stable over time.
Temperament refers to a style of behavior: how a person does whatever they do

12. Temperament Temperament affects the infant’s experience in two ways:
infants with different temperaments elicit different responses from others.
infants with different temperaments have different reactions to the same environment or events.

13. Thomas and Chess identified three types of temperament:
Easy babies: (40% of sample) were playful, regular in body functions, and adaptable. They approached new situations with interest and were moderate in their responses. They were the least likely to have problems later.
they had a positive mood
high rhythmicity
low or moderate intensity reactions
high adaptability

14. Cries often and loudly, laughs loudly. Respond poorly to change.
Difficult babies (10% of sample) were negative, irregular, and unadaptable.
They withdrew from new situations and had intense reactions. Intense and frequent negative moods.
Cries often and loudly, laughs loudly. Respond poorly to change.
More likely to have difficulty or problems with their parents, school, and peers later in their development. 70% of the difficult children in the sample received psychiatric services while only 18% of the easy children did. They presented with 5 attributes:

15. They presented with 5 attributes:
Low rhythmicity
High intensity reactions
A withdrawal orientation
Slow adaptation
Negative mood

16. Slow-to-Warm-Up (15% of sample) were low in activity and mild in their responses. They tended to withdraw from new situations and needed time to adapt to change. Negative initial response to new stimuli. Sleeps and eats more regular than difficult child, less regular than easy child.

17. The remaining 35% unclassifiable.
They found that infants vary their responses to people and events, and therefore a “good” home or “bad” home may not always account for temperament problems.
The key to healthy development is goodness of fit between the child’s temperament and the demands made on the child in their home environment. A child’s environment should be in harmony with their temperament.

18. Temperaments were fairly stable over time; Thomas et al demonstrated that a child’s ratings for each of the various temperamental attributes were stable over from infancy to adolescence
A mother with a difficult baby may be less responsive to their infants and less sensitive to changes in their babies emotional states.

19. Babies with difficult temperaments begin at an early age to cause problems between themselves and their parents: this can lead to a heavy-handed parental discipline and child rebellion may continue long after biologically determined temperamental predisposition has ceased to directly influence the child’s disposition.
Restructuring the environment to better suit the older child’s temperament may inadvertently reward the child for inappropriate behavior.
Differences in temperament and change exist. Some malleability possible.

20. Development issues
Erik Erickson: Trust Versus Mistrust
*****Parents must maintain an adequate environment-supportive, nurturing, and loving- so that the child develops basic trust.
To help achieve this stage:
care for, feed, build a warm, affectionate relationship with child

21. Erikson’s Stage 2: Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt
Learns what is expected of it, what its obligations and privileges are along with what limitations are placed upon it.
Child is starving for new and more activity-orientated experiences; places new demand for self-control and for the acceptance from others in the environment.

22. Erikson’s Stage 2: Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt
This stage promotes freedom of self-expression and lovingness.
A sense of self-control provides a feeling of good will and pride; a sense of loss of self-control can cause a lasting feelings of shame and doubt.
The virtue of Will emerges here: awareness and attention, manipulation, verbalization, and locomotion; can make free choices, to decide, to exercise self-restraint, and to apply oneself.
Judicious: judges itself and others to differentiate between right and wrong.

23. Erikson: Initiative Versus Guilt- 3-5½
Learns to pursue, plan, and determination of achieving tasks and goals.
Growing Sense of Purpose: the virtue that ascend in this stage; major activity here is playing, explorations, attempts and failures, and experimentation with toys.
Danger of this stage: feeling of guilt for an overzealous contemplation of goals, including genital fantasies, use of aggression, manipulative means of achieving these goals.

24. Erikson: Initiative Versus Guilt- 3-5½
Mental games: assuming roles of parents and other adults in make believe world.
Imitation of adults allows for realization of what it is like to be them.
Play provides an immediate reality; learns what the purpose of things are, and connection between an inner and outer world.
Imaginative and uninhibited play are vitally important to the child’s development.

25. Erikson: Initiative Versus Guilt- 3-5½
Purpose: is the courage to envision and pursue valued goals uninhibited by defeat of infantile fantasies, by guilt, and by overcoming the fear of punishment.
This age of play is characterized by Dramatic realization: actively plays, wears costumes, imitating adult personalities and pretending to be anything.

26. Self-Esteem: Erickson- Stage 4
Industry vs. Inferiority (5½ - 12 years)
Must submit to controlling its exuberant imagination and settling down to formal education.
Develops sense of industry and learns the rewards of perseverance and diligence.
Hazard: child may develop a sense of inferiority if made to or made to feel it is unable to master the tasks that it undertakes or which are set forth by teachers and parents.

27. Virtue of competence emerges.
View of future tasks, though not specific.
Ready and willing to learn about the tools, machines and methods preparatory for adult work
Important to apply intelligence and capacities to prevent feelings of inferiority and regression of the Ego.

28. Work includes attending school, chores at home, assuming responsibilities, studying music, learning manual skills, participating in skillful games and sports.
Important thing is that the child must apply its intelligence and abounding energy to some undertaking and direction.
Sense of competence is achieved by applying oneself to work and completing tasks, which eventually develops workmanship.

29. Erikson: Identify versus Identity Confusion
During adolescence begins to sense a feeling of own identity.
Becomes aware of individual characteristics, likes/dislikes, anticipates goals for future
Strength and purpose to control one’s own destiny
Time of life to define what one is at the present and what one wants to be in the future.

30. Crisis of Identity Erikson)
The adolescent is faced with the task of developing an acceptable, functional and stable self-concept. Those that succeed, according to Erickson, will establish a sense of identity and those who fail will suffer role confusion.
The sense of identity is experienced as a sense of psychological well-being.

31. Ego has capacity to select and integrate talents, aptitudes, and skills in identification with likeminded people & in adaptation to the social environment, and to maintain defenses against threats and anxiety, as it learns to decide what impulses, needs, and roles are most appropriate and effective.
Thus, the psychosocial identity is formed
Due to difficult transition from childhood to adulthood, and of sensitivity to social and historical change, the adolescent is likely to suffer more deeply than ever before or ever again from a confusion or roles, or Identity Confusion.

32. Erikson- Intimacy vs. Isolation (early adulthood)
If cannot make deep personal commitments to others, risk becoming overly isolated and self-absorbed.
Prepared and willing to unite their identity with others
Seek relationships of intimacy, partnerships, and affiliations.
Prepared to develop necessary strengths to fulfill these commitments despite the sacrifices that may have to make

33. Erikson
Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adulthood)
Characterized by concern with what is generated, and establishing and setting forth guidelines for up-coming generations. As aspect of identity formation.
This push for values is generated by the psychosexual and psychosocial aspects of personality enrichment.
When generativity is weak or not given expression the personality regresses, takes on a sense of impoverishment and stagnation

34. Erikson
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
A state one reaches after having taken care of things and people, products and ideas, and having adapted to the successes and failures of existence. Reflection of one’s life.
Once accomplished prior 7 stages, now can perceive their life as having some Order & Meaning within a larger order.
Ego integrity- a sense of having integrated the self

35. Table 4.2 Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers

36. Personality Development— Myths of Development
Myth #1- Adolescence is a time of great storm and stress.
Myth #2- Most people experience a midlife crisis in their middle years.
Myth #3- Most parents experience a painful empty-nest syndrome when children leave home.

37. Meeting the Challenges of Adulthood: Marriage
Research shows good marriages:
Establish “love maps.”
Share power and provide mutual support.
Practice conflict management.
Share similar values, beliefs, interests, etc.
Create a supportive social environment.
Maintain a positive emphasis.

38. Meeting the Challenges of Adulthood-Work and Retirement
Work: How can we find a career that best matches our personality and interests?

39. Meeting the Challenges of Adulthood-Work and Retirement
Retirement: Should we follow the activity, disengagement, or socio-emotional selectivity theory?

40. Meeting the Challenges of Adulthood—The Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

41. Grief and Death Grief is a natural reaction to loss.
Four Major Stages of Grief:
Numbness
Yearning
Disorganization/Despair
Resolution

42. Grief and Death Cultures interpret and respond to death differently.
Different ages interpret and respond to death according to:
Permanence
Universality
Nonfunctionality

43. Grief and Death (Continued)
Kübler-Ross developed a five stage theory of the psychological processes surrounding death:
Denial (“It can’t be true!”)
Anger (“Why me? It’s not fair!”)
Bargaining (“I’ll change everything!”)
Depression (“I’ve lost everything.”)
Acceptance (“I know my time is near.”)

44. Figure Biopsychosocial influences on successful aging Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers