1. Psychology 3051 Psychology 305A: Theories of Personality Lecture 12 1

2. 2 From last class ….

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4. Psychology 3054 1.What are the 8 stages of personality development proposed by Erik Erikson? 2. According to attachment theory, what are the 4 infant attachment styles? The Psychosocial Perspective 4 3. How are attachment styles assessed in adults?

5. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 3. discuss the consequences of successful and unsuccessful resolution of the crisis associated with each stage of psychosocial development. 1. list Erikson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development. 5 2. identify the crisis associated with each stage of psychosocial development. 5

6. 5. distinguish between attachment classification systems and methods of assessment for adults. 6 4. describe the strange situation.

7. Psychology 3057 Accordingly, Erikson referred to his stages of personality development as stages of “psychosocial development.” What are the 8 stages of personality development proposed by Erik Erikson? Erikson’s theory of personality emphasizes interpersonal conflicts. Erikson maintained the personality development occurs across the lifespan, in eight stages. 7

8. Psychology 3058 Erikson believed that at each stage of personality development, we experience a conflict or “crisis.” He maintained that the potential for each crisis is innate, and that each crisis emerges only when specific environmental demands are encountered. 8

9. Psychology 3059 Erikson maintained that successful resolution of the crisis at a given stage results in the acquisition of a “basic strength” that is needed to proceed to the next stage of development. In contrast, unsuccessful resolution of the crisis at a given stage prevents the acquisition of the basic strength that is needed to proceed to the next stage of development, resulting in stagnation or “fixation.” 9

10. Psychology 30510 In his theory of personality development, Erikson identified 4 childhood stages, 1 adolescent stage, and 3 adult stages: 10

11. Psychology 30511 1. Infancy  First year of life.  Crisis: Basic trust vs. mistrust.  Successful resolution: Occurs when infants develop confidence in their caregivers to consistently meet their basic needs.  Basic strength: Hope (the enduring belief that one’s needs, desires, and wishes will be satisfied). 11

12. Psychology 30512 2. Early Childhood  Second year of life.  Crisis: Autonomy vs. shame and doubt.  Successful resolution: Occurs when toddlers acquire a sense of independence stemming from their self-control.  Basic strength: Willpower (the determination to exercise free choice as well as self-restraint). 12

13. Psychology 30513 3. Preschool  3 – 5 years of age.  Crisis: Initiative vs. guilt.  Successful resolution: Occurs when young children feel that they can take action to pursue their desires or urges.  Basic strength: Purpose (the courage to pursue valued goals without fear of punishment). 13

14. Psychology 30514 4. School Age  6 – 11 years of age.  Crisis: Industry vs. inferiority.  Successful resolution: Occurs when children feel that they can master tasks of the “tool world” (i.e., the practical work-related world, including tasks at school).  Basic strength: Competence (the belief that one has the dexterity and intelligence required to complete meaningful tasks). 14

15. Psychology 30515 5. Adolescence  12 – 19 years of age.  Crisis: Identity vs. identity confusion.  Successful resolution: Occurs when adolescents develop an integrated and consistent self-view (i.e., one that is seen similarly by oneself and others).  Basic strength: Fidelity (the ability to be true to oneself and to significant others despite contradictions in value systems across roles and relationships). 15

16. Psychology 30516 6. Young Adulthood  20 – 35 years of age.  Crisis: Intimacy vs. isolation.  Successful resolution: Occurs when young adults feel that they can merge with another individual without losing their personal identity.  Basic strength: Love (a mutual devotion with another individual that is greater than any antagonism between the identities of each individual in the partnership). 16

17. Psychology 30517 7. Adulthood  36 – 60 years of age.  Crisis: Generativity vs. stagnation.  Successful resolution: Occurs when adults feel that they are able to guide, nurture, and contribute to the development of the next generation.  Basic strength: Care (a broad concern for others that extends beyond the narrowness of self-concern). 17

18. Psychology 30518 8. Old Age  61 years of age – death.  Crisis: Integrity vs. despair.  Successful resolution: Occurs when older adults feel a sense of emotional integration or satisfaction with the choices they have made and the life experiences they have had.  Basic strength: Wisdom (a detached but active concern with life in the face of death). 18

19. Psychology 30519 “Ordinarily we cling to our past and remain stuck in the illusion of youthfulness. Being old is highly unpopular. Nobody seems to consider that not being able to grow old is just as absurd as not being able to outgrow child’s-size shoes. A still infantile man of thirty is surely to be deplored, but a youthful [old man], isn’t that delightful? And yet both are perverse, lacking in style, psychological monstrosities. A young man who does not fight and conquer has missed the best part of his youth, and an old man who does not know how to listen to the secrets of the brooks, as they tumble down from the peaks to the valleys, makes no sense; he is a spiritual mummy who is nothing but a rigid relic of the past.” (Jung, 1934/1960, p. 407) 19

20. Psychology 30520 According to attachment theory, what are the 4 infant attachment styles? Contemporary research on attachment grew out of the work of John Bowlby, a psychoanalyst from England, and Mary Ainsworth, a professor at the University of Toronto. Ainsworth developed the “strange situation” procedure to assess infant attachment. 20

21. Psychology 30521 The strange situation procedure (20 minutes in duration):  The parent and child enter the lab, which is set up as a comfortable living room.  The parent sits down and the child is allowed to explore the room.  After a few minutes, an unfamiliar but friendly adult enters the room. 21

22. Psychology 30522  The parent exits the room, leaving the child alone with the stranger.  After a few minutes, the parent returns to the room and the stranger leaves.  The parent remains in the room with the child for several more minutes, as the child’s reaction is videotaped. 22

23. Psychology 30523 Using this procedure, Ainsworth and her colleagues (1972, 1979) identified 3 infant attachment styles: 1. Secure: Shows relatively little distress when the parent leaves the room, interacts willingly with the stranger, exhibits joy when the parent returns (66% of the infants). 2. Avoidant: Displays relatively little distress when the parent leaves the room and reacts with indifference when the parent returns, sometimes exhibiting rejection behaviours (20% of the infants). 23

24. Psychology 30524 More recent research (e.g., Main & Hesse, 1990) has provided evidence for a fourth attachment style: 4. Disorganized: Appears disoriented or confused by his or her surroundings and displays no coherent pattern of coping. 3. Ambivalent: Becomes very distressed when the parent leaves the room but reacts with ambivalence when the parent returns, exhibiting both approach and rejection behaviours (14% of the infants). 24

25. Psychology 30525 Infants with a secure attachment style tend to have responsive, affectionate, and concerned parents. Infants in the other attachment groups tend to have unresponsive parents. In general, infants with a disorganized attachment style have been exposed to a chaotic and abusive environment. 25

26. Psychology 30526 How are attachment styles assessed in adults? Bowlby theorized that infant relationships serve as prototypes, producing “internal working models” for later adult relationships. Bowlby described internal working models as unconscious expectations about relationships. Recent theorists have described them as schemas or representations of the self in relation to close others. 26

27. Psychology 30527 Consistent with Bowlby’s theory that infant relationships produce internal working models for later adult relationships, research has found: (a) a positive correlation between parent-infant attachment style and adult attachment style. (b) for most people, attachment classifications in infancy correspond to attachment classifications in adulthood. 27

28. Psychology 30528 Several methods have been developed to assess the attachment styles of adults: 1. Adult Attachment Interview (George et al., 1985)  A 60 – 90 minute semi-structured interview.  Assesses secure, preoccupied, dismissing, and disoriented attachment styles. These adult attachment styles correspond to the secure, ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganized infant attachment styles, respectively. 28

29. Psychology 30529  Contains 20 questions. Examples: 1. “I'd like you to choose five adjectives that reflect your childhood relationship with your mother. This might take some time, and then I'm going to ask you why you chose them.” (Repeated for father) 2. “To which parent did you feel closest and why? Why isn't there this feeling with the other parent?” 3. “When you were upset as a child, what would you do?” 4. “What is the first time you remember being separated from your parents? How did you and they respond?” 29

30. Psychology 30530  Scoring the interview involves assessing the coherence of the respondent’s narrative across the 20 questions. Secure individuals have coherent narratives that are “both believable and true to the listener …. The … [respondent] collaborates with the interviewer, clarifying his or her meaning, and working to make sure he or she is understood” (Slade, 1999; 58% of non-clinical mothers). 30

31. Psychology 30531 Dismissing individuals tend to have brief narratives. Many don't recall memories of childhood. They tend to deny or rationalize negative experiences (24% of non- clinical mothers). Preoccupied individuals tend to engage in negative, analytic, and lengthy discussions. They are devaluing or idealizing of attachment figures. Their narratives are entangled and hard to follow (18% of non-clinical mothers). 31

32. Psychology 30532 Disoriented individuals tend to have narratives marked by lapses in reasoning when discussing losses or experiences of abuse. 32

33. Psychology 30533 1.What are the 8 stages of personality development proposed by Erik Erikson? 2. According to attachment theory, what are the 4 infant attachment styles? The Psychosocial Perspective 33 3. How are attachment styles assessed in adults?