Unit 1 pt2

• Psychosocial theory of development

  Erik Erikson's theory that focuses on the resolution of different crises to become a successful, complete person
• Erik Erikson


  • Stage theorist who took Freud's theory of psychosexual development and modified it as a psychosocial theory
  • Emphasized that the ego makes positive contributions to development by mastering attitudes, ideas, and skills at each stage
  • Believed that personality is shaped by the way people respond to each developmental crisis
• Erikson's 8 stages of development

  • Trust vs. Mistrust
  • Autonomy vs. Shame
  • Initiative vs. Guilt
  • Industry vs. Inferiority
  • Identity vs. Confusion
  • Intimacy vs. Isolation
  • Generativity vs. Stagnation
  • Integrity vs. Despair
• Trust vs. Mistrust


  First stage, from birth to 18 months, where infant learns to trust or mistrust caregiver
• Autonomy vs. Shame


  Second stage, 18 months to 3 years, where child develops independence or shame
• Initiative vs. Guilt


  Third stage, 3-6 years, where child develops initiative or guilt
• Industry vs. Inferiority


  Fourth stage, 5-12 years, where child develops industry or inferiority
• Identity vs. Confusion


  Fifth stage, 12-18 years, where teen develops identity or role confusion
• Intimacy vs. Isolation


  Sixth stage, 18-40 years, where young adult develops intimacy or isolation
• Generativity vs. Stagnation


  Seventh stage, 40-65 years, where middle-aged adult develops generativity or stagnation
• Integrity vs. Despair


  Eighth stage, 65+ years, where older adult develops integrity or despair
• Some criticisms of Erikson's theory include: too focused on sequential stages, used European/American "male experience" as template, lacks detail on experiences needed for success
• Moral development


  Process by which people develop the distinction between right and wrong and engage in moral reasoning
• Lawrence Kohlberg


  • American psychologist who developed the theory of moral development
  • Believed moral development follows a series of stages throughout the lifespan
  • Based his theory on presenting moral dilemmas to study participants
• Preconventional morality


  Earliest level of moral development, where morality is externally controlled and focused on avoiding punishment
• Conventional morality


  Second level of moral development, where morality is based on conforming to social norms and maintaining social order
• Postconventional morality


  Highest level of moral development, where morality is based on self-chosen ethical principles
• Kohlberg's 6 stages of moral development

  • Obedience and Punishment
  • Individualism and Exchange
  • Developing Good Interpersonal Relationships
  • Maintaining Social Order
  • Social Contract and Individual Rights
  • Universal Principles
• Criticisms of Kohlberg's theory include: moral reasoning does not equal moral behavior, overemphasizes justice, has cultural and gender biases, and age bias
• Kohlberg's theory expanded on Piaget's earlier 3-stage theory of moral development
• Scientific research analyzes and studies key issues on how children differ from adults and why they may lack certain abilities
• Kohlberg's theory has been highly influential, aspects of the theory have been critiqued for a number of reasons
• Critiques of Kohlberg's theory

  • Moral reasoning does not equal moral behavior
  • Overemphasizes justice
  • Cultural bias
  • Age bias
  • Gender bias
• Kohlberg's theory is an expansion of Piaget's theory of moral development
• Piaget's theory of moral development

  1. Stage 1: The child is more concerned with developing and mastering their motor and social skills, with no general concern about morality

  2. Stage 2: The child develops unconditional respect both for authority figures and the rules in existence

  3. Stage 3: The child starts to see rules as being arbitrary, also considering an actor's intentions when judging whether an act or behavior is moral or immoral
• Kohlberg believed that the final stage is rarely achieved by individuals whereas Piaget's stages of moral development are common to all
• Scientific research findings analyzes and studies key issues on how children differ from adults qualitatively or why they merely lack the ability of adults to draw upon experience
• Scientific research findings interpret if human beings develop by gradually accumulating knowledge or by transitioning from stage to stage of thinking
• Scientific research findings determine whether children have innate knowledge when they are born or comprehend things about life through experience
• Scientific research findings determine if development is determined by social circumstances or due to something existing innately in each child
• As the case with most other types of research methods, developmental psychology research is based on hypothesis
• Hypothesis


  A statement that can be tested & demonstrates what the scientist anticipates to find in a study
• Aim


  Refers to gathering data and information about an issue, analyze, derive conclusions on the basis of the data with existing literature
• Variable


  Anything that can vary, i.e. changed or be changed, such as memory, attention, time taken to perform a task, etc.
• Independent Variable


  The variable the experimenter manipulates (i.e. changes) – assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable
• Dependent Variable


  The variable the experimenter measures in their experiment
• Operational Variables


  How you will define and measure a specific variable as it is used in your study
• Extraneous variables are all variables, which are not the independent variable, but could affect the results (e.g. dependent variable) of the experiment
• Extraneous variables should be controlled were possible. They might be important enough to provide alternative explanations for the effects
• Internal Validity


  Refers to whether the effects observed in a study are due to the manipulation of the IV & not some other factor. A causal relationship between the IV & DV.