3.4: Developmental Theories

Identify the nature of cognitive, social, and moral developmental theories and identify the issues the elderly face. List and describe the names of people who have contributed to the study of human development

Cognitive Development—Jean Piaget

Sometimes you are able to look at people and know exactly what they are thinking. This awareness comes from your experience with others. Close friends will sometimes start to say the same thing at exactly the same time as each other. However, there are other times when you are absolutely shocked at the thoughts of another person that you never would have guessed. When you are studying the thought processes of people, you are analyzing their cognitive development.

Cognitive theorists emphasize the formation and modification of schemas. A schema is a concept, representation, mold, or framework that helps us interpret and organize our experiences. For example, a child learns that a lion is a large cat. The schema of cat helps the child understand that a cat is an animal with fur, a long tail, and the capacity to breathe and scratch, but that has different features from a dog or horse.

Theories of cognitive development are most frequently associated with the writings of Jean Piaget. Piaget asserted that children assimilate new experiences based on their current understandings or schemas. If there are enough “exceptions to a rule” in new experiences, children will ultimately modify, adjust, or accommodate their schemas to fit the new exceptions. Although many current researchers and writers believe that Piaget underestimated the abilities of young children, his writings and theories about the thinking in children remain predominant in the study of thinking and the development of cognitive abilities. A table in this chapter of your textbook summarizes the four stages of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development.

Sensorimotor Stage—Object Permanence, Stranger Anxiety, Language

In brief, from birth to two years of age, children are in the sensorimotor stage of development in which a child moves from only believing what he or she senses to understanding that objects have permanency. Just because I can’t see something does not mean it is gone. I still search for those things that should be seen but can’t be found. The game of peek-a-boo is a perfect example. Children giggle when their parents suddenly appear out of invisibility and say, “Peek-a-boo!” Even more fun for the child is the experience of covering or closing his or her own eyes, then quickly uncovering or opening them and crying, “Peek-a-boo!” If it were not for the sensorimotor stage, this discovery of object permanence would not be such a delight for the child or the parent. This stage is also a time when children experience stranger anxiety more strongly than they do in other stages. Connected with the same rigidity found in object permanence, children frequently experience difficulty in being away from those people they have bonded to, especially when around strangers. Most day care facilities report that children have a more difficult time being left by their parents before they are at least eighteen months old. Many psychologists have concluded that stranger anxiety is best explained through principles of natural selection. If this were the only explanation, however, wouldn’t all shyness be gone by now as a result of shy people not pairing up to reproduce?

Preoperational Stage—Egocentrism

From about two to six years of age, most children explode in their use of fantasy and pretend play and also their language development. This preoperational stage is a time of learning many rules and rigid perceptions. Adding -ed to words to make them past tense is a perfect example. If one size or rule fits all, as children during this stage assume, then the past tense of “run” would be “runned.” There is also little ability to see something from another person’s point of view in this stage. This egocentrism leads children to believe that everyone has seen or experienced what they have. They also believe that no one has seen or experienced something they have not. In spite of this egocentrism, as this stage continues, preschoolers begin to develop a theory of mind (realizing that others have thoughts and understandings different from their own). If a child’s theory of mind is impaired, stunted, or prohibited, a child might develop conditions similar to autism. There would be no awareness, connection, or concern for other people.

Concrete Operational Stage—Conservation

The concrete operational stage generally occurs from about seven to eleven years of age. Prior to this stage, children judge the volume of an amount of water to be greater in a tall cylinder or glass than in a wide shallow bowl. At this stage, they are able to view, imagine, and see objects and situations from several different points of view or perspectives. The ability to use this conservation develops in this stage to assist in problem-solving and using objects in more diverse ways. Parents who try to help fighting children to resolve their conflict by asking, “How do you think she felt when you yelled at her?” are hoping the children are at least in this stage. Abstract math concepts are impossible to learn if a child is not starting to think at this level.

Formal Operational Stage—Abstract Logic and Reasoning

The final stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, is called formal operational stage. From twelve years old to adulthood, abstract logic and reasoning are used more extensively instead of relying so heavily on measurable and concrete thinking. Creative problem-solving, deductive reasoning, and answering “What would happen if. . .?” questions are done more easily in this stage. Algebra and higher math skills are not possible until a child has reached this level of cognitive development.

Social development—Erik Erikson

Eight Stages

The study of how you and other people interact with others has been described in theories or writings dealing with social development. The most frequently referenced stages of social development are summarized in your textbook. These stages were established by Erik Erikson as he rejected what he believed to be Freud’s over-focusing on sexual developmental stages (these will be discussed more specifically in part 2, unit 3). Erikson contended that the social conflicts we experience in life result in healthy or unhealthy decisions. He theorized that we go through eight stages of conflict and hopefully resolution as we grow from birth to old age. Positively, we resolve conflict and acquire the following characteristics as a result: trust (from birth–one year), autonomy (one–two years), initiative (three–five years), competence (six years–puberty), identity (teen years), intimacy (20s–40), generativity (40s–60s), and integrity (mid-60s and older). Negatively, we experience the following characteristics if we do not resolve the conflict of these stages: mistrust (birth–one year), shame and doubt (one–two years), guilt (three–five years), inferiority (six years–puberty), role confusion (teen years), isolation (20s–40), stagnation (40s–60s), and despair (mid-60s and older).

Although much attention is given to Erikson’s description of the identity versus role confusion of adolescence and puberty, other stages have also received attention. Later in this unit, you will see that some have even objected to some of what Erikson suggested. Because of the recent focus on the elderly and their development, much attention has been given to the conflicts of integrity versus despair. Many people in their “twilight” years describe feeling a sense of worth or worthlessness depending on how they see their contributions sensed from their final years of employment and/or parenthood (grandparenthood). These feeling are identified as their sense of integrity or a sense of despair.

Other Issues

a. Contact Comfort—Harry Harlow

In addition to Erikson’s stages and theories of social development, others have also demonstrated the power of contact with other people—social interaction. Harry Harlow demonstrated the power of contact comfort when he observed that orphaned baby monkeys preferred staying near an artificial “soft” mother, made of wire and covered with terry cloth (the soft cloth that towels and wash cloths are made from), rather than the artificial “milk” mother, made of uncovered wire but having a bottle of milk positioned where the natural mother’s breast would be. Even after a period of not eating and obvious hunger, the baby monkeys would stay near to or cling to the terry cloth “mother.” When hungry enough, the baby monkeys would stretch themselves to get to the “milk” mother while still clinging to the “soft” mother. If they could not reach the “milk” mother while clinging to the “soft” mother, the babies would make a fast dash from the “soft” mother to the “milk” mother, drink quickly, and then dash back to the “soft” mother.

b. Critical Periods

Another important concept discovered through studying development patterns associated with families and socialization is that of the critical period. Shortly after birth, we learn only or best if we do that learning during a specific window of time: the critical period. Bonding, language, and other physical skills are best learned if they are learned in a specific order and time. One strong evidence for this time being very specific and exclusive for certain learning is the circumstances surrounding feral children. Feral children are the inspiration for the Tarzan legend. These are children raised through the critical period without human language and contact. In spite of his contact with human speaking people after his discovery in adulthood, Tarzan never acquired full use of the English language. Even Jane’s love and coaching did not overcome his use of sentence sound and structure like, “Me Tarzan. You Jane.” Although Edgar Rice Burrows was not writing accurate history, his description is quite accurate. Authentic feral children never do completely recover from missing the critical period of language, although it’s not completely irreversible. There is still a lot of learning that can occur after that period has passed.

c. Timing, Order, and Imprinting

I think this occurrence is best described through what I call the “Famous Wagstaff Gelatin Analogy.” When you make strawberry gelatin, you pour the flavored powdered gelatin into a bowl, pour hot water over it, and then stir until all of the sugar, gelatin, flavoring, and color are completely dissolved into the water. If you want to make a fluffy, frothy dessert, you would blend or mix whipped cream into the liquid at this point until mixed and fluffed. Other additions can be added instead of whipped cream, like fruits, marshmallows, etc., but let’s stick with whipped cream for this illustration. At this point, you put the mixture into a refrigerator for several hours for it to set. After the mixture has set for the prescribed time, you have a salad or dessert that most people enjoy.

If the order or timing is not done as prescribed, disappointment follows. The order of gelatin and hot water does not appear to affect the final outcome. However, every other step must be followed in the specific order previously described. After mixing the hot water with the powdered gelatin, if you do not dissolve the powder completely, you will end up with watery gelatin on top with rubbery, leathery gelatin on the bottom. If the hot water is not hot enough, you will experience a similar result. If you want the whipped cream, you must add this before you put the liquid into the refrigerator. If you let the dissolved gelatin and water chill before you add the whipped cream, your whipped gelatin dessert will not be a frothy pink treat. Instead, it will be white whipped cream with red specks of strawberry gelatin.

If you want the frothy pink strawberry dessert cloud that was first described, you’ll never be able to do it if you do not add the whipped cream during that critical period before the gelatin sets. You can go back to melt the mixture to a liquid form, then add the whipped cream, then re-chill, but the integrity of the gelatin will never be fully recovered. The same is true of stages of development that are based on critical periods. Skipped or impoverished stages can be revisited, but the development is not as complete as it would have been if the timing and order had occurred as designed. Timing and order are essential for much of the developmental learning.

Another example of this comes from the history of Konrad Lorenz, who feared that the critical period of learning could affect imprinting also. When he was the first moving object that newly hatched ducklings observed, they began following him. Not only did they follow him, they imitated him. The ducklings were pre-wired to do what they saw. This strong rigid attachment and imitation of behaviors is called imprinting. Realizing the power of his example, Lorenz began acting like a duck (swimming, flapping, pecking, etc.) so the ducklings would learn duck behaviors instead of human behaviors. Pictures of Lorenz followed by his single file of ducklings are often shown in psychology books. Ducks who do not imprint during their critical periods never do fully learn duck behavior.

d. Male/Female Differences and Attachment Issues

In the same way Erikson was critical of Freud for some of the conclusions he came to associate with human sexual motivation, Carol Gilligan was critical of Erikson’s conclusions about social development. Gilligan criticized Erikson’s conclusions because he did not account sufficiently for differences between males and females described in the adult conflict of intimacy versus isolation. She further observed that the battle between intimacy and isolation is more gender-specific than Erikson ever noted. She also observed this difference extending well into adulthood and old age. In spite of the current trend to encourage a gender-free expression of emotion, many emotional and social traits are still gender-specific. Women overwhelmingly demonstrate and exhibit behaviors of caring for young children and elderly adults to a much larger extent than do men. They buy more greeting cards than their male counterparts. Adults consistently report being closer to their mothers than they do to their fathers (Myers, 168).

Much of your social development came from your interaction with your parents and their style of parenting. Mary Ainsworth furthered studies on the development of attachment of babies to caregivers. Secure attachment to parents followed the responsiveness of parents (particularly mothers) to their children. Unresponsive parents more frequently have children who become insecurely attached to parents and others. Teen pregnancies are often a result of this lack of healthy attachment; teens who have not had healthy childhood attachment to parents often look at marriage and sex as a way of acquiring that attachment. Because the teen marriages and sexual relations are based on an unhealthy way of finding healthy attachments, they have an extremely higher risk of divorce and separation. A vivid picture of an insecurely attached monkey is found in your textbook. A student of mine recently saw that picture and, with tears in her eyes, asked, “Mr. Wagstaff, can I adopt that monkey?” You have probably seen the effects of those who have not felt attached to or accepted by others in and out of family settings. When insecurely attached children are left by their mothers in unfamiliar settings, the children are often very indifferent to their mothers when they return.

e. Parenting Styles (Authoritarian, Permissive, Authoritative, and Democratic)

Parenting styles differ from family to family and culture to culture. In your textbook, three styles are introduced with descriptions of practices and their effect on children. The parenting styles most often described currently are authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. I’ll summarize those for you here and add an additional one (democratic) that is also used, particularly in the United States.

Moral Development—Lawrence Kohlberg

The development of thinking and acting in right and wrong ways is called moral development. Lawrence Kohlberg taught that your moral development followed or connected to your cognitive development. He argued that we grow and mature through three basic levels. The first level is labeled preconventional morality. For children from birth to eight years old, the motivation for their actions is generally because of the self interest of receiving rewards or avoiding punishments. Kohlberg observed that convicted criminals were often still in this stage. “If I steal something and nobody finds out, what’s the big deal?” Children are naturally in this stage, which is why allowance and time-outs are so successful. The second level is labeled as conventional morality. This level is characterized by the motivation to obey rules and laws. The social order of things and society’s approval are of great importance in this level. The third and final level is the postconventional morality level. This level is directed by a person’s individual ethics and values as they interact with universal human rights. Principles sometimes override society’s rules and laws.

Something to note in studying moral development is that motivation and thoughts associated with specific behaviors are as important as the actual behaviors. For example, if I ask you to decide what level of moral development I am in when (theoretically) I rob a local bank, you would probably assume I am at the preconventional level. However, when I tell you why I robbed the bank, you may change your mind; I just discovered that my wife has a fatal illness that is incurable with current conventional medicine, but an expensive unconventional medicine is available that has shown some evidence of treating her illness. All of my efforts to raise the money needed for this medication have come up short. The only way I can think of to raise the money I need is to rob the bank. When I consider remaining honest and letting her die compared with being dishonest and saving her life, my choice is to save her life. I even have a plan to pay the bank back over the future years as I am able. With all things considered, you would probably judge me as acting in the postconventional level of Kohlberg’s moral developmental stages.

Study of the Lifespan

1. Studying Adults and the Elderly

Since the mid-1970s there has been a dramatic shift in the focus associated with the study of human development. Prior to this shift, the nearly exclusive focus was on childhood development with a gradual increase in attention to adolescent development. The attention is now drawn to include adults and the elderly and how they fit into the bigger picture of human development. There is evidence to demonstrate that there are changes and further development that occur in the years beyond adolescence. Erikson’s observations and distinctions of adult social conflicts in the whole lifespan are now being recognized and acknowledged in physical, sexual, and cognitive development.

2. Longitudinal Studies

One of the most effective ways of studying the changes and differences associated with growing older is the use of longitudinal studies. Whether looking at the changes from childhood to adolescence, from adolescence to adulthood, or from middle age to retirement, comparing a person to him- or herself throughout time is a better measure of the effects of getting older than comparing to another person. In longitudinal studies, the same people are studied, questioned, or tested again after a period of time. If you remember the experimental method, this allows age to be isolated as the biggest independent variable because you are evaluating the exact same person at a different time.

3. Intelligence—Crystallized or Fluid?

Testing and retesting the same people into adulthood and old age has helped us to measure many different abilities. If it is true that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” when does the ability to learn new things slow or stop? The ability to learn new vocabulary, facts, and specific vocabulary is called crystallized intelligence. This ability seems to remain fairly constant well into old age. The ability to problem-solve, reason, and think abstractly is called fluid intelligence. Abilities associated with this intelligence decrease slowly up to the mid-70s. After that, there is a dramatic decrease after about age 85.

Facing Death—Elizabeth Kubler Ross

As I teach high-school students over the years, I am frequently reminded of the reality of adulthood. Although you are probably looking forward to the freedom and opportunities associated with graduation from high school, working for a living, living on your own, going to college, being freed from school and family control, etc., the reality of adulthood is that most abilities decline as you grow into old age. Students frequently say things like, “This is depressing. Is there anything to look forward to?” Fortunately, two aspects of life improve for most people: financial income and relationships with others. Most people who look at life with excitement and joy in high school describe their lives with satisfaction in old age also. It appears that joy and satisfaction are based more on attitude than accomplishment. Those who have a dramatic change in attitude are the exceptions to the rule. Those who have had a dramatic change in life satisfaction usually look at things differently due to an inspirational moment or event. For me, being diagnosed with cancer as a young adult helped me to understand what the phrase “Don’t sweat the little stuff!” meant. Facing potential death at a young age helped me to look at a lot of things differently. When I get overwhelmed with the inconveniences and annoyances of life, I can easily remind myself that most of them are little things that aren’t important.

Facing and accepting the inevitability of death is something all of us will have to do. Depending on the family, religion, culture, or personal background you come from, you will face the reality of your own and others’ deaths in your own way. My first memory of death is of my great grandmother dying when I was in second grade. I came from a religious family background in which I was taught that someone’s soul or spirit continued to live after death without the body. My great grandmother suffered severe and painful arthritis for many years prior to her death. When she died, I was happy that she did not have to hurt anymore because the body was the part of us that hurt. I remember asking my mother, “Does great grandma hurt anymore?” My mother told me that she was happy and resting without any pain. I was so excited because I had often felt so bad for her when she had played the harmonica with her gnarled, arthritic hands. At the funeral, however, I became confused because it seemed like everyone was crying and was very sad.

It was not until years later that I became aware of what everyone else was experiencing. In my simple world as an innocent child, my life had not been connected to great grandma as much as the lives of my mother, her siblings, and all the others. My only memories were of short visits with her, during which she would be almost unable to move. When she did move, she never complained, but I remember seeing the silent wincing in her face. She would tell some “olden day” stories from her youth and play her harmonica. She was always nice and pleasant. When I realized she would be pain-free in death, I was happy in her death. My mother and the rest of the adults were glad for her relief also, but they were mourning the loss of their association with her. My association with her had been limited; theirs had been rich and extensive.

Looking again at Erikson’s stages of development, it becomes obvious that elderly people battle with the conflict of integrity versus despair. If their lives have had circumstances of accomplishment and acknowledgment, they feel a sense of integrity. If they have not felt accomplished or acknowledged, they experience despair. You may have had the opportunity to visit with a grandparent or another elderly person and hear the same story told over and over again. When this is done, it is usually that elderly person’s effort to reinforce his or her integrity.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross is probably the most commonly referred to source on dealing with death and dying. She identified the stages she claimed we all go through when death and accepting death occurs. In brief, the stages are:

1. Denial

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Acceptance

6. Personality reorganization

She noted that if a person skips a stage, he or she will eventually need to come back to satisfy that stage. Some people are able to successfully go through some or all of these stages very quickly. Most of us, however, must spend more time than we can imagine. Learning to accept our own and others’ unique pace of accepting loss is not always easy. We often expect others to experience the same thing we experience. This is rarely the case.

Kubler-Ross’s observations and writings are often generalized to loss of any kind. For example, in divorce, there is the death of a past relationship. In graduation, there is the death or loss of contact with classmates, teachers, etc. In a hysterectomy, there is the death of the ability to bear children. I remember a woman who was medically advised to have a hysterectomy after her fifth child. She had the surgery done, but continued mourning the loss of her ability to bear children. Because she never successfully satisfied her stages of denial and depression, none of the other stages could be adequately satisfied. The same occurs for those who continue setting the table or remaking the bed for a person who has died.