Adult Development Theories

Workshop 18: C6035 Human Development

Developmental Issues


   

Within scope of studying adult development, practitioners must decide which

factors are biological, cognitive or socioemotional, & consequence of their timely
effect Maturation & Experience - orderly sequence of changes dictated by genetic
imprint Continuity & Discontinuity - change which is gradual as contrasted by that
which is in stages Early & Late Experience - relative impact of early or late
maturation Evaluating Development - relationship of all factors impacting Adult’s
development
Continuity vs Discontinuity View of Human Development


 

Continuity or development view: involves gradual, cumulative change from

conception to death Discontinuity of development view: involves distinct stages in
life span Early-Later experience issue: degree to which early experiences or later
experiences are key determinants of a person’s development
Theories of Adult Development
         

Psychodynamic: Freud, Erikson, Loevinger Cognitive: Piaget, Vygotsky, Learning-

Behaviorism: Watson, Skinner, Social Learning: Bandura, Mischel Ethological:
Lorenz Humanistic: Maslow Ecological: Bronfenbrenner Moral & Religious: Fowler &
Kohlberg Career: Ginzberg, Super, Holland Eclectic: no one specific model - little
of each
Psychoanalytic Theories:
Believe that behavior is a surface characteristic and therefore we need to analyze
the symbolic meanings of behavior and the deep inner workings of the mind Freud -
believed that personality has three structures: the id, the ego and the superego 
Individuals use defense mechanisms to distort reality in order to protect itself
from anxiety, and repression to push unacceptable id impulses out of awareness and
back into the unconscious mind

Sigmund Freud
 Believed

that people move through psychosexual stages where the adult personality is
finally formed:  oral stage (18 months of age)  anal stage (1-1/2 to 3 years)
 phallic stage (3 to 6 years)  latency stage (6 years to puberty)  genital
stage (from puberty on)
Erik Erikson


       

Felt that Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development &
believed people develop in psychosocial stages & how they resolve conflicts of
each stage will determine balance of personalities trust vs. mistrust (infancy)
autonomy vs. shame and doubt (2nd year) initiative vs. guilt (ages 3-5) industry
vs. inferiority (6 to puberty) identity vs. identity confusion (adolescence)
intimacy vs. isolation (early adulthood) generativity vs. stagnation (middle
adulthood) integrity vs. despair (late adulthood)
Jane Loevinger 7 Stages of Ego Development
      

Presocial: infancy-self-absorbed Impulsive: early childhood-self-interested Self-

Protective: early school-seek control & dominance over others Conformist: late
childhood & early adolescent-judge self by externals Conscientious: late
adolescent-personal relevancy & societal standard Autonomy: adulthood-respect
differing convictions & principles Integration: adulthood-full self-acceptance
Cognitive Theories
    

Stress conscious thoughts and how the brain processes information Piaget -
stressed that children actively construct their own cognitive worlds Through
assimilation individuals incorporate new information into their existing knowledge
Accommodation occurs when they adjust to this new information Piaget’s cognitive
stages represent the process he believed all individuals undergo as they develop
cognitively
Stages of Cognitive Development - Jean Piaget:
 

1. Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years old - no thinking structures 2.

Preoperational Stage: 2-7 years old develop language skills cognitive structures –
prelogical 3. Concrete Operational Stage: 7 years to Adolescence - Begins to
question life. Solves problems but haphazardly 4. Formal Operations Stage:
Adolescence and onward - capable of sophisticated logical thought. Can think both
abstract & hypothetically and solve problems using the logic of combinations
Lev Vygotsky
 Claimed

that person’s cognitive skills can be understood only when they are:

 Developmentally

analyzed &

interpreted  Are mediated by words, language & forms of discourse  Have their
origins in social relations
Elements of Vygotsky’s Theory
 Zone

of Proximal Development: range of tasks too difficult to master alone-but can be

learned with guidance  Scaffolding: changing level of support by adjusting amount
of guidance given  Language & Thought: use of language to plan, guide & monitor
behavior in self-regulatory fashion
Information Processing Theory
 involves

the ways in which individuals process information about their world  how
information enters the mind  how it is stored and transformed  how it is
retrieved to perform such complex activities as problem solving and reasoning
Behavioral and Social Learning Theories
 Behaviorists

believe that we should only examine what can be directly observed and measured.
Pavlov’s dog and Skinner’s box exemplify the concepts of this field. Central to
this theory is the Skinnerian process of classical and operant conditioning
Social Learning Theory: Albert Bandura & Walter Mischel
 Allows

for the cognitive process to mediate between environment and behavior  Bandura
believed that people cognitively represent the behavior of others and then
sometimes adopt this behavior themselves  His model shows a reciprocal influence
of behavior, personal and cognitive factors, and environment
Bandura’s Model of Reciprocal Influence
B

= Behavior  P(C)= Personal & Cognitive Factors (such as intelligence, skills &
selfcontro)  E = Environment  The arrows reflect how relations between these
factors are reciprocal rather than unidirectional.
Ethological Theories – Conrad Lorenz


Believe that experiences at specific times in one’s life has great influence on an
individual’s development Ethology stresses behavior strongly influenced by
biology, is tied to evolution, & is characterized by critical or sensitive periods
Lorenz developed ethological concept of imprinting, rapid, innate learning within
a limited critical period of time that involves attachment to the first moving
object seen
Urie Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model
Stress strong environmental view of person’s development  Bronfenbrenner’s model
depicts interaction of environmental factors which influence development His model
includes 5 environmental systems:  microsystem (family, school, peers etc), 
mesosystem (connections between microsystems)  exosystem (social systems person
not directly involved with)  macrosystem (culture lived in)  chronosystem
(sociohistorical circumstances & life course)

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
S e lf -a c t u a liz a t io n E s te e m N e e d s L o v e o r B e lo n g in e s
s N e e d s S a fe t y o r S e c u r it y N e e d s S u r v iv a l o r P h y s io
lo g ic a l N e e d s
Self-actualized People
         

Spiritually fulfilled Comfortable with themselves & others Loving & creative
Realistic & productive People with ideal healthy lives Realistic knowledge of self
& accept self Independent, spontaneous & playful Establish deep intimate
relationships Have a love for human race Non-conformists but highly ethical
Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development 3 Stages


Level 1: Preconventional Reasoning child shows no internalization of moral values

& is controlled by external rewards & punishments. Level 2: Conventional Reasoning
individual abides by certain standards (internal), but they are the standards of
others (external), such as parents or laws of society Level 3: Postconventional
Reasoning morality is completely internalized & not based on others’ standards-
person recognizes alternative moral courses, explores options, & then decides on a
moral code
James Fowler’s Religious Development
   

Stage 1. Intuitive-projective faith (early childhood) invent images of good & evil
Stage 2. Mythical-literal faith (middle and late childhood) reason in more Stage
3. Synthetic-conventional faith (between childhood & adolescence) coherent belief
system Stage 4. Individuating-reflexive faith (between adolescence & adulthood)
responsibility for their religious beliefs Stage 5. Conjunctive faith (middle
adulthood). few to this stage: being more open to paradox & opposing viewpoints
Stage 6. Universalizing faith (middle or late adulthood) transcending specific
belief systems to achieve sense of oneness with all being
Theories of Career Development
Three main theories describe manner in which people make choices about career
development: Eli Ginzberg’s Developmental Theory  Children and adolescents go
through three career-choice stages: fantasy, tentative, and realistic  Until
about age 11, children are in fantasy stage with unrealistic visions of their
career  Tentative stage is a transitional and occurs in the early to mid-
adolescent years  Realistic stage explores, focuses & then selects a career

Theories of Career Development
Donald Super’s Self-Concept Theory  Individuals’ self-concepts play central roles
in their career choices  During adolescence individuals first construct a career
self-concept  Develop ideas about work  Crystallize or narrow their choices 
Begin to initiate behavior for some type of career  Begin specific training for a
career  In later life - after 35 years of age - begin to consolidate & engage in
career enhancement
Theories of Career Development
John Holland’s Personality-Type Theory  An effort should be made to match an
individual’s career choice with his or her personality  Theory built upon
assumption that everyone is a specific type & will not change nor develop into
other types Holland’s six personality types:  Realistic conventional 
enterprising intellectual  artistic social
Eclectic Theoretical Orientation
 Follows

no single approach, but takes factors from all theories  No single theory can
apply to human development