Chapter 10: Life Span Development II
Chapter Summary

I.MORAL DEVELOPMENT - The section on moral development begins with a discussion of Kohlberg's three levels of reasoning.

A.Kohlberg’s Research – Kohlberg believes that moral development was universal, invariant, and developmental. Kohlberg’s stages include: the pre-conventional level where morality is based on self-centered personal benefit or the avoidance of punishment; the conventional level where morality reflects the need for approval and the desire to maintain social order; and, the post-conventional level where moral reasoning is guided by higher principles of human conduct.

B.Assessing Kohlberg’s Theory – Criticisms have focused on three major areas: 1) reasoning versus behavior, 2) cultural differences, and 3) possible gender bias.

Critical Thinking/Active Learning: Morality and Academic Cheating – Recent research from The Center for Academic Integrity on cheating is highlighted and students are given an opportunity to consider moral dilemmas and applyKohlberg’s stages.

II.PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

A.Thomas and Chess's Temperament Theory - Thomas and Chess emphasize the genetic component of certain traits (such as sociability) and the fact that babies often exhibit differences in temperament shortly after birth. They found that 65% of babies observed fell into three categories: easy, difficult, or slow-to-warm-up children.

B.Erikson's Psychosocial Theory - Erikson expanded on Freud's ideas and theorized eight psychosocial stages that cover the entire life span. Childhood includes: trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, and industry versus inferiority. Erikson believes the major psychosocial crisis of adolescence is the search for identity versus role confusion. During young adulthood, the individual's task is to establish intimacy over isolation, and during middle adulthood, the person must deal with generativity versus stagnation. At the end of life, the older adult must establish ego integrity, which depends on the acceptance of the life that has been lived, or face overwhelming despair at the realization of lost opportunities.

Critics of Erikson point out lack of cross-cultural support particularly in collectivist cultures, the stage of adolescent storm and stress, the midlife crisis, and the empty nest. Nevertheless, Erikson’s influence on developmental psychology has been great.

C.Evaluating Erikson’s Theory – Critics of Erikson note that the eight stages are difficult to test and they may not be supported cross-culturally.

D.Myths of Development – Three common myths of development are highlighted: adolescent storm and stress, midlife crisis, and empty nest syndrome.

III.MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF ADULTHOOD – This section looks at how families, parenting styles, divorce, and occupational choice may influence personality development.

A.Marriage – The expectations of men and women toward marriage are explored. The effects of divorce on children are noted. Factors for a successful marriage are discussed including shared personal feelings and life goals, shared power and mutual support, conflict management skills, similarity in values, supportive social environment, and positive attitude.

B.Families - Families play an important role in development. Family violence, teenage pregnancies, and teen parenthood can have significant effects on development.

Research Highlight: Children Who Survive Despite the Odds – Studies citing the importance of resilience and the traits and environmental circumstances surrounding them is explored.

Critical Thinking/Active Learning: Making Peace with Your Parents – Students’ relationships with their parents are explored by answering ten questions adapted from Bloomfield and Felder’s book Making Peace With Your Parents.

C.Work and Retirement - The kind of work people do and the occupational choices they make can play an important role in their lives. Before making a career decision, it is wise to research possible alternatives and take interest inventories. After retirement, there are two major theories of successful aging. The activity theory suggests people should remain active and involved throughout the entire life span, while the disengagement theory proposes that the elderly naturally withdraw because they welcome the relief from roles they can no longer fulfill.

Gender and Cultural Diversity: Cultural Differences in Ageism - Significant gender and ethnic differences in the status and treatment of the elderly are explored.

IV.GRIEF AND DEATH

A.Grief - Grief is a natural and painful reaction to a loss. For most people, grief consists of four major stages--numbness, yearning, disorganization and despair, and resolution. It is important to remind students that there is no "right" way to grieve.

B.Attitudes Toward Death and Dying - There is great variation across cultures and among age groups in their attitudes toward the death process. While adults generally understand the permanence, universality, and nonfunctionality of death, children often don't master these concepts until around the age of seven.

C.The Death Experience - In the last fifty years, Western societies have made death a medical failure rather than a natural life cycle. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's theory of the five-stage process of dying (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) offers important insight and education concerning death.

Applying Psychology to Everyday Life: Dealing With Your Own Death Anxiety - Students are given the opportunity to compare their score on the “Death Anxiety Questionnaire” to the national average.