Erik Erikson (2001) once stated "There is in every
child at every stage a new miracle of vigorous unfolding, which constitutes a
new hope and a new responsibility for all" (p. 49). Although there are hundreds of theories about
human development, only a handful takes on a life span perspective (i.e.,
development takes place in stages, from conception through the dying day). Pinpointing exactly what aspect or aspects of
life influence development depends on the point of view. However, regardless of whether one looks at
nature or nurture as the underlying cause of how someone develops, a life span
approach provides theories that can explain the influences on individual
differences.
Development
As psychologists explore human behavior they try to
understand the developmental processes that create specific behaviors by
theorizing on the underlying causes. However,
trying to uncover development and growth with a species that “is
multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and
plastic” takes time (Berger, 2011, p. 4).
Time to observe through empirical means how and why people change over
time. This can be difficult because
every aspect of development intertwines making change inevitable. According to Guest (2011), “The study of
life-span development makes clear that even the continuities in life, the
things that do not change, take place in shifting contexts: changing social
environments, changing physical capacities, [and] changing psychological
perspectives” (p. 17). Thus, there have
been many grand theories about human development; from the early psychoanalytic
theories of Freud and Erikson, and the behaviorist theories of Watson, Pavlov,
and Skinner, leading to the cognitive theory of Piaget, thus was the beginning
of how the life span theories have taken shape.
Theories of
Development
Psychosocial Development
Erik Erikson (1902-1994) studied under the psychoanalytic
theories of the infamous Sigmund Freud; however, unlike Freud who emphasized
the psychosexual stages of development, Erikson developed the psychosocial
stages of development (Erikson, 2001).
Erikson suggested that as each person struggles to resolve the crises of
life through individual and social interaction he or she can achieve new levels
of development. Furthermore, these
psychosocial development struggles occur in eight age related stages, suggests
Erikson. Stage one: Trust versus mistrust occurs from birth to one year of age. Trust takes place through “nurturing,
responsive[ness], and reliability” (para. 4).
In stage two, ages 18 months to three years: Autonomy versus shame and
doubt, children learn independence or begin to doubt his or her own
abilities (Erikson, 2001; Berger, 2011).
Stage three, ages three to six years is a time of initiative versus guilt.
This stage suggests that children will become adventurous, and explore
his or her world, or have feelings of guilt.
Stage four: Industry versus
inferiority, age’s six to 11 is when children begin to master new skills or
believe themselves to be inferior because they are not able to achieve what
they want.
As children mature into the adolescent stages of life, they
begin to question who they are in stage five: Identity versus role confusion, and begin to establish more adult
behaviors and ideals (e.g., sex, religion, academic, and professional career
choices). The final three stages take
shape throughout adulthood. Young adults
begin to experience intimacy versus
isolation and seek out relationships with others or experience rejection
and isolation. Middle age is a time of
life in which one experiences generavity
versus stagnation, experiencing the joys life has to offer (e.g., family,
work, play) or not. Finally, senior
adults begin to reflect on life’s values or despair at the things left undone
in the integrity versus despair stage.
Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was the first theorist to bring
human thought processes into the ideals of development, suggesting that growth
and development are achieved within “four age-related periods or stages”
(Berger, 2011, p. 45). Understanding how
people think begins in the first of these cognitive stages; sensorimotor. During this timeframe, from birth to two years
an infant learns that his or her world and the objects within it continue to
exist even when are out of sight. The
next stage, preoperational, occurs
from age two to six and is an imaginative and significant period of
self-expression and influence. The third
stage, concrete operational, takes
place from the six to 11-year-old period with applied logic and the
understanding of many scientific ideals.
Many of Piaget’s theories are based on cognitive equilibrium; “a state
of mental balance,” where a child can apply his or her thought processes to
current ideals and experiences (p. 46).
Piaget’s final stage of development is the formal operational period from age 12 throughout adulthood. During this period or stage abstract and
hypothetical concepts can be analyzed to take on broader meaning and
experiences; thus, thoughts have a direct affect on development and differ for
everyone.
Heredity and the
Environment
A life span approach takes into consideration how both
heredity and the environment affect physiological development. With the understanding that heredity provides
the historical blueprint in the form of DNA, each new life combines two
distinct sets of DNA to form uniquely different individuals. As science advances, researchers are better
able to identify individual genes and demonstrate (through manipulation) how
even slight variations in gene sequences have dramatic influences on
development (Guest, 2011). To
demonstrate the differing effects of genetic predispositions, one simply has to
look to children born to the same parental unit. Although each child will carry similar DNA
and share the same environmental influences, each will respond differently
based on his or her psychological traits, therefore achieve different
experiences. That stated, the
environmental influences on human development are just as relevant as that of
genetics because as individual choices differ so to do environmental situations,
which affect individual genetic predispositions and development.
Although it is
clearly understood that influences of both nature and nurture affect individual
development, the amount and type of influence is not always discernible. However, it can be noted that because of the
complexity of humans, every aspect of development intertwines making change
inevitable. Life span theorists attempt
to identify the different stages of life that are significantly influential to
human development, but most differ in his or her approach, such as the
physiological and cognitive approaches of Erikson and Piaget. Although most people agree that heredity and
the environment combine to influence growth and development, individual
differences in each ensure the diversity of the species. Thus it is important that psychologists
continue studying not only what stages of the life span development is likely
to take place, but how.
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