psychosocial theory. the rationale for emphasizing psychosocial theory addresses growth across the...
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Psychosocial Theory
The Rationale for Emphasizing Psychosocial Theory
• Addresses growth across the life span• Assumes that individuals have capacity to
contribute to their own psychological development
• Takes into consideration the active contribution of culture to individual growth
Stages of Development
The 11 Stages of the Lifespan
Basic Concepts of Psychosocial Theory
• Psychosocial evolution– Proposed by Julian Huxley– Range of abilities that allows us to gather
knowledge from our ancestors and transmit it to our descendants
– E.g. child care, education, modes of communication
Basic Concepts of Psychosocial Theory
• Six basic concepts– Stages of development – Developmental tasks– Psychosocial crisis– The central process for resolving the psychosocial
crisis at each stage– A radiating network of significant relationships– Coping behavior
Stages of Development
• Erikson proposed eight stages of development– A period of life that is characterized by a specific
underlying organization• These stages follow the epigenetic principle– Biological plan for growth allows each function to
emerge systematically until the individual has fully developed
• The themes of earlier stages may reemerge at any point
Psychosocial Crises
• Psychosocial crises– State of tension that results from discrepancies
between the person’s competences at the beginning of the stage and society’s expectations
• From these conflicts, new social capabilities are produced
Psychosocial Crises of the Life Stages
• Most people experience both positive and negative elements of the continuum – Contributes to the person’s adaptive capacities
• Outcome of the crisis is integration of the two opposing forces
• Succession of crises occurs in a predictable sequence– Epigenetic principle
Psychosocial Crises
• What is the purpose in conceptualizing life in terms of crises?
Developmental Tasks
• Havighurst’s concept of developmental tasks– Process by which humans learn tasks required by
society to which they are adapting• Society has age-graded expectations – Tasks change with age
Developmental Tasks
• Sensitive periods – Periods of development when an individual is
most ready to acquire a new ability– Teachable moments
• Developmental tasks may reflect gains in physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development
Developmental Tasks Associated with the Life Stages
Developmental Tasks Associated with the Life Stages
Developmental Tasks
• Describe a developmental task that may have changed in content from the time of your grandparents to your time– What are some of these changes? – What led to the changes?
The Central Processes for Resolving the Psychosocial Crises
• Psychosocial crisis– Reflects discrepancy between developmental
competencies at the beginning of a stage and new societal pressures
• Central process – Suggests a way that the person takes in cultural
expectations and changes self-concept• Example: Imitation in toddlerhood
The Central Process for Resolving Each Psychosocial Crisis
Radius of Significant Relationships
• Age-related demands on individuals are communicated through significant relationships
• Over the lifespan, the radius of the circle expands– In adulthood, the radius condenses to a few
significant relationships
Coping
• Refers to people’s conscious, adaptive efforts to manage:– Stressful events– Emotions associated with the stressors
• Begins with appraisal• Results in prime adaptive ego qualities or core
pathologies
Prime Adaptive Ego Qualities
Core Pathologies
Evaluation of Psychosocial Theory
• Strengths– Highlights social nature of human development– Provides broad, integrative context
• Weaknesses– Explanations of the mechanisms are not well
developed– Number of stages and links to biological based
development
Evaluation of Psychosocial Theory
A Recap of Psychosocial Theory
• Which phenomena is the theory trying to explain?
• What assumptions does the theory make?• What does the theory predict?
The Six Basic Concepts of Psychosocial Theory
The Mechanisms for Positive and Negative Psychosocial Development
Your Perspective
• Consider the radius of significant relationships• Where do you fall on the radius in terms of
your connections with others?• What interconnections are there between
these radii at this point of your life?
Case Study – Erik Erikson
• Reflections– Why did Erikson feel like a “stranger in his own
culture?”– What are the biological, psychological, and
societal factors that contributed to Erikson’s identity crises?
– What factors from childhood appear to be influencing Erikson’s experiences as an adolescent?
Case Study – Erik Erikson
• Reflections– Who are the significant figures in Erikson’s life/the
radius of significant others?– What factors might have contributed to Erikson’s
ability to cope with the challenges of this period of his life, eventually finding a direction and meaning to which he could commit his talent and energy?
Case Study – Erik Erikson
• Reflections– Based on Erikson’s account of his childhood and
adolescence, how might his life experiences and his cultural context have influenced the nature and focus of his psychosocial theory?