Emotional And Moral Development In Middle Adulthood Flashcards
Erikson
Midlife is the Stage of Generativity versus Stagnation
• Generativity - thinking about giving to other people and other generations. Could be simply parents thinking of sending their kids to college instead of spending money elsewhere.
Positive outcomes of Erikson’s generativity versus stagnation
◦ Positive outcomes
‣ Parental tasks
• Parents using their hard earned money to send their children to college
‣ Work that matters
• Doing things and finding meaning in it
‣ Cultural contributions
‣ Negative outcomes - self-absorption
◦ Midlife, as all other stages, has a crisis. Erikson meant this more as a time of serious questioning, not necessarily an all-out crisis
Levinson’s study on the “stages of a Man’s life”
◦ A series of interviews with middle-aged men
◦ Generally supported Erikson’s stages, but also found transitions
• A lot of people may ‘recommit’ to the things they like or do
‣ Ages 28-33 -> transition period of discerning goals
‣ Ages 40-45 -> becoming One’s Own Man (BOOM) now stable in one’s career and need to come to grips with:
• Being old as opposed to being young
• Being constructive instead of being destructive - risk taking, relationships, and use of the environment
• Being feminine as opposed to being masculine
◦ The thought of ‘oh I do have a sensitive side, I have a heart.’ Tend to do this at an older age
• Being attached to others as opposed to being separate from them
‣ More recent research shows that much of this holds true for women as well
The midlife crisis
◦ The Midlife Crisis - does this really exist
‣ As a true crisis - only affects 25%
‣ Mostly people who were foreclosed in adolescence
‣ Also, those who faced significant negative life events
• Something like a divorce or, on Christmas Day waking up to the Dad not being there leaving a note saying that he’s leaving
◦ A lot of the time in those that were foreclosed identity in adolescence
• “I don’t know how long I’ll live, I’m going to do what I want.”
George Vaillant’s Grant Study
◦ George Vaillant’s Grant Study
‣ Followed Harvard males from their time as Harvard to midlife
‣ Most experiences their 40s as a time of reassessment
• What really matter, what they care about, how to continue caring about things
◦ Overall findings
‣ Mostly individual variations
‣ It does seem like a time for a lot of “soul searching” which can lead to changing paths or to redecorating oneself to their values
Spiritual issues
◦ Spirituality is often an important part of life during these years, but remember:
‣ Spirituality does not necessarily mean religion
‣ Connecting to nature, meditation, etc.
‣ Having a spiritual or religious community can also be important
◦ Effects of spirituality
‣ Better coping with events like chronic illnesses and natural disasters
◦ People with strong spirituality may respond much better with coping
• May initially have an angry reaction
• Rebound and have a better ability to cope in the long run
‣ Provides a sense of meaning in life
‣ Provides a sense of purpose, values, self-efficacy, and self-worth
Effects of spirituality
‣ Better coping with events like chronic illnesses and natural disasters
◦ People with strong spirituality may respond much better with coping
• May initially have an angry reaction
• Rebound and have a better ability to cope in the long run
‣ Provides a sense of meaning in life
‣ Provides a sense of purpose, values, self-efficacy, and self-worth
Kohlberg’s stages
◦ Level 1 - preconventional mortality (all about me)
‣ Stage 1 - punishment orientation, the right and wrong stage
“Depends on who he knows in the police force”
‣ Stage 2 - hedonistic orientation, moral decisions based on benefit or reward
“If his wife is nice and pretty he should do it”
◦ Level 2 - conventional morality (about social groups and rules)
‣ Stage 3 - good girl (boy)/ bad girl (boy) orientation, wanting to please and be accepted
“He should do it because he loves his wife”
‣ Stage 4 - Law and Order orientation, decisions based on laws and formal rules
“saving a human life is moor important than protecting property”
◦ Level 3 - postconventional morality (internal moral code)
‣ Stage 5 - social contract orientation, thinking about society
“Society has a right to insure its own survival. I couldn’t hold my head up in public if I let her die”
‣ Stage 6 - universal principles, thinking about universal ethical principles and abstract reasoning
“Human life has supreme internal value. I couldn’t live with myself if I let her die”
Carol Gilligan’s theory was a critique on?
◦ Critique of Kohlberg’s theory
‣ Initially only tested on men
‣ Ratings favor men
‣ Women have a “Different Voice”
‣ No moral hierarchy
‣ Dilemmas should be based on real life
Gilligan’s
Says that men are selfish and want to demand things or call out exactly what they want. While she says that women are very kind, and this is because they are willing to give up things they want to do or allow the men to have the choice in what happens.
- some women are genuinely being nice, some truly do not have opinions, and some don’t want to make the decision or have a bad one because on them
Gilligan’s creates what
A moral hierarchy
- people then question if this correlates with her other values. She says that she does not have to deal with this be moral things are a man’s job, and liking dealing with moral hierarchy makes you not a women
Gilligan’s stages of moral development
◦ Gilligan’s stages of moral development
‣ Preconventional morality - the needs of the self
• Transition (conflict between self and others)
‣ Conventional morality - self-sacrifice
• Transition (conflict over self-sacrifice)
‣ Postconventional morality - care as a universal obligation
Gilligan’s theory on personal orientations
‣ Males - agency
• That they are career focused and that is bad
‣ Females - communion
