Theories of development

Question 1

What are Piaget’s developmental stages? What are the ages related to each stage?

HINT: Two sams planned seven chaotic eleven hour functions for adults.

Answer 1

Sensorimotor (0-2 years): no object permanence until 6 months, lacks language skills

Preoperational thought (2-7): magical thinking, egocentric thought/language, thinks in absolutes (black and white)

Concrete operational thought (7-11): logical thinking starts, can solve conservation tasks, solve logical equations

Formal operational thought (11-adulthood): higher level abstraction, assuming adult roles and thinking hypothetically

Question 2

Walk me through Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development. What are the stages and the related ages?

HINT: TAIIIIGE, each stage related to a question

Answer 2

Trust vs. mistrust (birth - 1yr)
Do I, a baby, feel safe?

Autonomy vs. shame/doubt (1-3yrs)
Do I, a toddler, feel able to complete simple tasks?

Initiative vs. guilt (3-6yrs)
Do I, a preschool child, feel able to choose what activities I want to do?

Industry vs. inferiority (6-puberty)
Do I, a grade-schooler, feel equipped to do what is asked of me?

Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence)
Do I, a teenager, have feel confident in my sense of self after exploring different roles?

Intimacy vs. isolation (youth adulthood)
Do I, a young adult, have a sense of belonging?

Generativity vs. stagnation (middle adulthood)
Do I, a middle-aged person, feel I am contributing to society and the nurturing of the next generation?

Ego integrity vs. despair (seniors)
Do I, a senior citizen, feel I have accomplished all that I need to feel successful?

Question 3

Walk me through Margret Mahler’s attachment theory, stages of development?

HINT: from birth - 2 yrs, visualize!!

Answer 3

Autistic (0-1 month): egocentric, unresponsive

Symbiotic (1-5 months): unity with mother as need fulfiller/not separate

Separation-individuation (5-36 months or 3 yrs): develop sense of individuality and separateness from mother

-Differentiation (5-10 months): focus shifts from internal to external, mother still primary reference point

-Practicing (9-14 months): crawls/walks to explore distance from mother

-Rapprochement (16-24 months): begins to realize physical/emotional separateness from mother, needs reassurance

Consolidation of individuality/object constancy (24-36 months): internalizes stable image of mother, allowing for separation without anxiety

Question 4

What are Freud’s psychosexual stages of development? What are the concerns attached to getting stuck at each stage?

HINT: Only (one) Alice (two) Plays (three) Lutes (five) Good

Answer 4

Oral (birth - 1yr): sucking, biting, chewing
Fixation: smoking, overeating/dependence on others

Anal (2 yrs): bowel movements
Fixation: overly controlling (anal-retentive) and easily angered (anal-expulsive)

Phallic (3-5 yrs): genital awareness, masturbation/curiosity
Fixation: guilt/anxiety about sex

Latency (5-puberty): dormant sexuality
No fixations

Genital: sexual urges return
No fixations