topic 7 - the role of identity and free will in the development of self

Question 1

who suggested that we develop by stages?

Answer 1

Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud (1959)

Question 2

what did Erikson focus on?

Answer 2

mental t a lifespan and social development throughout a lifespan and how we build our identity through crises.

Question 3

how many stages are there?

Answer 3

eight

Question 4

what are the different names of the stages?

Answer 4

infancy, early childhood, mid-childhood, late childhood., adolescence, early adulthood, mid-adulthood and late adulthood

Question 5

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in INFANCY?

Answer 5

age: 0-18 months
conflict: basic trust vs mistrust
virtue: hope

Question 6

what is the conflict basic trust vs mistrust?

Answer 6

This is where the infant forms a loving relationship with the primary caregiver which gives them a positive outlook in the world, this can be developed through a response to a babies cry such as feeding or affection vs if the child is mistreated by the caregiver they develop an negative outlook on the world, this can be developed through the child’s needs not being met.
> develops in infancy

Question 7

what is the virtue hope?

Answer 7

Hope develops from building trusting relationships with caregivers and thus developing a positive view of the world.
> develops in infancy

Question 8

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during INFANCY?

Answer 8

The child develops a sense of fear from anticipating bad things will happen in the world.

Question 9

how can people successfully progress through the stage of INFANCY?

Answer 9

Caregivers have to attend to a child’s needs i.e hunger, love, warmth etc. Trust must be developed with the child for them to have a positive outlook on the world.

Question 10

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in EARLY CHILDHOOD?

Answer 10

age: 1.5 - 3 years
conflict: autonomy vs shame
virtue: will

Question 11

what is the conflict autonomy vs shame?

Answer 11

Infants begin gaining a sense of personal control over the world and they become increasingly independent. Potty training is important in this stage as it leads to a stronger sense of independence.
> develops in early childhood

Question 12

what is the virtue will?

Answer 12

Will develops from gaining control over their lives leading to a sense of personal control.
> develops in early childhood

Question 13

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during EARLY CHILDHOOD?

Answer 13

The child feels bad about who they are, possibly because when they make mistakes e.g. in toilet training, they are punished.

Question 14

how do people successfully progress through the stage of EARLY CHILDHOOD?

Answer 14

Caregivers must allow children to make choices and gain control over their actions such as potty training. Children must not be shamed for their actions but encouraged for trying.

Question 15

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in MID-CHILDHOOD?

Answer 15

age: 3-5 years
conflict: initiative vs guilt
virtue: purpose

Question 16

what is the conflict initiative vs guilt?

Answer 16

Children begin asserting control and power over their environment through accomplishing tasks and facing challenges. Caregivers must encourage exploration to help the children make appropriate choices. Caregivers who are discouraging may cause the children to feel ashamed of themselves leading them to be more dependent on the help of others.
> develops during mid-childhood

Question 17

what is the virtue purpose?

Answer 17

purpose develops from accomplishing tasks and facing challenges. Caregivers have an impact as too much discouragement in exploration leads to dependent children.

Question 18

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during MID-CHILDHOOD?

Answer 18

The child may grow to feel they are a nuisance for their curiosity and e.g. parents get angry when the child asks “why?” and give up trying.

Question 19

how do people successfully progress through the stage of MID-CHILDHOOD?

Answer 19

Children in the preschool stage must assert power over others and their environment. However, there must be a balance between power and disapproval for a child to thrive.

Question 20

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in LATE CHILDHOOD?

Answer 20

age: 5-12 years
conflict: industry vs inferiority
virtue: competence

Question 21

what is the conflict industry vs inferiority?

Answer 21

Where friends and classmates play a role in this stage. Through proficiency at play and schoolwork, children are able to develop a sense of competence and confidence in their abilities which forms a strong self-concept. Through social interaction with others, some children may discover that they are better than others which leads to feelings of confidence while others may discover they are not as capable as the other kids which makes them feel inferior.
> develops during late childhood

Question 22

what is the virtue competence?

Answer 22

competence develops through social interaction where children discover confidence or insecurity in their proficiency.

Question 23

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during LATE CHILDHOOD?

Answer 23

The child feels like they have less worth than others e.g. they are not encouraged by their teachers and made to feel stupid compared to others.

Question 24

how do people successfully progress through the stage of LATE CHILDHOOD?

Answer 24

Children must develop a sense of pride in their own accomplishments and abilities. They must be encouraged and praised by parents and teachers to a sense of belief in their abilities

Question 25

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in ADOLESCENCE ?

Answer 25

age: 12-18 years
conflict: identity
virtue: fidelity

Question 26

what is the conflict identity vs identity confusion?

Answer 26

As children transition from childhood to early adult years they begin to feel confused or insecure about themselves and how they fit into society. A sense of self needs to be established and this is done through teens exploring different roles, activities and behaviours. Those who are unsuccessful in forming an identity may be left with identity/ role confusion.
> develops during adolescence

Question 27

what is the virtue fidelity?

Answer 27

Fidelity develops through the exploration of what defines a person such as roles, activities and behaviours.
> develops during adolescence

Question 28

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during ADOLESCENCE?

Answer 28

The individual may not gain a sense of who they are if they are not given freedom to express themselves.
The individual may have no sense of who they are if they are given too much freedom and do not identify with a group in society e.g. family.

Question 29

how do people successfully progress through the stage of ADOLESCENCE?

Answer 29

Children must develop independence and develop a sense of self. They must receive encouragement and reinforcement to establish a strong self of self. Those who don’t have time to explore remain unsure of their beliefs and will become insecure.

Question 30

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in EARLY ADULTHOOD?

Answer 30

age: 18-40 years
conflict: intimacy vs isolation
virtue: love

Question 31

what is the conflict intimacy vs isolation?

Answer 31

As a person progresses through in life they come across a major conflict centring on forming intimate, loving relationships with others. Success at this leads to fulfilling relationships and struggling at this stage can result in feelings of loneliness and isolation. Tasks which resolve the conflict include: being intimate with someone either emotionally or physically, caring for others, making commitments and self-disclosure.
> develops during early adulthood

Question 32

what is the virtue love?

Answer 32

Love develops through having relationships with others and leading fulfilling relationships.
> develops during early adulthood

Question 33

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during EARLY ADULTHOOD?

Answer 33

The person becomes isolated.

Question 34

how do people successfully progress through the stage of EARLY ADULTHOOD?

Answer 34

Young adults must form meaningful, intimate relationships with other people and failure to do so will result in loneliness and isolation.

Question 35

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in MID-ADULTHOOD?

Answer 35

age: 40-65 years
conflict: generativity or stagnation
virtue: care

Question 36

what is the conflict generativity vs stagnation?

Answer 36

During this time adults nurture things that will outlast them such as parenting children or contributing to positive changes that benefit other people (leaving a legacy). Contributing to society and doing things to benefit future generations is important in this stage. At this point in life some people experience a midlife crisis where people reflect back on their accomplishments and feel regret for example missed opportunities in pursuing a career, having children etc.
> develops during mid-adulthood

Question 37

what is the virtue care?

Answer 37

care develops through adults nurturing things that will outlast them e.g children or forming a legacy. This can be done by contributing to society but a midlife may also be experienced.
> develops during mid-adulthood

Question 38

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during MID-ADULTHOOD?

Answer 38

The person stops progressing e.g in terms of their career and goals. Their life may lack a sense of meaning.

Question 39

how do people successfully progress through the stage of MID-ADULTHOOD?

Answer 39

Adults must create or nurture things that will outlast them. This could range to producing children or constructing a legacy. This would result in feelings of usefulness and accomplishment

Question 40

what is the age, conflict needed to be resolved and virtue to be acquired in LATE ADULTHOOD?

Answer 40

age: 65+ years
conflict: integrity vs despair
virtue: wisdom

Question 41

what is the conflict integrity vs despair?

Answer 41

Begins when aging adults begin to tackle the issue of their morality. This stage is triggered by life events such as retirement, loss of spouse and other changes to major roles in life. At this stage, the key conflict revolves around the question of whether or not the individual has led a meaningful, satisfying life.
> develops during late adulthood

Question 42

what is the virtue wisdom?

Answer 42

wisdom develops when the elderly are reflecting on their life and whether they led a meaningful one.
> develops during late adulthood

Question 43

what is the consequence for not developing correctly during LATE ADULTHOOD?

Answer 43

Feelings of regret and a want to have done things differently.

Question 44

how do people successfully develop through the stage of LATE ADULTHOOD?

Answer 44

Elderly people must reflect on their life and determine whether or not they are content or if they have regrets. Looking back helps people realise whether or not they want to spend their last years fixing things or living happily. Success in this stage leads to satisfaction and attainment of wisdom.

Question 45

what are the strengths of Eriksons theory?

Answer 45

1. One strength is it provides a broad framework to view our development throughout our lifespan. It also allows us to emphasize the social nature of human beings and the important influence that social relationships have on development.
2. Research supports Erikson’s idea about identity and has further identified different sub-stages of identity formation. Some research also suggests that people who form strong personal identities during adolescence are better capable of forming intimate relationships during early adulthood.

Question 46

what are the weaknesses of Eriksons theory?

Answer 46

1. One weakness, The mechanisms for resolving conflict and moving from one stage to the other is very vague. The theory fails to detail exactly what type of experiences are necessary at each stage in order to successfully resolve the conflict.
2. Another weakness is, Erikson’s study may be based on individualistic cultures not necessarily collectivistic cultures. Also, it generalises the cultures suggesting that every person from the two cultures develops in the same way and this is simply not the case.

Question 47

who looked at free will?

Answer 47

Roy Baumeister (2008)

Question 48

what is free will?

Answer 48

it is the ability to choose our own behaviour that we want to show opposed to something being determined.

Question 49

what is the different view of free will?

Answer 49

determinism

Question 50

what is determinism?

Answer 50

determinism is the belief that our behaviour originates from what we are born with and what we experience so we should not be held accountable for our actions

Question 51

who else believed in free will?

Answer 51

Jean Paul Sartre

Question 52

what did Sartre believe in?

Answer 52

Sartre claimed that there is always a choice in any action so people are always responsible for their actions

Question 53

what did Immanuel Kant believe in?

Answer 53

he felt that freedom was about morality and the sound of reasoning but only some actions may be decided this way, free will is about self-control and reasoned choices/.

Question 54

what are examples of the consequences of free will?

Answer 54

> improvement of the justice system
increase in prosocial behaviour
increase in self-control
improves learning from social challenges

Question 55

elaborate on how free will affects the justice system.

Answer 55

A belief in free will leads to responsibility, so more and more people will take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming it on an external source. This leads to improvement in the justice system.

Question 56

elaborate on how free will affects social behaviour

Answer 56

belief in free will can help will self-control as people feel more empowered and in control of their own actions and emotions so they acknowledge responsibility for themselves. so this makes people more likely to help others.

Question 57

elaborate on how free will affects ones control over themselves

Answer 57

improves someones control over their emotions and impulses as it takes energy to make choices and use rational decision-making.

Question 58

elaborate on how free will allows people to learn from social challenges.

Answer 58

someone who believes in free will is more likely to reflect on any problems associated with negative events. This can help them to avoid similar situations in the future.

Question 59

Why is freedom not about doing what you want, when you want?

Answer 59

Having freedom means having a choice. It doesn’t have to do with whatever you want, when you want it refers to doing what we choose to do but still following the complicated rules of society

Question 60

Give three examples of behaviour which when inhibited will lead to a long-term benefit.

Answer 60

Impulses, desires and disciplined imagination

Question 61

Explain how rational thought and decision making is linking to inhibition.

Answer 61

Understanding the what if situations helps us know whether the outcome is positive or negative which may confuse us to the point where we may not act naturally.

Question 62

Why aren’t animals considered to have free-will?

Answer 62

Because they act on the basis of their biological need and don’t really process information.

Question 63

what are strengths of Baumeister’s theory?

Answer 63

1. One strength is Baumeister focuses on our everyday understanding to act on free will rather than philosophical discussions. So people understand free will as actions and decisions they make which is a more useful approach than suggesting, philosophically, that none of our actions are free
2. Another strength is social psychology can measure free will in terms of making choices and decisions an example of this is Vohs and Schoolers (2008) experiment on determinism and free will affected a student cheating on a math test.

Question 64

what are weaknesses of Baumeister’s theory?

Answer 64

1. One weakness of Baumeister’s theory is it is difficult to test. When free will is tested using scientific methods such as experiments then it becomes specific to certain aspects of free will which makes it reductionist so it does not take into account all aspects about a persons decision making into account (holism)
2. Another weakness is actions may be randomly displayed rather than coming from free will. Ebert and Wegner (2011) carried out an experiment to see if randomness could be mistaken for free will and found that it could.