Social and Moral Development

Chapter 3

Erik Erikson 1902-1994

Born in Frankfurt to Danish parents

Mother was Jewish, birth father was Protestant
Abandoned prior to birth by father
Raised by step-dad, Jewish Pediatrician
Uncertain about identity in youth
No college degree
Wife was studying to be an analyst
Trained under Anna Freud
Moved to US in 1933; changed name to
Erikson

Eriksons Identity Formation

Epigenetic Principle

Development occurs in a series of stages, universal

to humankind, that happen in a predetermined
sequence.

Outcome is not fixed nor is life the determined

Major influence on development is social, not
sexual
Identity changes over lifetime
Individuals must take responsibility for their
own lives

Stages of Psychosocial
Development

Identity develops over 8 stages of life

Each stage is marked by a crisis
Outcome of each stage is dependent on
outcome of previous stage &
Successful negotiation of each stages
ego crisis
Virtues are strength that result from
successful resolution of the crises

Trust vs Mistrust 0-1 yr

GOAL: successful nursing, peaceful

warmth, comfortable exertion HEALTHY
BONDING feelings of trust & hope
Disruption: feeling mistrust &
abandonment-insecurity, suspicion of
environment-world cannot be trusted
EGO STRENGTH: Hope

Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt

(2-3)

GOAL: child have control over body

toilet training successful difference
between right & wrong, control over
impulses
Disruption: if overcontrolled & punitivenegative self-image. I am bad, I can
never succeed
EGO STRENGTH: Will

Initiative vs Guilt (4-5)

GOAL: to plan and carry out actions & get

along with peers as autonomous &
independent person Preschool
Disruption: fear of pursuing of goals in
life-inability to make decisions, lack of
initiative taking- poor risk taking-low selfconfidence
EGO STRENGTH: Purpose

Industry vs Inferiority (6-12)

GOAL: derive pleasure & satisfaction from

completion of tasks Grammar-Middle
school Success- Problem solver & pride
in accomplishment
Disruption: feelings of inferiority, unable
to accomplish, incompetent, not as good
as peers
EGO STRENGTH: Competence

Identity vs Role Confusion (13-19)

GOAL: adolescents experiment with

different roles-integration of earlier stage
identities High School success clear,
multifaceted sense of self-personal unique
identity
Disruption: Perpetual identity crisis not
sure who I am & struggle to find out
EGO STRENGTH: Fidelity

Intimacy vs Isolation (20-24)

GOAL: to learn interacting on deeper

level, revealing Self to others, find
companionship with similar others, love
relationship with partner
Disruption: inability to create strong
social ties, loss self in isolation &
loneliness, becomes a loner or
superficial
EGO STRENGTH: Love

Generativity vs Stagnation
(25-64)

GOAL: value giving self to others-form

bearing & raising children-community
service-give back to world-ensure
success of future generations
Disruption: feelings that life is worthless
& boring-life is meaningless-not
enjoying worldly success
EGO STRENGTH: Care

Ego Integrity vs Despair

(65- )

GOAL: in old age-derive wisdom from

life experiences-look back on life see
meaning, order & integrity-pleasant
reflections-present pursuitsDisruption: sense of despair: I have
not accomplished what I would have
liked to in life-it now is too late to do
anything about it
EGO STRENGTH: Wisdom

Marcias Theory of Personal

Identity

James Marcia - Also, examined the

development of personal identity.
Identified four main approaches to
developing a sense of identity:

achievement
foreclosure
diffusion
moratorium

Marcias Identity Statuses

Evaluating Ericksons and

Marcias Theories

Both theories have some limitations

Lack of solid empirical data supporting

them
Neither theory has been adequately tested
Possible theoretical ramifications of our
rapidly changing society

Lawrence Kohlberg

Born: 1927, Bronxville, NY

Died: 1987, Boston, MA
committed suicide
Education: PhD, U. of Chicago
Accomplishments: Major
contributor to the field of moral
development and reasoning;
Published major work in 1981,
Essays on Moral Development.

Morals in Middle Childhood

Moral Dilemmas
Cancer drug question
Should you steal the drug?
Kohlberg asserts that the way that children
answer this question reveals central aspects
about their morality and sense of justice.
Information about stage or moral development
Information about cognitive developmental level

Kohlbergs stages of moral reasoning

Preconventional Morality is where

people follow unvarying rules based
on rewards and punishments

Stage 1: Obedience and punishment

Stage 2: Reward

(Kohlbergs stages of moral reasoning,

continued)

Conventional Morality is where people

approach problems in terms of their own
position as good, responsible members of
society.

Stage 3: Good Boy morality

Stage 4: Authority and social order

Interested in maintaining the respect of others

Conform to societies rules.

Postconventional Morality is where

universal moral principles are invoked and
considered broader than the rules of a
particular society.

Stages 5 & 6

Some key points related to Kohlbergs theory

Kohlberg assessed people's moral

reasoning using moral dilemmas.
According to Kohlberg, people move
through these stages in a fixed order.
Middle childhood is at stage 1 & 2, the
preconventional stage, because of the
limits of children's cognitive abilities.

Kohlbergs Theory

Criticisms of Kohlbergs theory

There is a difference between moral judgment

and moral behavior.
The theory is based on data from

White
Middle-class
males

Carol Gilligan
Born:

1937- New York

Current:

Professor of Gender Studies,

Harvard University

Education

Ph.D., Harvard University

Achieve
ments:

Challenged Lawrence Kohlberg's

theories of moral development on the
basis of gender bias; Pioneer in the
research on moral development of
women; One of Time Magazine's 25 most
influential people of 1996.

Moral Development in Girls

Carol Gilligans theory of moral development

Carol Gilligan suggests that the way boys and girls

are raised in our own society leads to differences in
moral reasoning.
Kohlberg's theory is inadequate and places girls'
moral reasoning at a lower level than boys'.
Boys view morality primarily in terms of justice and
fairness.
Girls see morality in terms of responsibility and
compassion toward individuals and a willingness to
sacrifice for relationships.

 Gilligan sees morality in girls developing in 3 stages.

Orientation toward individual survival - where

females concentrate on what is practical and best
for them.

Goodness as self-sacrifice - where females think

they must sacrifice their own wishes to what others
want.

Morality of nonviolence - women come to see

hurting anyone as immoral, including themselves.

~The highest levels of morality are represented by

compassionate concern for the welfare of others

Criticisms of Gilligans theory

Theory is based on moral decisions in

an actual real life situation. Findings
may not apply in ALL situations.
Data was collected on women ONLY.
Gilligan also never published her data in
peer-reviewed journals.