Psychology: Summary of Personality, Cognitive & Moral Development
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Course
BSc Biology with Psychology
Institution
Stellenbosch University (SUN)
these notes summarize personality development by looking at Erikson's Stage Theory. They summarize cognitive development by looking at Kohlberg's Stage Theory. It also looks at adolescence and the expanse of adulthood. Lastly it looks at various perspectives of personalities
Personality, Cognitive & Moral Development in Childhood
Personality Development
Theory is described as development in stages
- Emphasizes progression – each stage is built off the previous stage
- Progression is related to age
- Discontinuities between stages in typical behaviour
Continuous Stages
➢ Erikson’s Stage Theory
- 8 stages
- Each stage has a “psychosocial crisis” (crucial turning point)
- Personality determines how the crisis is dealt with.
- Resolution between 2 opposing tendencies (find balances)
- Stages are from the 1st year of life – late adulthood
➢ Stage 1: crisis = Trust vs. Mistrust
- Is my world predictable & supportive
- 1st year of life
- Stable, responsible caregiver allows child to trust the person who is looking after
them
- However, also don’t want to trust too much. Need a balance
➢ Stage 2: crisis = Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
- Can I do things myself/ must I always rely on others
- Dress selves etc.
- 2nd & 3rd years of life
- Praise for trying = sense of Autonomy (Self-governing state)
- Constant criticism = Shame & Doubt in their abilities
➢ Stage 3: crisis = Initiative vs. Guilt
- Am I good/bad
- Take charge of life (take initiative), act slightly out of bounds
- 4th to 6th years of life
- Controlling of child’s behaviour causes guilt and affects self-esteem
➢ Stage 4: crisis = Industry vs. Inferiority
- Am I competent/ Am I worthless
- Function properly without parents (without nurturing) at school. Can understand
their achievements are highly valued.
- Increased self-esteem as competent
- Those who don’t achieve a sense of competence, develop a sense of inferiority.
Struggle with achieving, develop low self-esteem
Cognitive Development
, ▪ Transitions in children’s patterns of thinking including reasoning, remembering & problem
solving
▪ Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development – 4 Stages
▪ Stage 1: Sensorimotor Period
- Coordination of sensory input & motor responses. Development of object
permanence (= the ability of knowing that an object exists despite not being able to
see it)
- Birth to 2 years old
- Understand symbols. Visualize favourite toy
- “steal your nose” – when very young, believe its gone. Then realize its still there
even when can’t see it
▪ Stage 2: Preoperational Period
- Development of symbolic thought marked by irreversibility (= can’t visualize
reversing a problem), centration (= tendency to focus on 1 part of a problem) &
egocentrism (= not being able to take someone else’s viewpoint)
- 2-7 years old
- Animism = believing inanimate objects are human (E.g. Teddy bear has feelings)
Example of Centration:
1. Child agrees beakers A & B contain the same amount of water
2. Child observes as water from beaker B is poured into beaker C (different
shape)
3. Child is asked “Do beaker A & C contain – same amount?”
- In preoperational period, child would say “no”, C has more water
- Focus on height
▪ Stage 3: Concrete Operational Period
- Mental operations (think about various aspects/manipulate things in mind) applied
to concrete events, mastery of conservation, hierarchical classification
- Reversibility (= mentally reverse an action), Decentration (= focus on more than 1
feature of a problem, realize there are several ways to look at things)
- 7 to 11 years old
▪ Stage 4: Formal Operational Period
- Complex thought processes
- Mental operations applied to abstract ideas (thinking of love), logical, systematic
thinking
- 11 years old to adulthood
▪ Criticisms of Piaget’s Stage Theory
- Underestimated young children’s development
- Stages seem to be more gradual than abrupt
- Underestimated influence of cultural factors on rate at which children pass through
stages
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