Theory Paper- Leah Needham (1)

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Theory Paper Leah Needham Department of Psychology: UNCW Psy 220- Child Psychology Dr. Gabriele Jones November 21, 2023

1 Introduction Throughout this paper, I will be discussing two theorists; Lawrence Kohlberg and Erik Erikson. I will be diving into part of their theories that relate to my late childhood and early adulthood through my personal experiences. These experiences tie into the stages of moral development and psychosocial development. Lawrence Kohlberg Kohlberg developed the Stages of Moral Development between the years 1958 and 1986. There are three levels, each containing two stages. Level 1: Preconventional level, Level 2: Conventional level, and Level 3: Postconventional level. At the preconventional level, the two stages are Heternomonous Morality, and Individualism, Instrumental purpose, and exchange. This is where children carry out orders from adults because they tell them to obey, and also where children start to go after what interests them while allowing others to do the same. At the conventional level, the next two stages are Mutual Interpersonal expectations, Relationships, and Interpersonal Conformity, and Social Systems Morality. Here, children start understanding the values of trust, caring, and loyalty for others, but also how moral judgments are based. At the postconventional level, the final two stages are Social Contract or Utility and Individual Rights, and Universal Ethical Principles. This is when adults develop personal reasoning based on moral ethics. (Stantrock, Lansford, & Deater-Deckard p. 388) My Personal Experience This personal experience will be at the preconventional level during stage one, heteronomous morality. At the age of five, my family and I were out to eat at Houlihan's, with 1

2 another family. I decided it would be a wonderful idea to pick a fight with my father, thus getting me in trouble and throwing a hissy fit. I was screaming and crying at the dinner table, which resulted in my father carrying me out of the restaurant, giving me a good spanking, and finally taking me home. Due to my previous behavior, I was no longer able to leave the house until I showed my father that I learned my lesson and acted accordingly in public. This shows stage one due to the fact that I learned to obey not just my father, but other adult figures in my life. I was terrified of something like that happening again, embarrassing both me and my father, so I learned how to make moral decisions so something like this would never happen again. I was doing this to please my father, knowing he would like to have a young girl who does not talk back and throw hissy fits in public, rather than thinking for myself and knowing the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Erik Erikson Erikson developed the 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development between the years of 1950 and 1968. During each stage, a distinctive developmental crisis comes into play with the individuals maturing that must have a solution. Said crisis does not have to be fatal, but more so a turning point marked by both increased vulnerability and enhanced potential. It is shown that the more victorious the individual is at resolving the fatality, the healthier their development will be. As I said, there are 8 stages, ranging from infancy up to 60-plus years old. The first stage is Trust versus mistrust, which you will experience during your first year of life. The second stage is Autonomy versus shame and doubt, which you will experience from ages one to three. The third stage is Initiative versus guilt, which you will go through your early childhood years 2

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3 ages three to 5. The fourth stage Industry versus inferiority happens during middle and late childhood, ages six up until you reach puberty. The fifth stage is Identity versus identity confusion which happens in adolescence, ages 10 to 20. The sixth stage is Intimacy versus isolation, which happens between your 20s and 30s. The seventh stage is Generativity versus stagnation, which happens between your 40s and 50s. And the eighth and final stage is Integrity versus despair, which will happen in your 60s and onward. In all of the stages, Erikson has a “positive” side and a “negative” side. Normally, in a healthy solution, the positive side will control rather than the negative side, but the negative side is always inevitable to at least some degree. (Stantrock, Lansford, & Deater-Deckard p. 17-18) My Personal Experience I will be talking about my personal experience in the sixth stage, Intimacy versus isolation. Starting with the isolation portion, I had a fear of rejection due to past relationships and them being so bad. I was extremely closed off and alienated from others to be able to form some kind of intimate relationship with anyone at the time. Since intimacy in these past situations was not achieved, I reached the “negative” side of Erikson’s theory. Following the isolation portion, I was at a point in my life where I was not really looking for anything intimate, but at the same time not opposed to trying something out. Over the summer, I met a guy while I was working, and he ended up getting my number. I guess you could say, we were both in this stage, not looking for anything due to our past. Things hit off very quickly, but we were both still trying to withhold emotions. But, since we clicked instantly, we were able to form an intimate bond that was reciprocated between each other. We open up and share personal things with one another, and we make personal sacrifices for each other in this relationship. This helped us gain mutual 3

4 trust and respect for one another. Now that intimacy has been achieved, I reached the “positive” side of Erikson’s theory. 4

5 Citations Santrock J.W., Lansford J.E., Deater-Deckard K. (2022). Children (15th ed.). Tom McGraw LLC. https://prod.reader-ui.prod.mheducation.com/epub/sn_ee42fd/data-uuid- be0a45ffacde44baaf0908a51bc205ab#data-uuid-c220fbbc9a1e43be84b4a596191e13aa 5

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