300 Chapter 9 | Lifespan Development

DIG DEEPER

The Achievement Gap: How Does Socioeconomic Status Affect Development?

The achievement gap refers to the persistent difference in grades, test scores, and graduation rates that exist
among students of different ethnicities, races, and—in certain subjects—sexes (Winerman, 2011). Research
suggests that these achievement gaps are strongly influenced by differences in socioeconomic factors that
exist among the families of these children. While the researchers acknowledge that programs aimed at
reducing such socioeconomic discrepancies would likely aid in equalizing the aptitude and performance of
children from different backgrounds, they recognize that such large-scale interventions would be difficult to
achieve. Therefore, it is recommended that programs aimed at fostering aptitude and achievement among
disadvantaged children may be the best option for dealing with issues related to academic achievement gaps
(Duncan & Magnuson, 2005).
Low-income children perform significantly more poorly than their middle- and high-income peers on a number
of educational variables: They have significantly lower standardized test scores, graduation rates, and college
entrance rates, and they have much higher school dropout rates. There have been attempts to correct the
achievement gap through state and federal legislation, but what if the problems start before the children even
enter school?
Psychologists Betty Hart and Todd Risley (2006) spent their careers looking at early language ability and
progression of children in various income levels. In one longitudinal study, they found that although all the
parents in the study engaged and interacted with their children, middle- and high-income parents interacted
with their children differently than low-income parents. After analyzing 1,300 hours of parent-child interactions,
the researchers found that middle- and high-income parents talk to their children significantly more, starting
when the children are infants. By 3 years old, high-income children knew almost double the number of words
known by their low-income counterparts, and they had heard an estimated total of 30 million more words
than the low-income counterparts (Hart & Risley, 2003). And the gaps only become more pronounced. Before
entering kindergarten, high-income children score 60% higher on achievement tests than their low-income
peers (Lee & Burkam, 2002).
There are solutions to this problem. At the University of Chicago, experts are working with low-income families,
visiting them at their homes, and encouraging them to speak more to their children on a daily and hourly
basis. Other experts are designing preschools in which students from diverse economic backgrounds are
placed in the same classroom. In this research, low-income children made significant gains in their language
development, likely as a result of attending the specialized preschool (Schechter & Byeb, 2007). What other
methods or interventions could be used to decrease the achievement gap? What types of activities could be
implemented to help the children of your community or a neighboring community?

9.2 Lifespan Theories

Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Discuss Freud’s theory of psychosexual development
• Describe the major tasks of child and adult psychosocial development according to Erikson
• Discuss Piaget’s view of cognitive development and apply the stages to understanding
childhood cognition
• Describe Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
• Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of major developmental theories

There are many theories regarding how babies and children grow and develop into happy, healthy adults.
We explore several of these theories in this section.

This OpenStax book is available for free at http://cnx.org/content/col31502/1.4

Chapter 9 | Lifespan Development 301

PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) believed that personality develops during early childhood. For Freud,
childhood experiences shape our personalities and behavior as adults. Freud viewed development as
discontinuous; he believed that each of us must pass through a series of stages during childhood, and
that if we lack proper nurturance and parenting during a stage, we may become stuck, or fixated, in that
stage. Freud’s stages are called the stages of psychosexual development. According to Freud, children’s
pleasure-seeking urges are focused on a different area of the body, called an erogenous zone, at each of the
five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
While most of Freud’s ideas have not found support in modern research, we cannot discount the
contributions that Freud has made to the field of psychology. Psychologists today dispute Freud's
psychosexual stages as a legitimate explanation for how one's personality develops, but what we can take
away from Freud’s theory is that personality is shaped, in some part, by experiences we have in childhood.
These stages are discussed in detail in the chapter on personality.

PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

Erik Erikson (1902–1994) (Figure 9.4), another stage theorist, took Freud’s theory and modified it as
psychosocial theory. Erikson’s psychosocial development theory emphasizes the social nature of our
development rather than its sexual nature. While Freud believed that personality is shaped only in
childhood, Erikson proposed that personality development takes place all through the lifespan. Erikson
suggested that how we interact with others is what affects our sense of self, or what he called the ego
identity.

Figure 9.4 Erik Erikson proposed the psychosocial theory of development. In each stage of Erikson’s theory, there is
a psychosocial task that we must master in order to feel a sense of competence.

Erikson proposed that we are motivated by a need to achieve competence in certain areas of our lives.
According to psychosocial theory, we experience eight stages of development over our lifespan, from
infancy through late adulthood. At each stage there is a conflict, or task, that we need to resolve. Successful
completion of each developmental task results in a sense of competence and a healthy personality. Failure
to master these tasks leads to feelings of inadequacy.
According to Erikson (1963), trust is the basis of our development during infancy (birth to 12 months).
Therefore, the primary task of this stage is trust versus mistrust. Infants are dependent upon their
caregivers, so caregivers who are responsive and sensitive to their infant’s needs help their baby to develop
a sense of trust; their baby will see the world as a safe, predictable place. Unresponsive caregivers who do
not meet their baby’s needs can engender feelings of anxiety, fear, and mistrust; their baby may see the
world as unpredictable.
As toddlers (ages 1–3 years) begin to explore their world, they learn that they can control their actions
and act on the environment to get results. They begin to show clear preferences for certain elements of the
302 Chapter 9 | Lifespan Development

environment, such as food, toys, and clothing. A toddler’s main task is to resolve the issue of autonomy
versus shame and doubt, by working to establish independence. This is the “me do it” stage. For example,
we might observe a budding sense of autonomy in a 2-year-old child who wants to choose her clothes
and dress herself. Although her outfits might not be appropriate for the situation, her input in such basic
decisions has an effect on her sense of independence. If denied the opportunity to act on her environment,
she may begin to doubt her abilities, which could lead to low self-esteem and feelings of shame.
Once children reach the preschool stage (ages 3–6 years), they are capable of initiating activities and
asserting control over their world through social interactions and play. According to Erikson, preschool
children must resolve the task of initiative versus guilt. By learning to plan and achieve goals while
interacting with others, preschool children can master this task. Those who do will develop self-confidence
and feel a sense of purpose. Those who are unsuccessful at this stage—with their initiative misfiring or
stifled—may develop feelings of guilt. How might over-controlling parents stifle a child’s initiative?
During the elementary school stage (ages 7–11), children face the task of industry versus inferiority.
Children begin to compare themselves to their peers to see how they measure up. They either develop a
sense of pride and accomplishment in their schoolwork, sports, social activities, and family life, or they
feel inferior and inadequate when they don’t measure up. What are some things parents and teachers can
do to help children develop a sense of competence and a belief in themselves and their abilities?
In adolescence (ages 12–18), children face the task of identity versus role confusion. According to Erikson,
an adolescent’s main task is developing a sense of self. Adolescents struggle with questions such as “Who
am I?” and “What do I want to do with my life?” Along the way, most adolescents try on many different
selves to see which ones fit. Adolescents who are successful at this stage have a strong sense of identity and
are able to remain true to their beliefs and values in the face of problems and other people’s perspectives.
What happens to apathetic adolescents, who do not make a conscious search for identity, or those who are
pressured to conform to their parents’ ideas for the future? These teens will have a weak sense of self and
experience role confusion. They are unsure of their identity and confused about the future.
People in early adulthood (i.e., 20s through early 40s) are concerned with intimacy versus isolation. After
we have developed a sense of self in adolescence, we are ready to share our life with others. Erikson said
that we must have a strong sense of self before developing intimate relationships with others. Adults who
do not develop a positive self-concept in adolescence may experience feelings of loneliness and emotional
isolation.
When people reach their 40s, they enter the time known as middle adulthood, which extends to the
mid-60s. The social task of middle adulthood is generativity versus stagnation. Generativity involves
finding your life’s work and contributing to the development of others, through activities such as
volunteering, mentoring, and raising children. Those who do not master this task may experience
stagnation, having little connection with others and little interest in productivity and self-improvement.
From the mid-60s to the end of life, we are in the period of development known as late adulthood.
Erikson’s task at this stage is called integrity versus despair. He said that people in late adulthood reflect
on their lives and feel either a sense of satisfaction or a sense of failure. People who feel proud of their
accomplishments feel a sense of integrity, and they can look back on their lives with few regrets. However,
people who are not successful at this stage may feel as if their life has been wasted. They focus on what
“would have,” “should have,” and “could have” been. They face the end of their lives with feelings of
bitterness, depression, and despair. Table 9.1 summarizes the stages of Erikson’s theory.

This OpenStax book is available for free at http://cnx.org/content/col31502/1.4

Chapter 9 | Lifespan Development 303

Note: You do not need to memorize Erikson’s Stages

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development

Age Developmental
Stage Description
(years) Task

1 0–1 Trust vs. Trust (or mistrust) that basic needs, such as nourishment and
mistrust affection, will be met

2 1–3 Autonomy vs. Develop a sense of independence in many tasks

shame/doubt

3 3–6 Initiative vs. Take initiative on some activities—may develop guilt when
guilt unsuccessful or boundaries overstepped

4 7–11 Industry vs. Develop self-confidence in abilities when competent or sense

inferiority of inferiority when not

5 12–18 Identity vs. Experiment with and develop identity and roles
confusion

6 19–29 Intimacy vs. Establish intimacy and relationships with others

isolation

7 30–64 Generativity vs. Contribute to society and be part of a family

stagnation

8 65– Integrity vs. Assess and make sense of life and meaning of contributions
despair

Table 9.1

COGNITIVE THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) is another stage theorist who studied childhood development (Figure 9.5). Instead
of approaching development from a psychoanalytical or psychosocial perspective, Piaget focused on
children’s cognitive growth. He believed that thinking is a central aspect of development and that children
are naturally inquisitive. However, he said that children do not think and reason like adults (Piaget, 1930,
1932). His theory of cognitive development holds that our cognitive abilities develop through specific
stages, which exemplifies the discontinuity approach to development. As we progress to a new stage, there
is a distinct shift in how we think and reason.
308 Chapter 9 | Lifespan Development

SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist who proposed a sociocultural theory of development. He
suggested that human development is rooted in one’s culture. A child’s social world, for example, forms
the basis for the formation of language and thought. The language one speaks and the ways a person
thinks about things is dependent on one’s cultural background. Vygotsky also considered historical
influences as key to one’s development. He was interested in the process of development and the
individual’s interactions with their environment (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996).

MORAL THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

A major task beginning in childhood and continuing into adolescence is discerning right from wrong.
Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) extended upon the foundation that Piaget built regarding
cognitive development. Kohlberg believed that moral development, like cognitive development, follows a
series of stages. To develop this theory, Kohlberg posed moral dilemmas to people of all ages, and then
he analyzed their answers to find evidence of their particular stage of moral development. Before reading
about the stages, take a minute to consider how you would answer one of Kohlberg's best-known moral
dilemmas, commonly known as the Heinz dilemma:
In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the
doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had
recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times
what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small
dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the
money, but he could only get together about $1,000, which is half of what it cost. He told the
druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the
druggist said: “No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it.” So Heinz got
desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have
done that? (Kohlberg, 1969, p. 379)
How would you answer this dilemma? Kohlberg was not interested in whether you answer yes or no to
the dilemma: Instead, he was interested in the reasoning behind your answer.
After presenting people with this and various other moral dilemmas, Kohlberg reviewed people’s
responses and placed them in different stages of moral reasoning (Figure 9.6). According to Kohlberg,
an individual progresses from the capacity for pre-conventional morality (before age 9) to the capacity for
conventional morality (early adolescence), and toward attaining post-conventional morality (once formal
operational thought is attained), which only a few fully achieve. Kohlberg placed in the highest stage
responses that reflected the reasoning that Heinz should steal the drug because his wife’s life is more
important than the pharmacist making money. The value of a human life overrides the pharmacist’s greed.

This OpenStax book is available for free at http://cnx.org/content/col31502/1.4

Chapter 9 | Lifespan Development 309

Note: You need to memorize these “levels” but not these “stages”

Figure 9.6 Kohlberg identified three levels of moral reasoning: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-
conventional: Each level is associated with increasingly complex stages of moral development.

It is important to realize that even those people who have the most sophisticated, post-conventional
reasons for some choices may make other choices for the simplest of pre-conventional reasons. Many
psychologists agree with Kohlberg's theory of moral development but point out that moral reasoning is
very different from moral behavior. Sometimes what we say we would do in a situation is not what we
actually do in that situation. In other words, we might “talk the talk,” but not “walk the walk.”
How does this theory apply to males and females? Kohlberg (1969) felt that more males than females
move past stage four in their moral development. He went on to note that women seem to be deficient in
their moral reasoning abilities. These ideas were not well received by Carol Gilligan, a research assistant
of Kohlberg, who consequently developed her own ideas of moral development. In her groundbreaking
book, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development, Gilligan (1982) criticized her
former mentor’s theory because it was based only on upper class White men and boys. She argued that
women are not deficient in their moral reasoning—she proposed that males and females reason differently.
Girls and women focus more on staying connected and the importance of interpersonal relationships.
Therefore, in the Heinz dilemma, many girls and women respond that Heinz should not steal the medicine.
Their reasoning is that if he steals the medicine, is arrested, and is put in jail, then he and his wife will be
separated, and she could die while he is still in prison.