LifeSpan Psychology- Week Two

Theories of Development

For our second week of class, we read Chapter Two in our LifeSmart text.  This reading was basically an overview of several different important psychologists and their specific theories regarding Lifespan Development. In my previous courses here at Trinity I have gone over many of these theories and in doing so again, I have really found which theories I find the most interesting.

Freud's psychoanalytic theory, the theory of the development of personality with an emphasis on the subconscious is very interesting to me, as are his stages of development.  Freud's stages of development include: Oral (0-1.5 yrs old), Anal (1.5-3 yrs old), Phallic (3-5 yrs old), Latency (5-12 yrs old), and the Genital Stage (12 yrs and older).  Although I am not completely convinced of his ideas on fixation, I can agree with him that we all have defense mechanisms that we use, even if they are not acknowledged.  For example, one of my defense mechanisms comes into play when I am stressed out: I bake.  In general, I enjoy cooking and baking for pleasure, however when I am stressed or worried about something and trying to avoid and defend myself against these things, I will fins myself drawn to my baking tools like a duck to water.
Another theory of his that I agree with is his argument that "at different stages of a person's development, personality is influenced by three distinct structures of the mind: the id, the ego, and the superego." (pg 30)  This argument is so obvious to me.  People battle these three structures all the time in an attempt to order to strike a compromise. 

Freud's theory is one the most interesting ones that I have studied. I was always interested in the battles that one's id and superego went through on a day to day basis. I do not really agree with all the latent sexual feelings that Freud pushes with this method, I do see strong evidence that the unconscious is important in people's development. I tend to constantly think about some of the defense mechanisms that people have. I go back to one that I have noticed in myself. When dealing with a somber topic, like death for example, I have the tendency to make jokes about whatever situation I am. I suppose it can be that subconsciously, I am afraid of the topic and I want to change it to a less serious one.

Other theorists included Erik Erikson and his theory of psychosocial theory of development, Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development (which I have covered several times while at Trinity), Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, Ivan Pavlov (and his dog), B.F Skinner and his theories on reinforcement (which I also covered in a previous blog posting), Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Learning, Uri Brofenbrenner's Ecological Theory as well as the Developmental systems theory and contextual model.  While I believe the developmental contextual model is slightly convoluted (pg 45), I do believe it accurately portrays the exchanged between individuals and the multiple levels of their complex contexts propel development.  

Finally, we look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs.  Again, I have covered this several times while at Trinity, and each time I find it interesting.  For myself, I would place myself near the top of the self-esteem tier.  I am an adult with healthy relationships and with an occupation where children see me as a teachers aide in a classroom  I believe that after a certain age we eventually start to revert back down the hierarchy as we age, thus making different needs a priority.  

Overall, this chapter was kind of a review for me as I have already covered many of these theories.  That being said, these topics are so interesting that there is always something new to discover about them and to see them in a different context.