EPPP - Lifespan Development - Temperament, Personality, and Identity

A person's basic disposition, which influences how they respond to situations

It has a genetic component and, to some degree, is apparent at birth and predictive of later personality, especially when it's measured after three years of age

Has a biological contribution and is a relatively stable characteristic 

Children identified as wither inhibited or uninhibited at 21 months of age were similarly categorized at 5.5 and 7.5 years and the level on inhibition was related to physiological reactivity.

Activity level, rhythmicity, approach/withdrawal, adaptability, threshold of responsiveness, intensity of reaction, quality of mood, distractibility, and persistence

Most babies can be categorized on the basis of these qualities as easy, difficult, or slow-to-warm-up

even-tempered, have regular sleeping and eating patterns, adapt easily to new situations and people, and have a preponderance of positive moods

irritable, withdraw from new situations and people, and have unpredictable habits and a preponderance of negative moods

inactive and somewhat negative in mood and take time to adjust to new stimuli

Predicts that it is the degree of match between parents' behaviors and their child's temperament that contributes to a child's outcomes.

Proposes that the id's libido (sexual energy) centers on a different part of the body during each stage of development and that personality results from the ways in which conflicts at each stage are resolved. Failure to resolve a conflict at any stage often stems from excessive or insufficient gratification of the id's needs and can result in fixation at that stage.

birth to 1 year 

The mouth is the focus of sensation and stimulation, and weaning is the primary source of conflict. Fixation results in dependence, passivity, gullibility, sarcasm, and orally-focused habits (smoking, nail-biting, overeating, etc.)

1 to 3 years

The main issue during this stage is control of bodily waste, and conflicts stem from issues related to toilet training. Fixation produces anal retentiveness (stinginess, selfishness, obsessive-compulsive behavior) or anal expulsiveness (cruelty, destructiveness, messiness)

3 to 6 years

Sexual energy is centered in the genitals; and the primary task is the resolution of the Oedipal conflict, which is marked by a desire for the opposite-sex parent and a view of the same-sex parent as a rival. A successful outcome results from identification with the same-sex parent and development of the superego. Fixation can produce a phallic character, which involves sexual exploitation of others.

6 to 12 years

Libidinal energy is diffuse (spread over a wide area) rather than focused on any one area of the body, and emphasis is on developing social skills rather than achieving sexual gratification

12+ years 

Libido is again centered in the genitals, and a successful outcome in this stage occurs when sexual desire is blended with affection to produce mature sexual relationships

Differs from Freud in several important ways:

Stresses the role of social (versus sexual) factors, and his stages of development each involve a different psychosocial crisis 

Places greater emphasis on the ego than on the id, and assumes that people are basically rational and that behavior is due largely to ego functioning. 

Views personality development as a process that continues throughout the lifespan.

stage one - infancy 

A positive relationship with one's primary caregiver during infancy results in a sense of trust and optimism

stage two - toddlerhood

A sense of self (autonomy) develops out of positive interactions with one's parents or other caregivers

Stage three - early childhood 

Favorable relationships with family members result in an ability to set goals and devise and carry out plans without infringing on the rights of others

Stage four - school age 

The most important influences at this stage are people in the neighborhood and the school. To avoid feelings of inferiority, the school-age child must master certain social and academic skills

Stage five - adolescents 

Peers are the dominant social influence in adolescents. A positive outcome is reflected in a sense of personal identity and a direction for the future

Stage six - young adulthood

The main task during early adulthood is the establishment of intimate bonds of love and friendship. If such bonds are not achieved, self-absorption and isolation result

Stage seven - middle adulthood 

The people one lives and works with are most important during this stage. A generative person exhibits commitment to the well-being of future generations

Stage eight (final) - maturation/old age 

Social influence broadens to include all of humankind. The development of wisdom (an informed, detached concern with life in the face of death) and a sense of integrity require coming to terms with one's limitations and mortality

Divides the lifespan into four periods with the transitions from one period to the next being particularly stressful, and it is during these times that major changes in a person's life structure usually occur

Ages 17 - 22 

Entails leaving the world of childhood and forming the initial foundation for life in the adult world. 

This transition leads to the formation of The Dream, which is an image of an ideal life that guides one's decisions and choices

Ages 28 - 33

Brought on by the realization that the life structure built during one's 20s is not adequate

A sense of urgency develops as the result of pressure to fully enter the adult world, and the life structure is revised. Followed by a period of "settling down"

Ages 40 - 45

a time of significant stress and reorganization. An important change is a deflation of The Dream as one realizes that one's goals are not really satisfying and/or will not be fully accomplished. 

This period is marked by a shift in perspective from "time-since-birth" to "time-left-to-live" as a result of an increasing awareness of one's mortality

presented one of the most widely cited frameworks for understanding the impact of parenting on development

Their approach combines two dimensions of parenting - responsivity (acceptance and warmth) and Demandingness (control) - two derive four parenting styles

Parents exhibit a high degree of demandingness and low responsivity. They impose absolute standards of conduct, stress obedience, and use physical punishment, threats, deprivation, and other power assertive techniques to gain compliance. 

Their offspring are often irritable, aggressive, mistrusting, and dependent and have limited sense of responsibility and low levels of self-esteem and academic achievement

Parents combine rational control with responsivity. Although they set clear rules and high standards for their children, they rely on reasoning, praise, explanations, and other inductive techniques to gain compliance, and they encourage independence 

Offspring tend to be assertive, socially responsible, and achievement-oriented, have high self-esteem, are self-confident, and usually obtain high grades in school.

Parents are warm and caring but make few demands and are nonpunitive. They allow their children to make their own decisions about what chores to complete, when to go to bed, etc. 

Children tend to be immature, impulsive, self-centered, easily frustrated, and low in achievement and independence

Parents exhibit low levels of responsivity and demandingness, and they may be overtly hostile toward their children.

Offspring have low self-esteem and poor self-control and are often impulsive, moody, and aggressive. 

The characteristics of rejecting-neglecting parents resemble those predictive of juvenile delinquency --> lack of parental warmth, lack of supervision, and inconsistent harsh punishment

Birth order affects personality and behavior

first-borns tend to have more rapid language acquisition, achieve higher grades, and high scores on IQ tests, and are usually more achievement oriented

often less cautious and more rebellious, have better peer relationships, and are more confident in social situations

increases risk for emotional and behavioral problems, although the exact nature and severity depend on several factors including genetic predisposition, other risk factors, and nature of mother's symptoms

related to frequent father-child conflict and to internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children

linked to social and behavioral problems in children at age 3 (especially in boys), when when mothers had no symptoms of depression

the understanding that one is separate from others and becomes apparent during the second year of life

Evident by 18 months 

Infants begin to recognize themselves in pictures and mirrors.

between 19 and 30 months 

Children use both neutral terms (e.g., brown hair) and evaluative terms (e.g., good girl) to describe themselves

children have adverse reactions to a caregiver's disapproval. This reaction signals the beginning of the development of a sense of conscience

age 2 to 3 

children recognize that they are either male for female

age ~3 (shortly after gender identity stage)

Children realize gender identity is stable over time 

boys grow up to be men and girls grow up to be women

Age 6 or 7 

Children understand that gender is constant over situations and know that people cannot change gender by superficially altering their external appearance or behavior

attributes the acquisition of a gender identity to a combination of social learning and cognitive development

Children develop schemas (conceptual frameworks) of masculinity and femininity as the result of their sociocultural experiences. These schemas then organize how the individual perceives and thinks about the world

Predicts that the acquisition of a gender identity is the result of a combination of differential reinforcement and observational learning

Views gender identity as consisting of five basic components

a. membership knowledge (knowledge of one's membership in a gender category 

b. gender typicality (the degree to which one feels similar to others n one's gender category)

c. Gender contentedness (the degree to which one is satisfied with one's gender)

d. felt pressure for gender conformity (the degree to which one feels pressure from parents, peers, and other to conform to gender stereotypes 

e. Intergroup bias (the extent to which one believes that one's gender category is superior to the other category)

gender identity had a greater impact than biological sex on self-esteem.

Combines masculine and feminine characteristics and preferences 

associated with higher levels of self-esteem, greater flexibility when coping with difficult situations, higher levels of life satisfaction, and greater comfort with one's sexuality

Infants have awareness of racial difference as early as 6 months and children are able to label people in terms of racial group by 3 to 4 years old 

More sophisticated understanding of race does not develop until about 10 years old when children begin to understand the social connotations of racial differences

have not yet experienced an identity crisis or explored alternatives and are not committed to an identity

Have not experienced a crisis but have adopted an identity (occupation, ideology, etc.) that has been imposed by the same-sex parent or other person

Adolescent experiences an identity crisis and actively explores alternative identities. It is during this period that teens exhibit a high degree of confusion, discontent, and rebelliousness

Adolescents who have resolved the identity crisis by evaluating alternatives and committing to an identity are "identity achieved"

At about 11 or 12 years of age, girls experience a relational crisis in response to increasing pressure to fit cultural stereotypes about the "perfect good woman"

As a result, they disconnect from themselves in order to maintain relationships with others 

Consequences include a drop in academic achievement, loss of self-esteem, and an increased vulnerability to psychological problems

the understanding that life involves thinking, breathing, eating, and other essential functions that cease at death

Ages 5 - 9 

the understanding that a living being cannot physically return from death

ag 10

The understanding that all living being eventually die

a. denial and isolation (no, this isn't happening to me)

b. Anger (why me)

c. Bargaining (Yes me, but not until my grandchild is born)

d. depression (yes, me)

e. Acceptance (my time is close that's alright) 

Stages don't occur in order and may be repeated

inhibition

goodness-of-fit

libido 

oral

basic trust vs. basic mistrust 

autonomy vs. shame and doubt

identity vs. role confusion 

wisdom

transition 

time-left-to-live

responsivity 

academic achievement 

Authoritative 

achievement

permissive

rejecting-neglecting

supervision

insecure

specific behaviors 

competencies

constancy

gender schema 

Androgyny

identity 

moratorium

relational crisis

10

middle-age

bargaining

C

Gilligan considers adolescence to be a critical period for females as they feel external pressure to fit cultural stereotypes, causing them to suppress their expressions of identity.

Answer A: Conscious and unconscious drives are not part of Gilligan's theory.

Answer B: Parents may be part of the issue, but it is the wider expectations of the culture that push girls toward suppression of themselves.

Answer D: Gilligan does not propose that it is mainly a male-female conflict driving this phenomenon. [See C. Gilligan (1991). Women's psychological development: Implications for psychotherapy. In C. Gilligan et al. (Eds.). Women, Girls, and psychotherapy: Reframing resistance. New York: Haworth Press.]

C

Gender identity is the first of Kohlberg's stages of gender acquisition, which occurs at about age 2.

Answer A: Gender constancy occurs at about age 5-7 and refers to the recognition that external changes, such as clothing or hair, do not alter gender.

Answer B: Gender stability occurs at about age 4. It indicates that the child perceives their gender will not change as they get older.

Answer D: Gender autonomy is not a stage in Kohlberg's theory.

B

Thomas and Chess proposed 3 basic clusters of temperament. The Easy Child is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishing regular routines in infancy and adapts easily to new experiences. The Difficult Child tends to react negatively and cry frequently, engaging in irregular daily routines and is slow to accept new experiences. The Slow to Warm Up Child has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, shows low adaptability and displays a low intensity of mood.

Answer A: Parenting style was not a focus of Thomas and Chess' work.

Answer C: Thomas and Chess were focused on traits rather than experience in explaining behavior.

Answer D: Internal dynamics such as consciousness was not a focus of this theory.

D

Ego integrity versus despair is the final of Erikson's stages. In this stage, people reflect back on the life they have lived and come away with either a sense of fulfillment from a life well lived or a sense of regret and despair over a life misspent. Erikson's stages are: Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Ego Integrity vs. Despair.

Answer A: Being with others is not a focus of this stage for Erikson.

Answer B: This may happen in this stage but is not a desirable outcome.

Answer C: Ego integrity does not involve thoughts about the next generation.

A

Baumrind & colleagues proposed 4 parenting styles that relate to child behavior. The authoritarian style has strict rules and high expectations for obedience. Lower academic achievement and aggressive behavior often results from this style.

Answer B: The neglectful parenting style is cold and uninvolved. It is associated with impulsive behavior and delinquency.

Answer C: The authoritative parenting style is warm and responsive with high expectations. It is associated with positive behavioral outcomes.

Answer D: The permissive parenting style is warm and has few rules. It is associated with impulsive behavior and poor relationship skills.

B

The foreclosure status is when a commitment is made without exploring alternatives. Often these commitments are based on parental ideas and beliefs that are accepted without question. Marcia stressed that once an identity crisis has been experienced, returning to the foreclosure status was no longer a possibility.

C

The five stages of grief model (or the Kubler-Ross model) postulates that those experiencing grief go through a series of five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

A

By age 10, most children have developed an understanding of death.

Answers B, C, and D: Children aged 5-9 typically have some understanding of death, but continue to exhibit magical thinking, and may not distinguish between fictional and real death.