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We do not know. Her plight has offered many insights
to developmental psychologists, but many final answers remain elusive.
Craig, G. J., & Kermis, M. D. (1995). Children Today. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Stage Theory: What Is a “Stage Theory?”
As instructors, we are familiar with “stage” theories, as we spend a great deal of time studying
them. Freud’s stages of psychosexual development, Erikson’s eight stages of man, Kohlberg’s stages
of moral development, and Piaget’s stages of cognitive development are part of our world, but what
is implied to our students when we refer to a given theory as a “stage theory”?
Reber (1985) defines stage theory as “a label applicable to any theory of development that
characterizes growth, be it physical, sensory-motor, cognitive, moral, etc., as a progression through
a sequence of stages” (p. 724). He further states that stage theories tend to be either maturational or
interactional in nature, that they are biologically determined or result from interactions between
biological and experiential factors.
Actually, even if we didn’t use the word “stage” in referring to many of our psychological theories,
we would still be able to easily discern which theories are stage theories and which are not, because
there are four properties that define stage theories. Without any one of these properties, you do not
have a stage theory. These properties are:
· A stage theory must predict qualitative differences in behavior, over both time and
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experience
. A stage theory must assume invariance of the sequence of stages
. A stage theory assumes structural cohesiveness of a stage; the behaviors within a stage
must share a common conceptual base
. There must be a hierarchical integration of structures from stage to stage, so that later
stages incorporate and expand on the structures from earlier stages
Now, back to our question, what does the term stage theory imply and subsequently mean to our
students? First, it means that a stage theory is presumed to be universal—which is what “over both
time and experience means. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development offers an easy example. Piaget
proposed that children, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or sociocultural background, all
experience their intellectual development in the same way. The same sequence of events unfolds,
regardless of where the child lives and under what conditions. Further, Piaget proposed that the
/> changes were not only predictable and universal, but that the changes were qualitatively different
as the child moved from one stage to the next. For example, a 7-year-old child can conserve liquid,
but a 4-year-old cannot. That is a qualitative difference in the thought process, and it is a function of
the developmental process.
Second, stage theories and stage theorists believe that there can be no latitude in the progression of
the stages of development. In Eriksonian terms, a child must resolve the trust/mistrust conflict and
learn to trust before he or she can move onto the stage of autonomy versus self-doubt, because
unless the trust/mistrust conflict has been resolved, the child has no possibility of resolving the
autonomy issue. Stage 1 must precede stages 2, 3, 4, and so on.
Third, cohesiveness of a stage and a common conceptual base indicate that the stage itself must fit
within the overall theoretical construct, as implied by the underlying conceptual basis of the
theoretical position. Finally, stage theories represent a series of building blocks, in that one builds
on the other in a hierarchical fashion. Each stage must progress logically from the one preceding it,
and lead logically to the one following. If a given theory satisfies these four requirements, we can
properly refer to it as a stage theory.
Identity and the Tasks of Adolescence
Sometimes a concept from academic research or theory catches the attention of the public and
becomes integrated into the framework of society’s “general knowledge.” Perhaps this occurs
because the concept is relevant at the time, or because it provides a framework for a generally
recognized problem or issue. The “identity crisis” proposed by Erik Erikson is such a concept, and
was eagerly adopted by American society in the 1960s. At that time, the baby-boom cohort was
reaching adolescence. The Vietnam War loomed as a threat to youth. Civil rights activists
challenged the thoughtless discrimination of older generations, and the women’s liberation
movement contested traditional ideas of female identity. Also, by the 1960s, adolescence had
become established as a life stage created by technological society, giving status to a span of years
between childhood and full adult status during which the young person prepared to live and work
in an increasingly complex society.
Erikson saw adolescence as a pivotal stage of development in which earlier psychosocial conflicts
return in a new form, and in which the foundations are laid for the intimacy, generativity, and
wisdom that are the favorable outcomes of later stages. Developmental psychologists sometimes
organize discussion of life stage around the developmental tasks of the stage, those things we must
do to be ready to move on to the next stage. The elements of the identity crisis can be considered
“tasks of adolescence.”
Acquiring Temporal Perspective
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One aspect of temporal perspective is to have a clear conception of past and future, and to have the
confidence to plan. Another aspect of temporal perspective is the ability to regulate one’s own time.
Freshman entering the university environment and who are living away from home for the first time
often have difficulty regulating their own time. With no parent present to say “go to bed,” they will
solve the world’s problems all night and be unable to get up for class the next morning. There are
people in middle age who lose jobs, miss airplanes, and alienate friends because of their lack of
ability to regulate their time.
Acquiring Self-Certainty
Self-certainty is equivalent to what is also referred to as self-confidence or self-esteem. Erikson
thought that efforts to begin to “sever the apron strings” and to become an autonomous or
independent person begin early in life, about the time we begin to walk. If the child sees herself
being able to do for herself and accomplish little things independently, then she has the basis to
develop confidence in herself. In adolescence, there are new threats to self-confidence, such as the
prospect of having to be financially independent and to find a desirable partner. Another aspect of
self-certainty is that it must be accompanied by a self-image that is compatible with reality. Self-
esteem that is unrealistic is a defense, a fantasy that prevents self-fulfillment.
Role Experimentation
During childhood, we usually look to parents or teacher for role models. In adolescence, young
people are likely to reject earlier models and to go through a series of “trying on” different roles. The
movies and television provide a smorgasbord of roles and role models. Role models can be real
people, characters from fiction, historical personages, or creations of our own imagination. Erikson
thought that role experimentation is a healthy manifestation of the search for identity, but at some
time we have to take the pieces we like from our role experimentation and put them together into a
consistent identity. The opposite of role experimentation is role fixation. Sometimes one encounters
a young person who has had an identity laid on him so heavily by parents that attempts at role
experimentation produce too much guilt to be pursued.
Apprenticeship
Theorists are often reluctant to talk about anything as mundane as a getting a job and earning a
living, but Erikson recognized that the prospect of having to be self-supporting is a real concern of
adolescents. This does not mean that an adolescent has to choose his or her life’s work in junior
high school, but it does mean making general preparation for independence. The university student
may not have chosen a career or even have decided on a major, but the fact that he or she is in a
college class suggests that the individual does not suffer from what Erikson called “work
paralysis.”
Sexual Polarization
The obvious meaning of this aspect of identity is that adolescents must come to grips with whether
they are heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual. It must be difficult for the young person who has a
homosexual orientation to establish a positive identity during adolescence. There are great
pressures for denial and for conformity to sexual roles that parents and most peers consider
“normal.” Erikson wrote about the aspect of sexual polarization that can be described as “comfort
and confidence in the role of male or female.” In early adolescence, young people often feel sexually
inadequate because their bodies are less than perfect, or because they feel inferior to peers who tell
tall tales of sexual adventures and prowess. Sexual roles are not as clearly delineated as they
formerly were, particularly in the case of the female role, and young females may feel less than
feminine if they have ambitious career aspirations and inadequate as humans if they don’t.
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Questions of Authority: Being a Leader and a Follower
Resentment of authority is so common among American adolescents that it is tempting to think of it
as normal. Differentiating between legitimate authority and arbitrary authority is a task of identity
establishment. Identity formation includes being able to take the role of leader or follower in the
appropriate circumstances.
Ideological Commitment
As the identity is formed, young people must select a basic philosophy, a set of values, and an
orientation toward religion and politics. Excessive zeal for a cause, dramatic religious conversion,
and allegiance to a cult are some of the extreme symptoms of young people searching for something
to believe in. The task the adolescent faces is to adopt an ideology that is internally consistent and
compatible with the self and the self-image.
It may seem as though identity formation requires that one lay down plans for the remainder of
one’s life and adopt beliefs that will guide one’s behavior for all time. Of course, this is not the
situation. Identity formation is bringing together various aspects of the self into a coherent whole
and establishing a psychic “core” that defines the self. It is probably not a coincidence that
Erikson’s identity crisis begins concurrently with Piaget’s stage of formal operations. Some of the
cognitive skills of the mature intellect represented by this stage of cognitive development are
instrumental in bringing together the threads of the self.
Myths about Aging
Aging is one of the mysteries of human life that has been a focus of science for a number of years.
Researchers divide aging into two categories: primary aging and secondary aging. Secondary aging
is change that occurs as a result of disease, stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, or exposure to toxic
substances-any factor that contributes to aging that is actually or potentially preventable. What is
left is primary aging. If genes were programmed to effect changes with age, that would be primary
aging.
As research progresses, many of the myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes associated with aging
are being shattered; more of what was thought to be primary aging is, in fact, secondary aging. For
example, research done in the 1950s and 1960s by highly regarded psychologists showed that IQ
scores reach a peak in the twenties, remain stable until 40, decrease slowly from 40 to 60, and
decline very rapidly after the age of 60. The idea of deterioration of cognitive functions with age
seemed to be established, but more recent research using longitudinal data has challenged the
earlier studies. Recent research has shown that significant changes in cognitive functions do not
begin until the mid-70s, and even then intellectual capacities remain intact for people who continue
to exercise them and remain in good health. In studies with rats, Marian Diamond has shown that
rats who live in an enriched environment continue to show thickening of the cortex when they are
beyond the normal life span of rats.
One of the myths of aging is that people undergo personality changes as they grow older.
Longitudinal data have been collected on a large group of volunteers for 30 years by the
Gerontological Research Center for the National Institute on Aging. The data show stability of
personality from young adulthood through old age. The director of the research noted that a person
who is warm, sociable, and outgoing at 20 is likely to be warm, sociable, and outgoing at 80. He
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also observed that if you are likely to complain about physical symptoms when you are 80, you
were probably a complainer when you were 20.
Based on research in the 1950s, it was concluded that there is an age-related decrease in cardiac
output, the amount of blood the heart pumps per unit of time. Thirty years later, using the same
treadmill test, the results were different. Many of the older participants showed no decrease in
cardiac output, and among those who showed a decrease, the problem was associated with lack of
exercise. During the 30 years, a great deal was learned about heart disease. Many of the
participants in the earlier study were not the healthy-hearted specimens they were believed to be.
The conclusions from the recent research are that decrease in cardiac output is probably secondary
aging, and not an inevitable consequence of growing older.
Growing old is something we do not like to think about. When you consider the alternative,
growing old is not bad. Many young people do not like to face the fact that habits and lifestyles they
adopt today are likely to have a profound effect at the other end of life. Some young people say they
don’t want to live that long, but there is never a good day to die, and most young people of today
are likely to grow old, to live to be at least 75 or 80. When you get there, you may not consider
yourself old, like the 83-years-old woman that refused to shop in a certain store because she
considered the clothes they carried only appropriate for old ladies.
An Aging Society
With the emphasis on “saving social security” that everyone saw in the 2000 presidential election,
we have just begun to see the coming impact of the aging of American society. As the population
continues to age, and there are relatively fewer young people to physically and economically care
for older people, there will clearly have to be some major changes in many social programs and
how some elements in our society function. For example, social security will have to be changed to
keep it from becoming insolvent when the “baby boom” generation reaches its peak retirement
years. Programs like Medicare will also have to be revamped. Retirement ages may be moved farther
back, so that the standard retirement age in the not-too-distant future may be 70 instead of 65. While
today’s elderly are generally healthier than the elderly of previous generations, as they reach their
80s and 90s (and even 100s) many will need extensive health care and nursing home care. This will
require record numbers of health-care workers to help care for the elderly. In what other ways might
an aging population impact society?