Erikson's Stages of Development Quiz

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

• Erikson proposed eight stages of psychosocial development, each characterized by a developmental task or crisis.
• Trust vs. Mistrust (infancy): The infant learns to trust their caregivers and their ability to meet their needs.
• Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (early childhood): The child develops a sense of independence and self-control, mastering basic skills and navigating social interactions.
• Initiative vs. Guilt (early to mid-childhood): The child gains confidence in their ability to take action and make decisions, learning to get along with others and develop a sense of responsibility.
• Industry vs. Inferiority (mid- to late childhood): The child learns to take pride in their accomplishments and discovers their talents.
• Identity vs. Role Confusion (adolescence): The adolescent develops a sense of self and their unique place in the world, exploring different roles and ultimately forming a cohesive identity.
• Intimacy vs. Isolation (early adulthood): The young adult develops the ability to form deep, meaningful relationships and establish a sense of belonging.
• Generativity vs. Stagnation (mid-adulthood): The adult contributes to society and gives back to the community, raising families and contributing to the next generation.
• Ego Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood): The older adult reflects on their life and achieves acceptance of their accomplishments and failures, finding meaning and satisfaction in their life journey.

Criticism of Neo-Analytic Theory

• Advantages:
  • Focuses on the "self" as the core aspect of personality, responsible for managing emotions, drives, and social demands.
  • Recognizes the impact of social interactions, culture, and society on personality development.
  • Emphasizes that personality development continues throughout life.
• Disadvantages:
  • Lack of scientific rigor and empirical testing.
  • Relies on abstract concepts that are difficult to observe or measure.
  • Theory lacks parsimony; it is complex and incorporates many different ideas.

Biological Aspects of Personality

• Evolutionary Psychology posits that natural selection has favored certain traits influencing personality and social behavior. These traits enhance reproductive success and survival.
• Heritability refers to the proportion of trait variability within a population that is attributed to genetic factors. It is typically estimated through twin and family studies. Most personality traits exhibit substantial heritable components.
• Temperament refers to stable individual differences in emotional reactivity. These differences arise from variations in nervous system responses to environmental stimuli. Four dimensions of temperament:
  • Activity: Active vs. passive
  • Emotionality: Easily aroused vs. emotionally steady
  • Sociability: Approachable vs. withdrawn
  • Aggression/Impulsivity: Aggressive vs. conscientious.

Eysenck's Central Nervous System (CNS) Model of Temperament

• Eysenck proposed that individual differences in CNS arousal explain introversion-extraversion.

  • Introverts have higher CNS arousal, thus seeking less stimulation.
  • Extraverts have lower CNS arousal, thus seeking more stimulation.

• Evidence of this comes from studies on:

  • Electrodermal activity (GSR): Extroverts show less arousal on skin conductance.
  • Electroencephalography (EEG): Extroverts show less CNS arousal.
  • Habituation to Sensory Stimuli: Introverts habituate slower to stimuli.

Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

• Gray proposed two bio-learning systems that influence personality:
  • Behavioral Activation System (BAS): Responds to rewards and pleasurable stimuli. An overactive BAS leads to impulsivity, reward-seeking, and sensation-seeking.
  • Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS): Orients the person to novel and threatening situations. An overactive BIS leads to anxiety, alertness, and worrying.

Classical Conditioning

• Proposed by Ivan Pavlov.
• Key Concepts:
  • Neutral Stimulus (NS): Does not elicit a response.
  • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Naturally elicits a response.
  • Unconditioned Response (UCR): The natural response to UCS.
  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Formerly a NS, but now elicits a response after pairing with UCS.
  • Conditioned Response (CR): Formerly a UCR, but now elicited by a CS.
  • Stimulus Generalization: Occurs when CR is elicited by stimuli similar to CS.
  • Stimulus Discrimination: Learning to differentiate between CS and similar stimuli.
  • Extinction: The CS loses its power to elicit CR if repeatedly presented without UCS.

Origins of Behaviorism

• John Watson (1920s) rejected introspection and founded behaviorism, focusing on the scientific study of observable behavior.
• The "Little Albert" experiment demonstrated conditioned fear responses in a child. A neutral stimulus (white rat) was paired with a loud noise (UCS) and the child (Albert) developed a fear of the white rat alone (CR).

Radical Behaviorism

• B.F. Skinner (1940s-1960s), influenced by Edward Thorndike's "Law of effect," proposed operant conditioning.
• Operant conditioning explains how consequences influence behavior:
  • Reinforcer: Increases the probability of a behavior occurring.
  • Punisher: Decreases the probability of a behavior occurring.
• Types of Reinforcement:
  • Positive Reinforcement: Adding a pleasant stimulus.
  • Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus.
• Types of Punishment:
  • Positive Punishment: Adding an unpleasant stimulus.
  • Negative Punishment: Removing a pleasant stimulus.

Test your knowledge of Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development. Each stage is characterized by a specific crisis or developmental task that influences personality and behavior. Understand how these stages impact individuals from infancy to adolescence.