Gender Roles~Bem

Bem was an American psychologist known for her works in androgyny and gender studies. She created the Bem Sex Role Inventory, which is an inventory that acknowledges that individuals may exhibit both male and female characteristics. The BSRI is a scale developed to tell what kind of sex role an individual fulfills. It is a self-report inventory that asks participants how well 60 different attributes describe themselves by using a seven-point scale. These attributes reflect the definition of masculinity (20 questions) and femininity (20 questions), and the remaining 20 questions were merely filler questions In this inventory the feminine and masculine items were chosen on what was culturally appropriate for males and females at that time in the early 1970s. The BSRI was later used to measure psychological flexibility and behavioral indicators. Bem also developed the gender schema theory. This theory states that an individual uses gender as a way to organize various things in a person's life into categories. Her research questioned the social beliefs and assumptions that sex roles are opposite, bipolar, and mutually exclusive. The data she collected were supportive of a merging of male and female traits to enable a person to be a fully functioning, adaptive human over an emphasis on gender stereotypes.

 A person with high masculine and low feminine identification would be categorized as "masculine". A person with high feminine identification and low masculine identification, would be categorized as "feminine". A person who had high identification with both characteristics would be categorized as "androgynous". A person who has low identification with both dimensions would be considered "undifferentiated".

One of Bem's main arguments was that traditional gender roles are restrictive for both men and women, and can have negative consequences for individuals as well as society as a whole.

Koesterer. M,Dr. Sandra Lipsitz Bem: An Unconventional Life. retrieved from http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/sandrabem2.htm

Gender Roles~Kholberg

Lawrence Kohlberg suggested that children had made a cognitive judgement about their gender identity before they selected same sex models for sex typed behaviors. Kholberg created the three steps for his Gender Constancy Theory. When a children had achieved gender consistency, they are highly motivated to make their behavior consistent with their self concept of their own gender. By the age six years, children become extremely intolerant of others who violates traditional standards of masculinity or femininity when acquire gender constancy.The nine year old children are less chauvinistic about sex role standards and sex typed activities. They are able more able to think abstractly and see the arbitrary nature of many sex role stereotypes. They have a more flexible view of sex role standards as social conventions rather than moral absolutes which everyone must obey.

McLeod, S. A. (2011). Kohlberg. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html

Identity Development~Erikson

Erik Erikson does not talk about psycho-sexual Stages, he discusses psycho-social stages. His ideas though were greatly influenced by Freud, going along with Freud’s  theory regarding the structure and development of personality. However, where Freud was an id psychologist, Erikson was an ego psychologist. He emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself, whereas Freud emphasized the conflict between the id and the superego.

According to Erikson, the ego develops as it successfully resolves crises that are distinctly social in nature. These involve establishing a sense of trust in others, developing a sense of identity in society, and helping the next generation prepare for the future.Erikson extends on Freudian thoughts by focusing on the adaptive and creative characteristic of the ego, and expanding the notion of the stages of personality development to include the entire lifespan.

Erikson proposed a lifespan model of development, taking in five stages up to the age of 18 years and three further stages beyond, well into adulthood. Erikson suggests that there is still plenty of room for continued growth and development throughout one’s life. Erikson put a great deal of emphasis on the adolescent period, feeling it was a crucial stage for developing a person’s identity.

According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego can use to resolve subsequent crises.

Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self.  These stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time.

Davis,D.& Clifton,A. Erikson's Stages.from http://www.haverford.edu April 27,2015

Identity Development~Freud

Identification is a psychological process where the subject assimilates an aspect, property, or attribute of the other and is transformed, wholly or partially, by the model the other provides.

Sigmund Freud explored the human mind more thoroughly than any other who became before him. His contributions to psychology are vast. Freud was one of the most influential people of the twentieth century and his enduring legacy has influenced not only psychology, but art, literature and even the way people bring up their children. Freud  later developed a more structured model of the mind containing the  id, ego and superego (what Freud called “the psychic apparatus”). These are not physical areas within the brain, but rather hypothetical areas of important mental functions. Freud assumed the id operated at an unconscious level according to the pleasure principle. 
The id comprises two kinds of biological instincts (or drives) which Freud called Eros and Thanatos.

Eros, or life instinct, helps the individual to survive; it directs life-sustaining activities such as respiration, eating and sex. The energy created by the life instincts is known as libido.

In contrast, Thanatos or death instinct, is viewed as a set of destructive forces present in all human beings. When this energy is directed outward onto others, it is expressed as aggression and violence. Freud believed that Eros is stronger than Thanatos, thus helping people to survive rather than self-destruct.

The ego develops from the id during infancy. The egos goal is to satisfy the demands of the id in a safe a socially acceptable way. In contrast to the id the ego follows the reality principle as it operates in both the conscious and unconscious mind.

The superego develops during early childhood (when the child identifies with the same sex parent) and is responsible for ensuring moral standards are followed. The superego operates on the morality principle and motivates us to behave in a socially responsible and acceptable manner.

The superego can make a person feel guilty if rules are not followed. When there is conflict between the goals of the id and superego the ego must act as a referee and mediate this conflict. The ego can deploy various defense mechanisms to prevent it from becoming overwhelmed by anxiety.   

Psycho-Sexual Theory

In the highly repressive “Victorian” society in which Freud lived and worked women, in particular, were forced to repress their sexual needs. In many cases the result was some form of neurotic illness.

Freud sought to understand the nature and variety of these illnesses by retracing the sexual history of his patients. This was not primarily an investigation of sexual experiences. Far more important were the patient’s wishes and desires, their experience of love, hate, shame, guilt and fear – and how they handled these powerful emotions.It was this that led to the most controversial part of Freud’s work – his theory of psycho-sexual development and of the Oedipus comple

Freud believed that children are born with a libido – a sexual (pleasure) urge. There are a number of stages of childhood, during which the child seeks pleasure from a different ‘object’.      

 To be psychologically healthy, we must successfully complete each stage. Mental abnormality can occur if a stage is not completed successfully – the person becomes ‘fixated’ in a particular stage. This particular theory shows how adult personality is determined by their childhood experiences. 

    Boundless. “Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality.” Boundless Psychology. Boundless, 21 Jan. 2015. Retrieved 23 Apr. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/psychology

Moral Development~Kholberg

 Kohlberg agreed with Piaget's  theory of moral development in principle but wanted to expand on his ideas. This resulted in the development of his well known stage theory of children's moral development.

According to Kohlberg, children early in their middle childhood stage of development will typically display “Preconventional” moral reasoning.  Children will acknowledge that it is considered immoral to steal from others; that you must earn or be given things and not simply take them. Children will tend to live in accordance with these rules but primarily for selfish reasons, as a way of avoiding punishment and obtaining praise for themselves. At this point in time, they will appreciate their ability to make different kinds of choices, and also the reality of consequences associated with those choices. They realize that morally good behaviors attract praise and positive regard from peers and adults, while morally bad choices bring about unpleasant consequences and negative regard. 

At the "Conventional" level we begin to understand the moral standards of valued adult role models. Authority is internalized but not questioned and reasoning is based on the norms of the group to which the person belongs.

At the "PostConventional" level Individual judgment is based on self-chosen principles, and moral reasoning is based on individual rights and justice 10–15% of adults, not before mid-30s.

McLeod, S. A. (2011). Kohlberg. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html

I have never had to make a moral decision that could possibly save someone's life but I have, had to make hard moral decisions. I have been raised in a religious family where I have been taught to always do the right thing no matter what. I haven't always done that though, I have struggled to make good choices,and I have suffered the consequences. But I also witness this from my little sister. I see her doing what she thinks is "right" and not understanding why something is wrong. Since she does not understand why things are right or wrong she does what she is told to do, in order to stay out of trouble.

Being able to understand the way children view morality will help me greatly when I become a teacher. It will be important to help my students understand why things are right or wrong. Also as I teach I will try to focus on the moral of the story and key things. I will also explain to them that not everyone has the same moral standards,and just because some people say something is "right" does not necessarily mean it is.

Moral Development~Piaget

Piaget's Moral Development Theory

According to Piaget’s theory, there are three broad stages of moral development. In the first, the child is still mastering motor and social skills and unconcerned with morality. In the second, the child exhibits unconditional respect for rules and submission to authority. In the last stage, the child recognizes that rules can be changed with group consensus; the intentions of an actor rather than just the consequences of the action should be considered in judging the morality of an act.  Piaget believed that there were two main levels to moral development during childhood. The first is called  heteronomous morality, and the second is called autonomous morality.
Heteronomous morality is the  moral understanding that, rules handed down by authority figures such as parents, teachers and government leaders are seen as absolute and unbreakable. Basically, children accept that authority figures have godlike powers, and are able to make rules that last forever, do not change, and must be followed. Children’s reasoning regarding why these rules should be followed is generally based squarely upon their appreciation of consequences associated with breaking the rules. As breaking the rules tends to lead to negative personal consequences, most children follow the rules as a way to avoid being punished. 

Cognitive Development~ Elkind

Dr. David Elkind is a child psychologist, educator, and author who has built on and furthered the works of, Jean Piaget. He has focused on the cognitive, perceptual, and social development of children and adolescents with an emphasis on what qualifies as healthy development. His research and writings have included the effects of stress and the importance of creative, spontaneous play for healthy development and academic learning. 
One of Elkind's most well-known contributions to society is his work on adolescent psychology in which he expands on Piaget's description of adolescent egocentrism.

 According to Piagetian theory, the abilities to separate oneself from one's own thoughts and analyze them, as well as understanding others' thoughts is developed only at young adolescence. Elkind describes how young adolescents, because they are undergoing major physiological changes, are preoccupied by themselves. The egocentrism of adolescents lies in their belief that others are as preoccupied with their appearance and behavior as they are. As a consequence, the adolescent anticipates other people's responses and thoughts about his or herself, and is, in a way, constantly creating or reacting to an imaginary audience.

According to Elkind, this probably plays a role in the self-consciousness so common in early adolescence, as well as other experiences in this period of life. Elkind also introduced the idea of the personal fable, in which the adolescent constructs a story about herself, a version of her life stressing the uniqueness of her feelings and experiences. Indeed, these ideas of personal uniqueness are also seen in a common conviction that the adolescent will not die. Elkind stressed how he found these concepts useful in understanding and treating troubled adolescents. Elkind believes the egocentrism of early adolescence usually lessens by the age of 15 or 16 as cognitive development proceeds.

Enright, R. D., Lapsley, D. K., & Shukla, D. G. (1979). Adolescent egocentrism in early and late                  adolescence. Adolescence.

Adolescent egocentrism and formal operations: Tests of a theoretical assumption.

      Lapsley, Daniel K.; Milstead, Matt; Quintana, Stephen M.; Flannery, Daniel; Buss, Raymond R.

      Developmental Psychology, Vol 22(6), Nov 1986, 800-807