1. Stages of Conventionalism
2. Harlow + Ainsworth's Experiments
3. Erikson's Development Chart
These stages are a very important part of the development process because it goes through stages as age progresses, though at a unique rate for most individuals. Depending on upbringing, some children and adolescents may go from pre-conventional to post-conventional sooner or later than expected. Understanding one's stage allows psychologists and individuals to teach them accordingly and allow them to think past the pre- and conventional thought process of making decisions only because of outside influence.
Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth change psychologists' way of thinking with their experimentation. Harlow allowed insight into our own infants' process through the use of chimpanzee children, and Mary Ainsworth tried out a similar method with volunteered mother and child subjects in order to understand the difference of nurture and comfort past the biological need to survive. The importance in this shows our puzzling nature and how the brain, while following a set of established rules or theories throughout its development, still makes conscious or subconscious choices that defy these and truly make us human.
Eric Erikson's developmental chart, from infancy to the end of our life, highlights stages and conflicts we must overcome in order to mature or to bring a sense of accomplishment to ourselves. Examples include the infancy dilemma of trust versus mistrust, and its need to establish family and strangers and roles between them. Failure to become comfortable with new experiences can lead to further problems with such mistrust down the road. The entire chart functions in this way with every stage of an individual's lifetime.
How Do I Apply These Things to My Life?
1. Children and adolescents have shifts between stages during different periods of their life. By the time a child has hit puberty, they may have passed the first two stages of pre-conventionalism, where they see things only in punishment and reward. During this time they usually know not to misbehave to avoid punishment, and to excel in order to receive reward. Failure to move past this in adolescence and adulthood, however, can cause problems because of their motivation. All decisions must not be made because of discipline and benefit, just as they cannot with conventionalism, where one must see the reactions of others and the opinion of society to guide them in decision-making. Both pre-conventional and conventional mindsets are appropriate during development, but must not bleed into adulthood or else they cause problems as a result. An adult must be able to think based on their own set of morals and knowing what is right for them. Acknowledging what stage a young individual is at is important in life to make sure that they continue to grow.
2. Harlow and Ainsworth both allowed us to understand that, just as in a child's bonding with its mother, our psychological reactions extend beyond the realm of biological necessity. The children and chimpanzees alike were more comfortable in the presence of their mother (for the chimps, their preferred cloth mother) and more willing to explore strange situations and people when they had their comfort and guidance. The chimpanzees got warmth, safety, and food from both their wire and their cloth mother, but the comfort and security of the soft cloth allowed them to establish a deeper level with their surrogate. Understanding this will help us realize that we must look at things, especially the growth of our children, to make sure that they are getting the subconscious comfort and love received while they are making their way through life.
3. Erikson's development chart is as follows, courtesy of the FLVS Aging section.
Infancy (birth to one year); Trust versus mistrust
Toddler (one to two years); Autonomy versus shame and doubt
Preschool (three to five years); Initiative versus guilt
Elementary school (six years to puberty); Industry versus inferiority
Adolescence (11 to 19 years); Identity versus role confusion
Young adulthood (20 to 40 years) Intimacy versus isolation
Middle adulthood (41 to 65 years) Generativity versus stagnation
Late adulthood (65 to end of life); Integrity versus despair
Why is knowing this chart, or having an idea of it's point, important? The message here is that we must overcome certain obstacles, or, if you will, meet certain goals, in order to have matured properly during that period. In adolescence, we must find a place in society and establish our own identity in order to consider ourselves fulfilled. In young adulthood, we must establish meaningful relationships with friends, family, and romantic relationships in order to consider ourselves healthy. We must establish a balance in such a thing, as isolating ourselves from society without regulation can lead to a stunted sense of connection and make it difficult to keep long-lasting relationships in a longterm way. Being aware of these goals, or obstacles, are important because psychology as a whole affects every day life, especially to those that are aware of it. Knowing your limits, your needs, and what you need to accomplish keep you from being "lost" and confused, or in an unhealthy state. Those overall who are conscious of their psychological needs and know how to spot the red flags do better than those who generally stumble into situations and cannot make sense of their own reactions. The same applies to these stages.