ASSIGNM

ENT
IN
GENERAL
PSYCHOL
OGY
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DEVELOPMENTAL

THEORIES
GROUP 1:
BSCS 1-1D
Loto, Ramzel Renz
Raada, Denzel
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Elopre, Jeffrey
Padaon, Elleony
Landerito, Vincent Gilliane
Gensaya, Carl Jerwin

Urie Bronfenbrenner
Biography:
Urie

his
of

Bronfenbrenner (1917 - 2005) was a Russian American

psychologist, known for developing the Ecological Systems
Theory. While Urie was born in Moscow, he spent most of
his life in the United States. His father worked as a clinical
pathologist at the New York State Institution for the mentally
retarded, which undoubtedly impacted his career
choice and philosophical beliefs. Urie graduated from
Haverstraw High School, and then went to Cornell for
undergraduate degree in psychology and music. He
went on to graduate school at Harvard for his Master
Arts. Later, he earned a PhD in developmental
psychology from the University of Michigan.
Bronfenbrenner also served in the US Army Medical
Corps. In 1948, he accepted a professorship in
Human Development, Family Studies, and Psychology
at Cornell University. Bronfenbrenner is also the cofounder of the popular Head Start program for
disadvantaged pre-school children.

Ecological System Theory:

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This theory looks at a childs development within the context of the system of relationships
that form his or her environment. Bronfenbrenners theory defines complex layers of
environment, each having an effect on a childs development. This theory has recently been
renamed bioecological systems theory to emphasize that a childs own biology is a
primary environment fueling her development. The interaction between factors in the childs
maturing biology, his immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape
fuels and steers his development. Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout
other layers. To study a childs development then, we must look not only at the child and her
immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.
The various terms in this graphic are links that lead to pages explaining their implications in
this theory.

Bronfenbrenners structure of environment:

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The microsystem this is the layer closest to the child and contains the structures with
which the child has direct contact. The microsystem encompasses the relationships and
interactions a child has with her immediate surroundings (Berk, 2000). Structures in the
microsystem include family, school, neighborhood, or childcare environments. At this level,
relationships have impact in two directions - both away from the child and toward the child.
For example, a childs parents may affect his beliefs and behavior; however, the child also
affects the behavior and beliefs of the parent. Bronfenbrenner calls these bi-directional
influences, and he shows how they occur among all levels of environment. The interaction of
structures within a layer and interactions of structures between layers is key to this theory.
At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest and have the greatest
impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still impact the inner
structures.
The mesosystem this layer provides the connection between the structures of the childs
microsystem (Berk, 2000). Examples: the connection between the childs teacher and his
parents, between his church and his neighborhood, etc.
The exosystem this layer defines the larger social system in which the child does not
function directly. The structures in this layer impact the childs development by interacting
with some structure in her microsystem (Berk,2000). Parent workplace schedules or
community-based family resources are examples. The child may not be directly involved at
this level, but he does feel the positive or negative force involved with the interaction with
his own system.
The macrosystem this layer may be considered the outermost layer in the childs
environment. While not being a specific framework, this layer is comprised of cultural
values, customs, and laws (Berk, 2000). The effects of larger principles defined by the
macrosystem have a cascading influence throughout the interactions of all other layers. For
example, if it is the belief of the culture that parents should be solely responsible for raising
their children, that culture is less likely to provide resources to help parents. This, in turn,
affects the structures in which the parents function. The parents ability or inability to carry
out that responsibility toward their child within the context of the childs microsystem is
likewise affected.
The chronosystem this system encompasses the dimension of time as it relates to a
childs environments. Elements within this system can be either external, such as the timing
of a parents death, or internal, such as the physiological changes that occur with the aging
of a child. As children get older, they may react differently to environmental changes and
may be more able to determine more how that change will influence them.

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Sources:
http://www.famouspsychologists.org/urie-bronfenbrenner/
https://explorable.com/ecological-systems-theory
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/urie-bronfenbrenner-biography-theory-quiz.html
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/sites/default/files/paquetteryanwebquest_20091110.pdf

Lev Semyonovich
Vygotsky
Biography:
Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (18961934) is best
known for his theories of cognitive development in
which he explored the importance of culture,
language development, and the use of cognitive
apprenticeships in the classroom. Although he was
a prominent researcher in the Soviet Union during
the cultural revolution, his writings were officially
banned when Joseph Stalin (18791953) came to
power and were overtaken in prominence by the
growing influence of Jean Piaget (18961980). It
was not until his works were translated from the
original Russian several decades after his death
that many European and American psychologists
took note of Vygotsky's writings and began to
incorporate his theories into their research and
teaching practices.
.

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Socio Cultural Cognitive Theory:

Vygotskys theory of cognitive
development centered on the ideas
that
social interaction and imaginative
play are
large contributors to the process of
cognitive
development in children. He believed
that the
social interactions that children engaged
in helped
them to both discover and create
meaning
from the things that they discover.
Specifically,
he believed that some of the most
important learning a child could experience
was in the social interactions they had with a
skilled tutor that is often an adult, such as a
parent or teacher. The child will observe the
behaviors of the tutor as well as follow the verbal
instructions the tutor provides. The child will then
emulate what they observe in their tutor. The
child tries to understand what they observe and
the instructions they receive by copying and
internalizing, while learning to apply them to their
own lives. Vygotsky called this collaborative or
cooperative dialogue. He called the teacher or tutor
in this role the more knowledgeable other. While this
role typically involves adults, as pointed out above, such as teachers, parents, or coaches, it
can also involve social interactions with other children. The important part of the role is that
it is fulfilled by someone from which the child can learn, a more knowledgeable other.

Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding

Vygotsky also proposed something called the zone of proximal development and the idea
of scaffolding in a childs development. The way this works is by recognizing that there are
some things a child cannot do independently, but they would be able to do with the
assistance of someone else. For example, a child may be developing the ability to make
different sounds, but cannot yet talk. With assistance, or scaffolding, from an adult who
begins showing them pictures and repeating the names of the pictures, the child will soon
begin to develop words and start communicating independently without help. The
scaffolding helped them to develop the skills necessary to communicate on their own.
Language Development
Vygotsky was particularly interested in the role of language in cognitive development. Given
that language is vital to human interactions, he believed that language was the most
important tool that human could utilize. Language, especially in the realm of collaborative
dialogue, is the way the more knowledgeable other communications important information
to a child. Vygotsky believed that there are three forms of language, as outlined below. .

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Social Speech This is what Vygotsky referred to as the external communication that
people use to talk with other people, and he believed that this form of language was typical
in children from the age of two.
Private Speech This is what Vykotsky referred to as the internal communication that a
person directs to themselves. It serves an intellectual function, and it is typical in children
from the age of three.
Silent Inner Speech Vygotsky believed that this is what happens when private speech
diminishes in its audibility until it become a self-regulating function. He believed this was
typical in children from the age of seven.
Vygotskys focus on language as a part of cognitive development was based on the idea that
at the beginning of a childs life, language and thought begin as separate systems within a
childs brain. He believed that these two systems would merge in the child at around the age
of three, and the two systems would become interdependent. As the two systems become
interdependent, a childs communication can be internalized to become private speech to
the self, and this internalization of language is an important component to a childs cognitive
development.
For Vygotsky, private speech was an important mile marker in a childs cognitive
development because its the moment in a childs development where thoughts become
connected with words, and a child begins exhibiting verbal thinking. Whereas social
interaction is an important part of cognitive development as a child learns from a more
knowledgeable other, private speech allows a child to begin the collaborative process of
learning with themselves.
Imaginative Play and Cognitive Development
This is the point where imaginative play comes into Vygotskys theory of cognitive
development. Adults may see children engaging in imaginative play, pretending to be
pirates or princesses, and think that its just a fun way that children entertain themselves.
What they may not realize, however, is the vital role that imaginative play serves in a childs
cognitive development. In fact, imaginative play involves a very complex mental process
that impacts the childs overall life and development.
Imaginative play helps children to develop meaning and make sense of the world they live
in. It also helps them to develop their thinking skills as well as their use of language. With
imaginative play, children often engage in pretend role-playing activities. This often involves
children creating a story as well the characters involved in the story. For example, a child
might role-play with another child by pretending theyre a superhero or superheroes in
pursuit of defeating a villain. This involves dialogues that they develop with the other
children. It also involves exercising problem solving skills as they work out the plot of their
story, what their characters are going to do and how they will defeat the villain in their story.
The dialogues they create help them to develop their language as they imitate things that
they have observed in the real world. Even when children engage in imaginative play by
themselves, they engage in dialogues with themselves that help them to develop language
and problem solving skills. Vygotsky believed that the external language that children hear
and imitate gets internalized during imaginative play.

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Sources:
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/vygotsky.htm
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development.html
http://www.education.com/reference/article/vygotsky-lev-semenovich-1896-1934/
https://www.udemy.com/blog/vygotskys-theory-of-cognitive-development/

John Bowlby

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Biography:

26t

John Bowlby was a notable British psychologist, psychoanalyst

and psychiatrist, well known for his works on child development
and the development of attachment theory. He strongly believed
that behavioral problems as well as mental health issues have
its deep roots in problematic early childhood. Born on
h
February, 1907 in London, he was raised by a nanny. He
belonged to an upper middle class family, so he did his schooling
from a boarding school as was very common for the boys of
his social status. He spent a particularly hard time at the
boarding school where he suffered from lack of parental
care and affection. It was this childhood suffering that led
him to develop the theories on child development.

Attachment Theory:
Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another
across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969). Attachment does not have to be
reciprocal. One person may have an attachment with an individual which is not shared.
Attachment is characterized by specific behaviors in children, such as seeking proximity with
the attachment figure when upset or threatened (Bowlby, 1969). Attachment behavior in
adults towards the child includes responding sensitively and appropriately to the childs
needs. Such behavior appears universal across cultures. Attachment theory provides an
explanation of how the parent-child relationship emerges and influences subsequent
development.
Attachment theory in psychology originates with the seminal work of John Bowlby (1958). In
the 1930s John Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in a Child Guidance Clinic in London, where
he treated many emotionally disturbed children. This experience led Bowlby to consider the
importance of the childs relationship with their mother in terms of their social, emotional
and cognitive development. Specifically, it shaped his belief about the link between early
infant separations with the mother and later maladjustment, and led Bowlby to formulate his
attachment theory.
John Bowlby, working alongside James Robertson (1952) observed that children experienced
intense distress when separated from their mothers. Even when such children were fed by
other caregivers this did not diminish the childs anxiety. These findings contradicted the
dominant behavioral theory of attachment (Dollard and Miller, 1950) which was shown to
underestimate the childs bond with their mother. The behavioral theory of attachment
stated that the child becomes attached to the mother because she fed the infant.
Bowlby (1958) proposed that attachment can be understood within an evolutionary context
in that the caregiver provides safety and security for the infant. Attachment is adaptive as it
enhances the infants chance of survival. This is illustrated in the work of Lorenz
(1935) and Harlow (1958). According to Bowlby infants have a universal need to seek close
proximity with their caregiver when under stress or threatened (Prior & Glaser, 2006).

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Most researchers believe that attachment develops through a series of stages.

Stages of Attachment
Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for the
first 18 months of life (this is known as a longitudinal study).
The children were all studied in their own home and a regular pattern was identified in the
development of attachment. The babies were visited monthly for approximately one year,
their interactions with their carers were observed, and carers were interviewed. Evidence
for the development of an attachment was that the baby showed separation anxiety after a
carer left.
They discovered that baby's attachments develop in the following sequence:
Up to 3 months of age - Indiscriminate attachments. The newborn is predisposed to
attach to any human. Most babies respond equally to any caregiver.

After 4 months - Preference for certain people. Infants they learn to distinguish primary
and secondary caregivers but accept care from anyone.
After 7 months - Special preference for a single attachment figure. The baby looks to
particular people for security, comfort and protection. It shows fear of strangers (stranger
fear) and unhappiness when separated from a special person (separation anxiety). Some
babies show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more frequently and intensely than
others, but nevertheless they are seen as evidence that the baby has formed an
attachment. This has usually developed by one year of age.

After 9 months - Multiple attachments. The baby becomes increasingly independent and
forms several attachments.
The results of the study indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who
responded accurately to the baby's signals, not the person they spent most time with.
Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness.
Many of the babies had several attachments by 10 months old, including attachments to
mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings and neighbors. The mother was the main
attachment figure for about half of the children at 18 months old and the father for most of
the others. The most important fact in forming attachments is not who feeds and changes
the child but who plays and communicates with him or her.
Psychologists have proposed two main theories that are believed to be important in forming
attachments.
Learning / behaviorist theory of attachment (e.g. Dollard & Miller, 1950) suggests that
attachment is a set of learned behaviors. The basis for the learning of attachments is the
provision of food. An infant will initially form an attachment to whoever feeds it.

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They learn to associate the feeder (usually the mother) with the comfort of being fed and
through the process of classical conditioning, come to find contact with the mother
comforting. They also find that certain behaviors (e.g. crying, smiling) bring desirable
responses from others (e.g. attention, comfort), and through the process of operant
conditioning learn to repeat these behaviors in order to get the things they want.

Evolutionary theory of attachment (e.g. Bowlby, Harlow, Lorenz) suggests that children
come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because
this will help them to survive. The infant produces innate social releaser behaviors such as
crying and smiling that stimulate innate caregiving responses from adults. The determinant
of attachment is not food but care and responsiveness.
Bowlby suggested that a child would initially form only one primary attachment (monotropy)
and that the attachment figure acted as a secure base for exploring the world. The
attachment relationship acts as a prototype for all future social relationships so disrupting it
can have severe consequences.
This theory also suggests that there is a critical period for developing an attachment (about
0 -5 years). If an attachment has not developed during this period then the child will suffer
from irreversible developmental consequences, such as reduced intelligence and increased
aggression.

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Source:
http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesal/p/john-bowlby.htm

Erik Erikson
Biography:
Erik Erikson has made a contribution to the field of psychology
with his developmental theory. He can be compared to Sigmund
Freud in that he claimed that humans develop in stages. Erikson
developed eight psychosocial stages in which humans develop
through throughout their entire life span.
Erik Homberger Erikson was born in 1902 near Frankfort,
Germany to Danish parents. Erik studied art and a variety
of languages during his school years, rather than science
courses such as biology and chemistry. He did not prefer
the atmosphere that formal schooling produced, so
instead of going to college he traveled around Europe,
keeping a diary of his experiences. After a year of doing
this, he returned to Germany and enrolled in art school.
After several years, Erikson began to teach art and other
subjects to children of Americans who had come to
Vienna for Freudian training. He was then admitted into
the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. In 1933 he came to
the U.S. and became Boston's first child analyst and
obtained a position at the Harvard Medical School. Later
on, he also held positions at institutions including Yale,
Berkeley, and the Menninger Foundation. Erikson then
returned to California to the Center for Advanced Study
in the Behavioral Sciences at Palo Alto and later the
Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco, where he was a clinician and psychiatric consultant.

Theory of Psychosocial Development:

Like Piaget, Erik Erikson (1902-1994) maintained that children develop in a predetermined
order. Instead of focusing on cognitive development, however, he was interested in how
children socialize and how this affects their sense of self. Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial
Development has eight distinct stage, each with two possible outcomes. According to the
theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and successful
interactions with others. 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.

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Trust Versus Mistrust. From ages birth to one year, children begin to learn the ability to
trust others based upon the consistency of their caregiver(s). If trust develops successfully,
the child gains confidence and security in the world around him and is able to feel secure
even when threatened. Unsuccessful completion of this stage can result in an inability to
trust, and therefore an sense of fear about the inconsistent world. It may result in anxiety,
heightened insecurities, and an over feeling of mistrust in the world around them.
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. Between the ages of one and three, children begin to
assert their independence, by walking away from their mother, picking which toy to play
with, and making choices about what they like to wear, to eat, etc. If children in this stage
are encouraged and supported in their increased independence, they become more
confident and secure in their own ability to survive in the world. If children are criticized,
overly controlled, or not given the opportunity to assert themselves, they begin to feel
inadequate in their ability to survive, and may then become overly dependent upon others,
lack self-esteem, and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their own abilities.
Initiative vs. Guilt. Around age three and continuing to age six, children assert themselves
more frequently. They begin to plan activities, make up games, and initiate activities with
others. If given this opportunity, children develop a sense of initiative, and feel secure in
their ability to lead others and make decisions. Conversely, if this tendency is squelched,
either through criticism or control, children develop a sense of guilt. They may feel like a
nuisance to others and will therefore remain followers, lacking in self-initiative.
Industry vs. Inferiority. From age six years to puberty, children begin to develop a sense
of pride in their accomplishments. They initiate projects, see them through to completion,
and feel good about what they have achieved. During this time, teachers play an increased
role in the childs development. If children are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative,
they begin to feel industrious and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals. If this
initiative is not encouraged, if it is restricted by parents or teacher, then the child begins to
feel inferior, doubting his own abilities and therefore may not reach his potential.
Identity vs. Role Confusion. During adolescence, the transition from childhood to
adulthood is most important. Children are becoming more independent, and begin to look at
the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. During this period, they
explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon the outcome of their
explorations. This sense of who they are can be hindered, which results in a sense of
confusion ("I dont know what I want to be when I grow up") about themselves and their role
in the world.
Intimacy vs. Isolation. Occurring in Young adulthood, we begin to share ourselves more
intimately with others. We explore relationships leading toward longer term commitments
with someone other than a family member. Successful completion can lead to comfortable
relationships and a sense of commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding
intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and
sometimes depression.
Generativity vs. Stagnation. During middle adulthood, we establish our careers, settle
down within a relationship, begin our own families and develop a sense of being a part of the
bigger picture. We give back to society through raising our children, being productive at

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work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations. By failing to

achieve these objectives, we become stagnant and feel unproductive.
Ego Integrity vs. Despair. As we grow older and become senior citizens, we tend to slow
down our productivity, and explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that we
contemplate our accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as
leading a successful life. If we see our lives as unproductive, feel guilt about our pasts, or
feel that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop
despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness.

Source:

http://allpsych.com/psychology101/social_development.html

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Roger Gould
Biography:
Roger Gould, MD is one of the world's leading authorities on
emotional eating and adult development. A board-certified
psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, author and former head of
Community Psychiatry and Outpatient Psychiatry at UCLA, Dr.
Gould has pioneered the use of online therapy sessions focusing
on weight loss and stress management in an effort to make the
benefits of therapy accessible and affordable to anyone who
needs it. He was acknowledged by the Smithsonian institute as a
pioneer in the field. His work has been featured on national
television (ABC, CBS and FOX) and covered in Time Magazine,
The New York Times, Bariatric Times, Prevention, Psychology
Today, Good Housekeeping, MedHelp and MSN Health. He is the
author of two books Transformations and Shrink Yourself.

Theory of Transformation:

He proposed a stage theory of transformations that start in the adolescent years and
continue until mid-life. In his view, children trust completely in their parents and believe that
their parents will always protect and nurture them. When reaching their mid-teens (around
1622 years of age) they start to realize that this is a false assumption, and that they are
required to make their own decisions, and to develop self-confidence: They have to leave
their parents world.
From age 22 to 28, young people have learned to take control of many areas of their life. But
they are still rather naive, and cling to the false assumption that if only they do things as
their parents did, and do so with willpower and perseverance, they will achieve all their
goals. They are still convinced that their parents will bail them out if something does go
wrong. During this period they have to confront reality and learn that life is not always just,
that rationality will not always succeed, and that nobody will (necessarily) do for them, what
they cannot do themselves. In the end, they will arrive at the insight that they are nobodys
baby now.
Once young adults have learned that, there is another false assumption they have to
confront. Between the age of 28 and 34, they have to get rid of the idea that life is simple
and controllable, and that there are no contradictory forces inside them. Up to then, they
might have seen the world as black and white, and they might have been convinced that
they know who they are, and that they have become what they are by their own choice. Now
they begin to realize that things are not that simple and that there are sometimes
contradictions between emotions and rationality. They learn to turn their attention to their
deeper feelings and more complicated selves. That is why Gould called this period opening
up to whats inside.
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While entering the mid-life decade, between 34 and 45 years, a new awareness develops.
Up to then, most people have been healthy and most of their friends and relatives were still
around. So, though everybody knows that human beings eventually die, the reality of death
has not entered their lives until now. For that reason, people hold implicitly to the wrong
assumption that there is not really death or evil in this world. Not only do they have to come
to grips with their own and others mortality, they also become aware that there is betrayal,
manipulation and evil in the world and that they themselves often, willingly or not,
conspire
in creating evil. For instance, couples can hold unconscious ideas about each others
character and intentions and thus build up a system of misunderstandings and wrong
interpretations; blaming the other for what in reality is a childhood fear one does not dare to
confront.
Beyond mid-life, finally, there are no more false assumptions to be tackled. Now is the time
of making meaning for ones life, to become reconciled with the fact that one has made
mistakes, and to adjust to and accept life as it has turned out. This includes coming to terms
with losses, with the inability to do things as well as before, and with the approach of death,
and to value what one still has. The motto for this last period of life is: Thats the way it is,
world. Here I am! This does not mean that there are no more problems and difficulties
beyond mid-life, but that, after having achieved contact with ones inner core, one is now
prepared to face up to lifes challenges without confronting ones own demons at the same
time!
Though Gould concentrates heavily on the individual and not so much on society, as Erikson
did, there are some similarities in their descriptions of the life course; most of all in the
description of the last period in life where healthy development includes acceptance of ones
life choices. However, note that the age ranges of their stages, and sometimes the
developmental issues described, do differ.

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Source:
http://www.palgrave.com/PDFs/9780230296404.pdf

Sigmund Freud
Biography:
Czech

Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, which is now known as the

Republic, on May 6, 1856. Freud developed psychoanalysis, a
method through which an analyst unpacks unconscious conflicts
based on the free associations, dreams and fantasies of the patient.
His theories on child sexuality, libido and the ego, among other
topics, were some of the most influential academic concepts of
the 20th century.

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Psychosexual Stages of Development:

Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months). During the oral stage, the child if focused on oral
pleasures (sucking). Too much or too little gratification can result in an Oral Fixation or Oral
Personality which is evidenced by a preoccupation with oral activities. This type of
personality may have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or
her nails. Personality wise, these individuals may become overly dependent upon others,
gullible, and perpetual followers. On the other hand, they may also fight these urges and
develop pessimism and aggression toward others.
Anal Stage (18 months to three years). The childs focus of pleasure in this stage is on
eliminating and retaining feces. Through societys pressure, mainly via parents, the child has
to learn to control anal stimulation. In terms of personality, after effects of an anal fixation
during this stage can result in an obsession with cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal
retentive). On the opposite end of the spectrum, they may become messy and disorganized
(anal expulsive).
Phallic Stage (ages three to six). The pleasure zone switches to the genitals. Freud
believed that during this stage boy develop unconscious sexual desires for their mother.
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Because of this, he becomes rivals with his father and sees him as competition for the
mothers affection. During this time, boys also develop a fear that their father will punish
them for these feelings, such as by castrating them. This group of feelings is known as
Oedipus Complex ( after the Greek Mythology figure who accidentally killed his father and
married his mother)..
Latency Stage (age six to puberty). Its during this stage that sexual urges remain
repressed and children interact and play mostly with same sex peers.
Genital Stage (puberty on). The final stage of psychosexual development begins at the
start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. Through the lessons learned
during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers,
with the primary focus of pleasure is the genitals.

Source:
http://allpsych.com/psychology101/sexual_development.html

Jean Piaget
Biography:
Biologist and psychologist Jean Piaget was born on August 9, 1896, in Neuchtel,
Switzerland. He was his parents first child. Piagets mother, Rebecca Jackson, attributed his
intense early interest in the sciences to his own neurotic tendencies. In 1918, Piaget spent a
semester studying psychology under Carl Jung and Paul Eugen Bleuler at the University of
Zrich, where Piaget developed a deeper interest in psychoanalysis. Piaget called his
collective theories on child development "Piagets Genetic Epistemology." Jean Piaget died of
unknown causes on September 16, 1980, in Geneva, Switzerland. He was 84 years old. His
body rests at the Cimetire des Plainpalais.

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Cognitive Development:

Piaget (1973) developed a systematic study of cognitive development in children. His work
included a theory on cognitive development, detailed observational studies of cognition in
children, and a series of tests to reveal differing cognitive abilities.Through his work, Piaget
(1973) showed that children think in considerably different ways than adults do. This did not
mean that children thought at a less intelligent degree, or at a slower pace, they just
thought differently when compared to adults. Piagets work showed that children are born
with a very basic genetically inherited mental structure that evolves and is the foundation
for all subsequent learning and knowledge. He saw cognitive development as a progressive
reorganization of mental processes resulting from maturation and experience. Piaget (1973)
believed children will construct an understanding of the world around them, and will then
experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their
environment.
To explain his theory, Piaget used the concept of stages to describe development as a
sequence of the four following stages:

Sensory-Motor Stage

Preoperational stage

Stage of Concrete Operations

Page | 21

Stage of Formal Operations

Singer and Revenson (1997) explain that these stages unfold over time, and all children will
pass through them all in order to achieve an adult level of intellectual functioning. The later
stages evolve from and are built on earlier ones. They point out that the sequence of stages
is fixed and unchangeable and children cannot skip a stage. They all proceed through the
stages in the same order, even though they may progress through them at different rates (p.
18).At each stage, the child will acquire more complex motor skills and cognitive abilities.
Although different behaviours characterize different stages, the transition between stages is
gradual, and a child moves between stages so subtly that he may not be aware of new
perspectives gained. However, at each stage there are definite accompanying
developmental changes in the areas of play, language, morality, space, time, and number
(Singer & Revenson, 1997).

Main Elements of Piagets Cognitive Development Theory

There are three elements to Piagets theory:

Schema

The four processes that enable the transition from one stage to another

The four stages of cognitive development

Schema
A schema is the basic building block of intelligent behaviour, a form of organizing
information that a person uses to interpret the things he or she sees, hears, smell, and
touches (Singer & Revenson, 1997). A schema can be thought of as a unit of knowledge,
relating to one aspect of the world including objects, actions, and abstract (theoretical)
concepts. We use schemas to understand and to respond to situations. We store them and
apply them when needed.
A child is considered to be in a state of equilibrium or in a state of cognitive balance when
she or he is capable of explaining what he or she is perceiving (schema) at the time.
The dual processes of assimilation and accommodation (described below) are the building
blocks to forming a schema.

The Four Processes:

The four processes that enable the transition from one cognitive stage to another are
assimilation, accommodation, disequilibrium, and equilibration.Educators generally view
these processes as an explanation of cognitive learning processes, not just those that lead to
major shifts in cognitive ability (Piaget, 1973, p. 36).

Page | 22

Together, assimilation and accommodation are processes of adjustment to changes in the

environment and are defined as adaptation, the continuous process of using the
environment to learn. And, according to Piaget, adaptation is the most important principle of
human functioning.

The Four Stages of Cognitive Development:

Piaget identified the following four stages in development of cognition:

Sensory-Motor (Ages Birth Through Two)

Preoperational (Ages Two Through Seven)

Concrete Operations (Ages Seven Through Eleven)

Formal Operations (Ages Eleven Through Sixteen)

Piaget (1973) describes the four stages as follows:

Sensory-Motor Stage: Ages Birth through Two

The Sensory-Motor Stage extends from birth until approximately the age of two. During this
stage senses, reflexes, and motor abilities develop rapidly. Intelligence is first displayed
when reflex movements become more refined, such as when an infant will reach for a
preferred toy, and will suck on a nipple and not a pacifier when hungry. Understanding of the
world involves only perceptions and objects with which the infant has directly experienced.
Actions discovered first by accident are repeated and applied to new situations to obtain the
same results.
Toward the end of the sensory-motor stage, the ability to form primitive mental images
develops as the infant acquires object permanence. Until then, an infant doesnt realize that
objects can exist apart from him or herself.
Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into six sub-stages

Page | 23

Preoperational Stage: Ages Two through Seven

The child in the preoperational stage is not yet able to think logically. With the acquisition of
language, the child is able to represent the world through mental images and symbols, but
in this stage, these symbols depend on his own perception and his intuition. The
preoperational child is completely egocentric. Although he is beginning to take greater
interest in objects and people around him, he sees them from only one point of view: his
own. This stage may be the age of curiosity; preschoolers are always questioning and
investigating new things. Since they know the world only from their limited experience, they
make up explanations when they dont have one.It is during the preoperational stage that
childrens thought differs the most from adult thoughts.
Stage of Concrete Operations: Ages Seven through Eleven
The stage of concrete operations begins when the
child is able to perform mental operations. Piaget
defines a mental operation as an interiorized
action, an action performed in the mind. Mental
operations permit the child to think about physical
actions that he or she previously performed. The
preoperational child could count from one to ten,
but the actual understanding that one stands for
one object only appears in the stage of concrete
operations.
The primary characteristic of concrete operational
thought is its reversibility. The child can mentally
reverse the direction of his or her thought. A child
knows that something that he can add, he can also
subtract. He or she can trace her route to school
and then follow it back home, or picture where she
has left a toy without a haphazard exploration of
the entire house. A child at this stage is able to do
simple mathematical operations. Operations are labeled concrete because they apply only
to those objects that are physically present.
Conservation is the major acquisition of the concrete operational stage. Piaget defines
conservation as the ability to see that objects or quantities remain the same despite a
change in their physical appearance. Children learn to conserve such quantities as number,
substance (mass), area, weight, and volume; though they may not achieve all concepts at
the same time.

Stage of Formal Operations: Ages Eleven through Sixteen

Page | 24

The child in the concrete operational stage deals with

the present, the here and now; the child who can use
formal operational thought can think about the future,
the abstract, the hypothetical.
Piagets final stage coincides with the beginning of
adolescence, and marks the start of abstract thought
and deductive reasoning. Thought is more flexible,
rational, and systematic. The individual can now
conceive all the possible ways they can solve a
problem, and can approach a problem from several
points of view.
The adolescent can think about thoughts and
operate on operations, not just concrete objects. He
or she can think about such abstract concepts as
space and time. The adolescent develops an inner
value system and a sense of moral judgment. He or she now has the necessary mental
tools for living his life.

Practical application
Parents can use Piaget's theory when deciding how to determine what to buy in order to
support their child's growth. Teachers can also use Piaget's theory, for instance, when
discussing whether the syllabus subjects are suitable for the level of students or not. For
example, recent studies have shown that children in the same grade and of the same age
perform differentially on tasks measuring basic addition and subtraction fluency. While
children in the preoperational and concrete operational levels of cognitive development
perform combined arithmetic operations (such as addition and subtraction) with similar
accuracy, children in the concrete operational level of cognitive development have been
able to perform both addition problems and subtraction problems with overall greater
fluency.

Page | 25

Source:
http://www.biography.com/people/jean-piaget-9439915#psychological-studies
http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/cogdev.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaget's_theory_of_cognitive_development#Practical_application
s

Robert Havighurst
Biography:
Robert James Havighurst (June 5, 1900 in De Pere, Wisconsin
January 31, 1991 in Richmond, Indiana) was a professor, physicist,
educator, and aging expert. Both his father, Freeman Alfred
Havighurst, and mother, Winifred Weter Havighurst, had been
educators at Lawrence University. Havighurst worked and
published well into his 80s. According to his family, Havighurst
died
of Alzheimer's disease at the age of ninety. He attended public
schools in Wisconsin and Illinois. He obtained many degrees
and
education achievements: 1918-21 B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan
University, 1922 M.A. Ohio State University, 1924 Ph.D., Chemistry
Ohio State University, He worked in the field of aging. Again, in the
same year he was interested in international and comparative
aspects of education. He wrote several books and published many
papers. His most famous book called "Human Development and
Education". He was inducted in the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall
of Fame.

Page | 26

Developmental Task Theory:

Robert Havighurst emphasized that learning is basic and that it continues throughout life
span. Growth and Development occurs in six stages. Havighurst's educational research did
much to advance education in the United States. Educational theory before Havighurst was
underdeveloped. Children learned by rote and little concern was given to how children
developed. From 1948 to 1953 he developed his highly influential theory of human
development and education. The crown jewel of his research was on developmental task.
Havighurst tried to define the developmental stages on many levels.
Havighurst identified six major stages in human life covering birth to old age:

Page | 27

Source:
http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/nursepractice/ch/ch6a.html
http://www.poemhunter.com/robert-havighurst/biography/

Page | 28

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Biography:
Elisabeth Kbler-Ross, M.D. (July 8, 1926 August 24, 2004)
was a Swiss-born psychiatrist, a pioneer in Near-death
studies and the author of the groundbreaking book On
Death and Dying(1969), where she first discussed what is
now known as the Kbler-Ross model. In this work she
proposed the now famous Five Stages of Grief as a pattern
of adjustment. These five stages of grief are denial, anger,
bargaining, depression, and acceptance. She died on August
24, 2004, of natural causes, surrounded by friends and
family. Kbler-Ross was survived by her two children and two
grandchildren. In 2007, she was inducted into the National
Womens Hall of Fame for her work. Kbler-Ross helped start
the public discussion on death and dying and campaigned
vigorously for better treatment and care for the terminally
ill.

The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief:

The stages of mourning and grief are universal and are experienced by people from all walks
of life. Mourning occurs in response to an individuals own terminal illness, the loss of a close
relationship, or to the death of a valued being, human or animal. There are five stages of
normal grief that were first proposed by Elisabeth Kbler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death
and Dying.

Page | 29

1. Denial and Isolation

The first reaction to learning of terminal illness or death of a cherished loved one is to deny
the reality of the situation. It is a normal reaction to rationalize overwhelming emotions. It is
a defense mechanism that buffers the immediate shock. We block out the words and hide
from the facts. This is a temporary response that carries us through the first wave of pain.

2. Anger
As the masking effects of denial and isolation begin to wear, reality and its pain re-emerge.
We are not ready. The intense emotion is deflected from our vulnerable core, redirected and
expressed instead as anger. The anger may be aimed at inanimate objects, complete
strangers, friends or family. Anger may be directed at our dying or deceased loved one.
Rationally, we know the person is not to be blamed. Emotionally, however, we may resent
the person for causing us pain or for leaving us. We feel guilty for being angry, and this
makes us more angry.Remember, grieving is a personal process that has no time limit, nor
one right way to do it.The doctor who diagnosed the illness and was unable to cure the
disease might become a convenient target. Health professionals deal with death and dying
every day. That does not make them immune to the suffering of their patients or to those
who grieve for them.Do not hesitate to ask your doctor to give you extra time or to explain
just once more the details of your loved ones illness. Arrange a special appointment or ask
that he telephone you at the end of his day. Ask for clear answers to your questions
regarding medical diagnosis and treatment. Understand the options available to you. Take
your time.

Page | 30

3. Bargaining
The normal reaction to feelings of helplessness and vulnerability is often a need to regain
control
If only we had sought medical attention sooner
If only we got a second opinion from another doctor
If only we had tried to be a better person toward them
Secretly, we may make a deal with God or our higher power in an attempt to postpone the
inevitable. This is a weaker line of defense to protect us from the painful reality.

4. Depression
Two types of depression are associated with mourning. The first one is a reaction to practical
implications relating to the loss. Sadness and regret predominate this type of depression. We
worry about the costs and burial. We worry that, in our grief, we have spent less time with
others that depend on us. This phase may be eased by simple clarification and reassurance.
We may need a bit of helpful cooperation and a few kind words. The second type of
depression is more subtle and, in a sense, perhaps more private. It is our quiet preparation
to separate and to bid our loved one farewell. Sometimes all we really need is a hug.

5. Acceptance
Reaching this stage of mourning is a gift not afforded to everyone. Death may be sudden
and unexpected or we may never see beyond our anger or denial. It is not necessarily a
mark of bravery to resist the inevitable and to deny ourselves the opportunity to make our
peace. This phase is marked by withdrawal and calm. This is not a period of happiness and
must be distinguished from depression.Loved ones that are terminally ill or aging appear to
go through a final period of withdrawal. This is by no means a suggestion that they are
aware of their own impending death or such, only that physical decline may be sufficient to
produce a similar response. Their behavior implies that it is natural to reach a stage at which
social interaction is limited. The dignity and grace shown by our dying loved ones may well
be their last gift to us.Coping with loss is a ultimately a deeply personal and singular
experience nobody can help you go through it more easily or understand all the emotions
that youre going through. But others can be there for you and help comfort you through this
process. The best thing you can do is to allow yourself to feel the grief as it comes over you.
Resisting it only will prolong the natural process of healing.

Page | 31

Source:
http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/000617
http://www.biography.com/people/elisabeth-kubler-ross-262762#death-and-legacy

Carol Gilligan

Page | 32

Biography:
Carol Gilligan was born on November 28, 1936, in New York City.
She has received her doctorate degree in social psychology from
Harvard University in 1964m and began teaching at Harvard in
1967. Then in 1970 she became a research assistant for the
great theorist of moral development, Lawrence
Kohlberg. Eventually Gilligan became independent and began to
criticize some of Kohlberg' s work. Her opinions were presented in
her famous book, " In a different Voice: Psychological Theory and
Women ' s Development " which was published in 1982. She felt
that Kohlberg only studied " privileged, white men and boys. "
Gilligan said that this caused a biased opinion against women.
She felt that , in Kohlberg ' s stage theory of moral development,
the male view of individual rights and rules was considered a
higher stage than women's point of view of development in terms
of its caring effect on human relationships. " Gilligan ' s goal is
was to prove that women are not " moral midgets " , she was
going against many psychological opinions. Another famous
theorist, Freud thought women ' s moral sense was stunted
because they stayed attached to their mothers. Another great
theorist , Erik Erickson , thought the tasks of development were
separation from mother and the family , If women did not
succeed in this scale, then they were obviously lacking. Therefore
Gilligan ' s goal was a good cause.

Stages of Moral Development:

Her theory is divided into three stages of moral development beginning from " selfish , to
social or conventional morality , and finally to post conventional or principled morality . "
Women must learn to deal to their own interests and to the interests of others . She thinks
that women hesitate to judge because they see the complexities of relationships.

Pre Conventional
-Person only cares for themselves in order to ensure survival
-This is how everyone is as children
In this transitional phase, the person 's attitude is considered selfish, and the person sees
the connection between themselves and others.

Conventional
-Responsibility
-More care shown for other people.
-Gilligan says this is shown in the role of Mother & Wife
-Situation sometimes carries on to ignoring needs of self.
Page | 33

In this transitional phase, tensions between responsibility of caring for others and caring for
self are faced.

Post Conventional
-Aceeptance of the principle of care for self and others is shown.
-Some people never reach this level.

Source:
http://humangrowth.tripod.com/id2.htm

Lawrence Kohlberg
Page | 34

Biography:
Lawrence
parents
was
in

Kohlberg was born on October 25, 1927, in Bronxville, NY. His

did not have a good relationship and divorced when Kohlberg
his early teens. The young man put a lot of work into his
studies and enrolled in the Phillips Academy in Andover,
Massachusetts, for his high school education.At the end of
WWII, Kohlberg joined the Merchant Marines. As part of his
duties, he helped Jewish refugees escape from Romania
and into Palestine. This way, the refugees could avoid persecution.
These activities were not actually approved and Kohlberg
ended up spending time in an internment camp in Cyprus
when British forces captured him. Kohlberg eventually
escaped from the internment camp and found his way back to the
United States.He suffered depression throughout the later
years of his life. It is believed this stemmed from
treatment related to a parasitic infection suffered in
1971.
On January 19, 1987, Kohlberg literally walked into the
freezing Boston Harbor to commit suicide by drowning. His
body was recovered not long after and colleagues were
shocked at what had occurred.

Theory of Moral Development:

Pre-Conventional Morality
Stage
1

Obedience
Orientation

or

Punishment

Stage
2

Self-Interest Orientation

This is the stage that all

young children start at (and a
few adults remain in). Rules
are seen as being fixed and
absolute. Obeying the rules is
important because it means
avoiding punishment.
As children grow older, they
begin to see that other people
have their own goals and
preferences and that often
there is room for negotiation.
Decisions are made based on

Page | 35

the principle of "What's in it

for me?" For example, an
older child might reason: "If I
do what mom or dad wants
me to do, they will reward
me. Therefore I will do it."
Conventional Morality
Stage
3

Social Conformity Orientation

By
adolescence,
most
individuals have developed to
this stage. There is a sense of
what "good boys" and "nice
girls" do and the emphasis is
on
living
up
to
social
expectations
and
norms
because of how they impact
day-to-day relationships.

Stage
4

Law and Order Orientation

By the time individuals reach

adulthood,
they
usually
consider society as a whole
when making judgments. The
focus is on maintaining law
and order by following the
rules, doing one's duty and
respecting authority.

Post-Conventional Morality
Stage
5

Social Contract Orientation

At
this
stage,
people
understand that there are
differing opinions out there on
what is right and wrong and
that laws are really just a
social contract based on
majority
decision
and
inevitable
compromise.
People
at
this
stage
sometimes disobey rules if
they
find
them
to
be
inconsistent
with
their
personal values and will also
argue for certain laws to be
changed if they are no longer
"working".
Our
modern
democracies are based on the
reasoning of Stage 5.

Stage
6

Universal Ethics Orientation

Few people operate at this

stage all the time. It is based
on abstract reasoning and the
Page | 36

ability to put oneself in other

people's shoes. At this stage,
people have a principled
conscience and will follow
universal ethical principles
regardless of what the official
laws and rules are.

Kohlberg believed that there are three levels of moral development. Each level has two
stages.
Level 1: Pre-conventional
Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation--During stage one the individual
makes decisions based on the likelihood of a reward or punishment. Example: A child cleans
her room at her mother's request to avoid being spanked.
Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation--During this stage of development, the individual
begins to make decisions based on perceived fairness. The individual does what he/she
believes to be right. Example: A child distributes candy equally as a reward to everyone,
even though some of her peers did not work as hard as others to earn the candy.
Level 2: Conventional
Stage 3: "Good boy/girl" Orientation--During stage three the individual makes decisions
and engages in behavior to please others. The individual seeks approval of others. Example:
An adolescent cleans the house without being asked in order to please his parents.
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation--This stage of development is characterized by a
respect for rules and authority. Social order is maintained. Example: An adolescent obeys the
speed limit because the law dictates that she has to.
Level 3: Post-conventional
Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation--During this stage, "right" behavior is defined by
the individual. The general rights and standards of society are taken into account, but may
not be followed. Example: A husband's wife is dying of cancer. A cancer drug would prolong
her life, but the couple does not have enough money to buy the drug. The husband is aware
that stealing the drug is against the law, but does so anyway to prolong the life of his wife.
Stage 6: Universal Principle Orientation--During this stage, the individual makes
decisions based upon ethical principles. The individual has a respect for justice and human
rights. Example: An advocate of human rights rallies support for a bill in a third world
country that would provide medical care to everyone.

Page | 37

Source:
http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/kohlberg.html

Morgan Scott Peck

Biography:

Morgan Scott Peck, known as "Scotty," was born on

May 22, 1936, in New York City, the son of Elizabeth (ne
Saville) and David Warner Peck, an attorney and judge.
Peck's father was from a Jewish family, although he hid
his heritage passing as a WASP. Peck did not discover this
until age 23. Peck was sent by his parents to the
prestigious boarding school Phillips Exeter Academy in
Exeter, New Hampshire, when he was 13. In his
book, The Road Less Traveled, Peck told the story of his
time at Exeter, admitting that it had been a most
miserable time. Finally, at age 15, during the spring
holiday of his third year, he came home and refused to
return to the school. His parents sought psychiatric help
for him and he was (much to his amusement in later life) diagnosed with depression and
recommended for a month's stay in a psychiatric hospital (unless he chose to return to
school).Following his hospital stay, where he was able to experience psychotherapy for the
first time, Peck attended a smallQuaker school in Greenwich Village

The Four Stages of Spiritual Development:

Page | 38

Peck postulates that there are four stages of human spiritual development:

Stage I is chaotic, disordered, and reckless. Very young children are in Stage I. They
tend to defy and disobey, and are unwilling to accept a "will greater than their own."
They are extremely egoistic and lack empathy for others. Many criminals are people who
have never grown out of Stage I.

Stage II is the stage at which a person has blind faith in authority figures and sees
the world as divided simply into good and evil, right and wrong, us and them. Once
children learn to obey their parents and other authority figures, often out of fear or
shame, they reach Stage II. Many so-called religious people are essentially Stage II
people, in the sense that they have blind faith in God, and do not question His existence.
With blind faith come humility and a willingness to obey and serve. The majority of good,
law-abiding citizens never move out of Stage II.

Stage III is the stage of scientific skepticism and questioning. A Stage III person does
not accept things on faith but only accepts them if "convinced" logically. Many people
working in scientific and technological research are in Stage III. They often reject the
existence of spiritual or supernatural forces since these are difficult to measure or prove
scientifically. Those who do retain their spiritual beliefs, move away from the simple,
official doctrines of fundamentalism.
Page | 39

Stage IV is the stage where an individual starts enjoying the mystery and beauty
of nature and existence. While retaining skepticism, such people perceive grand patterns
in nature and develop a deeper understanding of good and evil, forgiveness and mercy,
compassion and love. Such religiousness and spirituality differ significantly from that of a
Stage II person, in the sense that it does not involve accepting things through blind faith
or out of fear, but because of "genuine" belief, and does not judge people harshly or seek
to inflict punishment on them for their transgressions. This is the stage of loving others
as oneself, losing one's attachment to one's ego, and forgiving one's enemies. Stage IV
people are labeled as Mystics.

Source:
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/M._Scott_Peck

James Fowler
Biography:
Page | 40

James W. Fowler is a graduate of Duke University and Drew

Theological Seminary and earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University
in Religion and Society in 1971, with a focus in ethics and
sociology of religion. He pursued post-doctoral studies at the
Center for Moral Development at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education (1971-72). He taught at Harvard Divinity School
(1969-75) and at Boston College (1975-76). In 1977 he joined the
faculty of Emory's Candler School of Theology. Emory named him
the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Theology and Human
Development in 1987. His pioneering research and the
resulting theory of faith development have earned him
international recognition. His best-known book, Stages of Faith: The
Psychology of Development and the Quest for Meaning, is in its 38th
printing, and has been translated into German, Korean, and
Portuguese editions.

Page | 41

Stages of Faith Development:

Stage

Description

Stage
1

IntuitiveProjective

This is the stage of

preschool children in
which fantasy and reality
often get mixed
together. However,
during this stage, our
most basic ideas about
God are usually picked
up from our parents
and/or society.

Stage
2

Mythic-Literal

When children become

school-age, they start
understanding the world
in more logical ways.
They generally accept
the stories told to them
by their faith community
but tend to understand
them in very literal
ways. [A few people
remain in this stage
through adulthood.]

Stage

Synthetic-

Most people move on to

Simplified version by M. Scott Peck

I. ChaoticAntisocial

People stuck at this stage

are usually self-centered
and often find themselves
in trouble due to their
unprincipled living. If they
do end up converting to
the next stage, it often
occurs in a very dramatic
way.

II. Formal-

At this stage people rely

Page | 42

Conventional

this stage as teenagers.

At this point, their life
has grown to include
several different social
circles and there is a
need to pull it all
together. When this
happens, a person
usually adopts some sort
of all-encompassing
belief system. However,
at this stage, people
tend to have a hard time
seeing outside their box
and don't recognize that
they are "inside" a belief
system. At this stage,
authority is usually
placed in individuals or
groups that represent
one's beliefs. [This is the
stage in which many
people remain.]

Institutional

on some sort of institution

(such as a church) to give
them stability. They
become attached to the
forms of their religion and
get extremely upset when
these are called into
question.

Stage
4

IndividuativeReflective

This is the tough stage,

often begun in young
adulthood, when people
start seeing outside the
box and realizing that
there are other "boxes".
They begin to critically
examine their beliefs on
their own and often
become disillusioned
with their former faith.
Ironically, the Stage 3
people usually think that
Stage 4 people have
become "backsliders"
when in reality they
have actually moved
forward.

III. SkepticIndividual

Those who break out of

the previous stage usually
do so when they start
seriously questioning
things on their own. A lot
of the time, this stage
ends up being very nonreligious and some people
stay in it permanently

Stage
5

Conjunctive
Faith

It is rare for people to

reach this stage before
mid-life. This is the point
when people begin to
realize the limits of logic
and start to accept the
paradoxes in life. They
begin to see life as a
mystery and often return
to sacred stories and

IV. MysticalCommunal

People who reach this

stage start to realize that
there is truth to be found
in both the previous two
stages and that life can be
paradoxical and full of
mystery. Emphasis is
placed more on
community than on
individual concerns.

Page | 43

symbols but this time

without being stuck in a
theological box.

Stage
6

Universalizing
Faith

Few people reach this

stage. Those who do live
their lives to the full in
service of others without
any real worries or
doubts.

Source:
https://www.andrews.edu/sed/gpc/faculty-research/grajales-research/supervision-of-spiri.pdf

John Westerhoff

Page | 44

Biography:
John Henry Westerhoff III was born June 28, 1933, in
Paterson, New Jersey. Neither John's parents nor his
living grandparents were religious, though they were
nominally Protestant and occasionally attended
church. When John was four months old, his parents
had him privately baptized at the First Presbyterian
Church in Paterson where they had married. John
says of his baptism, that although it was "at best an
act of magic on the part of my parents and [that]
church I count that day among the most significant
in my life. That event was kept alive in my
unconscious mind through many years [it was] the
day God chose me for ministry, gave me a new
identity and vocation as a redeemed person, adopted
me into my true family-the church, called me by my
new name "John Henry Christian," and branded me
for life with the sign of the cross so that I might someday know who I really am and to whom
I really belong." (Westerhoff, 1983, 120)

Theories of Faith Development:

Westerhoff presented two separate theories of

faith development in his writings. The first, a
four-stage theory, was printed in his
exceptional volume entitled Will our
Children Have Faith? (1976) and was
later reduced to three stages in A
Faithful Church (1981). The following is
his original four-stage theory. According
to Westerhoff: Faith grows like the rings
of a tree, with each ring adding to and
changing the tree somewhat, yet building
on that which has grown before. Therefore
Westerhoff offers a tree analogy and
proposes four rings which are involved in the
growth process.

1. Experienced Faith
At the core is the faith which we experience from our earliest years either in life or, if one
has a major reorientation in his or her beliefs, in a new faith system. We receive the faith
that is important to those who nurture us. The way it molds and influences their lives makes
an indelible impression on us, creating the core of our faith . . .This level of faith is usually
Page | 45

associated with the impressionable periods of life when a person is dependent on others,
such as during early childhood.
2. Affiliative Faith
As one person gradually displays the beliefs, values, and practices of one's family, group, or
church, there is another ring formed. The individual takes on the characteristics of the
nurturing persons and becomes identified as an accepted partner, one who is part of the
faith tradition. Such participation may be formalized as in membership, a rite of baptism or
confirmation, or may simply be understood, as might be the case with regular participants
who do not join a church. This phase of a person's growth is recognized as a time of testing.
It is a matching of the person with peer expectations. Where traditions, values, and practices
are similar, there usually is a good match and the individual merges his or her identity with
that of the body.

There is little room for personal differences dud to a strong emphasis on unity and
conformity in belief and practice . . .The concerns for belonging, for security, and for a sense
of power (and identity) that come from group membership are the key drives in forming
one's faith concept during this period. This level of faith is expressed, at the earliest, during
adolescent years.
3. Searching Faith
Faith development reaches a crucial junction when one becomes aware that personal beliefs
or experience may no longer be exactly the same as those of the group, or when a person
begins to question some of the commonly held beliefs or practices. This occurs as one
naturally recognizes that his or her faith is formed more by others (parents, peers,
congregation, etc.) than by personal conviction. The decision must be faced whether or not
to develop, express, and accept responsibility for a personal interpretation of one's religion
as over against accepting that which may be viewed as a group's interpretation. Often there
is experimentation in which persons try out alternatives or commit themselves to persons or
causes which promise help in establishing personal conviction and active practice of one's
faith.
4. Owned Faith
The culmination of the faith development process finds expression in a personal, owned
faith. This best could be described as a conversion experience, in which a person has
reoriented his or her life and now claims personal ownership of and responsibility for beliefs
and practices . . .Characteristics of this phase include close attention to practicing one's faith
as well as believing it . . .This level of faith, according to Westerhoff, is God's intention for
everyone; we all are called to reach our highest potential.

Source:
Westerhoff, John H. III. Will our Children Have Faith? New York: Seabury Press, 1976.
http://www.ymresourcer.com/model/faith2.htm

Page | 46

Plato
Biography:
Plato, 427?-347 B.C., Greek philosopher. In 407
B.C. he became a pupil and friend of Socrates.
After living for a time at the Syracuse court, Plato
founded (c.387 B.C.) near Athens the most
influential school of the ancient world, the
Academy, where he taught until his death. His
most famous pupil there was Aristotle.
Plato's extant work is in the form of epistles and
dialogues, divided according to the probable
order of composition. The early, or Socratic,
dialogues, e.g., the Apology, Meno, and Gorgias,
present Socrates in conversations that illustrate
his major ideas-the unity of virtue and knowledge
and of virtue and happiness. They also contain
Plato's moving account of the last days and death
of Socrates.
Plato's goal in dialogues of the middle years, e.g.,
the Republic, Phaedo, Symposium, and Timaeus,
was to show the rational relationship between the
soul, the state, and the cosmos. The later
dialogues, e.g., the Laws and Parmenides, contain treatises on law, mathematics, technical
philosophic problems, and natural science.
Plato regarded the rational soul as immortal, and he believed in a world soul and a
Demiurge, the creator of the physical world. He argued for the independent reality of Ideas,
or Forms, as the immutable archetypes of all temporal phenomena and as the only
guarantee of ethical standards and of objective scientific knowledge. Virtue consists in the
harmony of the human soul with the universe of Ideas, which assure order, intelligence, and
pattern to a world in constant flux. Supreme among them is the Idea of the Good, analogous
to the sun in the physical world.
Only the philosopher, who understands the harmony of all parts of the universe with the
Idea of the Good, is capable of ruling the just state. In Plato's various dialogues he touched
upon virtually every problem that has occupied subsequent philosophers; his teachings have
been among the most influential in the history of Western civilization, and his works are
counted among the world's finest literature.
His Works and Contributions:
Plato (437-347) was Socrates prized student. From a wealthy and powerful family, his
actual name was Aristocles -- Plato was a nickname, referring to his broad physique. When
he was about twenty, he came under Socrates spell and decided to devote himself to
philosophy. Devastated by Socrates death, he wandered around Greece and the
Page | 47

Mediterranean and was taken by pirates. His friends raised money to ransom him from
slavery, but when he was released without it, they bought him a small property called
Academus to start a school -- the Academy, founded in 386.
The Academy was more like Pythagorus community -- a sort of quasi-religious fraternity,
where rich young men studied mathematics, astronomy, law, and, of course, philosophy. It
was free, depending entirely on donations. True to his ideals, Plato also permitted women to
attend! The Academy would become the center of Greek learning for almost a millennium.
Plato can be understood as idealistic and rationalistic, much like Pythagorus but much less
mystical.
Plato is fond of analogies. Appetite, he says, is like a wild horse, very powerful, but likes to
go its own way. Spirit is like a thoroughbred, refined, well trained, directed power. And
reason is the charioteer, goal-directed, steering both horses according to his will.
Source: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/athenians.html

Platos Contributions to Psychology

PLATO WROTE:
The Republic
- is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning the definition
of justice (), the order and character of the just city-state and the just
man
It is Plato's best-known work and has proven to be one of the most intellectually
and historically influential works of philosophy and political theory.
In it, Socrates along with various Athenians and foreigners discuss the meaning of
justice and examine whether or not the just man is happier than the unjust man
by considering a series of different cities coming into existence "in speech",
culminating in a city called Kallipolis (), which is ruled by philosopherkings; and by examining the nature of existing regimes. The participants also
discuss the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, and the roles of the
philosopher and of poetry in society.

Phaedo
-

also known to ancient readers as Plato's On The Soul, is one of the great
dialogues of his middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The
Phaedo, which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's fourth and last
dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days, following Euthyphro, Apology, and
Crito.
One of the main themes in the Phaedo is the idea that the soul is immortal.

Timaeus
- Plato held far-reaching views on the creation of the world
-

The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world and human
beings and is followed by the dialogue Critias.

Some 31 philosophical dialogues

Page | 48

THREE LEVELS OF PLEASURE

-

First is sensual or physical pleasure, of which sex is a great example.

A second level is sensuous or esthetic pleasure, such as admiring someones
beauty, or enjoying ones relationship in marriage.
But the highest level is ideal pleasure, the pleasures of the mind. Here the
example would be Platonic love, intellectual love for another person unsullied by
physical involvement.

Paralleling these three levels of pleasure are three souls. We have one soul called appetite,
which is mortal and comes from the gut. The second soul is called spirit or courage. It is
also mortal, and lives in the heart. The third soul is reason. It is immortal and resides in the
brain. The three are strung together by the cerebrospinal canal.
Source: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/athenians.html
PLATO'S TRIPARTITE THEORY OF SOUL
In his treatise the Republic, Plato asserted that the (psyche) is composed of
three parts; the (logical), the (high-spirited) and the
(appetitive). These three parts of the also correspond to the three classes of a society.
Whether in a city or an individual, (justice) is declared to be the state of the
whole in which each part fulfills its function without attempting to interfere in the functions
of others. The function of the is to produce and seek pleasure, often being
linked to the love of money. The function of the is to gently rule through the love
of learning. The function of the is to obey the directions of the while
ferociously defending the whole from external invasion and internal disorder. Whether in a
city or an individual, (injustice) is the contrary state of the whole, often taking the
specific form in which the listens instead to the , while they together
either ignore the entirely or employ it in their pursuits of pleasure.
IN THE REPUBLIC
In Book IV of the Republic Plato and his interlocutors are attempting to answer
whether the soul is one or made of parts. Plato states that, "It is clear that the same thing
will never do or undergo opposite things in the same part of it and towards the same thing
at the same time; so if we find this happening, we shall know it was not one thing but more
than one." (This is an example of Plato's Principle of Non-Contradiction.) For instance, it
seems that, given each person has only one soul, it should be impossible for a person to
simultaneously desire something yet also at that very moment be averse to the same thing,
as when one is tempted to commit a crime but also averse to it. Both Plato and Glaucon
agree that it should not be possible for the soul to at the same time both be in one state and
its opposite. From this it follows that there must be at least two aspects to soul.
LOGICAL ()
The logical or logistikon (from logos) is the thinking part of the soul which loves the
truth and seeks to learn it. Plato originally identifies the soul dominated by this part with the
Athenian temperament. The logistikon discerns what is the real and not merely apparent,
judges what is true and what is false and wisely makes just decisions in accordance with its
love for goodness.
Page | 49

Plato makes the point that the logistikon would be the smallest part of the soul (as the
guardians would be the smallest population within the Republic), but that, nevertheless, a
soul can be declared just only if all three parts agree that the logistikon should rule.

SPIRITED ()
According to Plato, the spirited or thymoeides (from thymos) is the part of the soul by
which we are angry or get into a temper. He also calls this part 'high spirit' and initially
identifies the soul dominated by this part with the Thracians, Scythians and the people of
'northern regions.' In the just soul, the spirited aligns with the logistikon and resists the
desires of the appetitive, becoming manifested as 'indignation' and in general the courage
to be good. In the unjust soul, the spirited ignores the logistikon and aligns with the desires
of the appetitive, manifesting as the demand for the pleasures of the body.
APPETITIVE ()
The appetitive or epithymetikon (from epithymia) is the part of the soul by which we
experience carnal erotic love, hunger, thirst and in general the desires opposed to the
logistikon. (The appetitive is in fact labelled as being 'a-logical'.)
Plato also identifies this part of the soul with the pleasure involved in human reproduction.
He further relates this part to the love of money-making, which he mentions as being the
particular mark of the Phoenicians and Egyptians.
Source: Wikipedia

THEORY OF FORMS
Plato's theory of Forms or theory of Ideas asserts that non-material abstract (but
substantial) forms (or ideas), and not the material world of change known to us through
sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. When used in this
sense, the word form or idea is often capitalized. Plato speaks of these entities only through
the characters (primarily Socrates) of his dialogues who sometimes suggest that these
Forms are the only true objects of study that can provide us with genuine knowledge; thus
even apart from the very controversial status of the theory, Plato's own views are much in
doubt. Plato spoke of Forms in formulating a possible solution to the problem of universals.
Source: Wikipedia
Plato defined 3 aspects of the psyche--reason, feeling and appetite. He also wrote
about the duality of the psyche and the relationship between mind and body. He
believed the action of the humors of the body affects one's mental state. Madness and
ignorance for Plato were diseases of the mind brought about by the body. He also discussed
sense perception. He believed that excessive pain and pleasure are the greatest diseases
of the mind. He indicated that people in great joy or great pain cannot reason properly.
Page | 50

Hence, sense perception, desire, feeling and appetite are products of the body and are at
war with the mind. This is similar to Freud's notions about the id, ego and superego.
Plato also delved into the realms of neuroscience. He believed that the seat of the psyche
and its aspects (reason, feeling and appetite) reside in the cerebrospinal marrow. The
immortal (rational) aspect has a separate place in the brain; the mortal (irrational) aspects
of feeling and appetite are located in the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The heart serves
as an advance post of the immortal part when wrong is committed; the heart can be
stimulated to anger and these emotions (of anger) can be carried by the blood vessels to all
parts of the body. He believed that the blood vessels serve as the means for conveying
sensations through the body. He also believed that the psyche itself is immortal, but some
of the functions it assumes when connected to the body are not (Watson, p. 59).
Plato used storytelling and literature to illustrate points about the psyche, as did Homer. In
his story of the charioteer in Phaedrus, Plato likened the human being to a chariot team.

"[As part of the team] there is a powerful, unrully horse intent on having its own way at all
costs (appetite). The other horse is a thoroughbred, spirited but manageable (spirit). On
catching sight of his beloved, the charioteer (reason) attempts with some difficulty to direct
the two horses toward the goal, which he alone (not they) can comprehend." (Watson, p.62)
This is an illustration of Plato's theory about conflict based on reason,emotion and drive.
Plato also made early contributions to motivational psychology with his delineation of the
drive characteristics of the psyche--that drives have a striving toward attainment of a goal
and an affective coloring of pleasure and pain.
In Plato's Symposium, he presents a dialogue on the meaning of Eros or love, in which each
participant offers their interpretations. He discusses 2 kinds of love: profane and sacred.
The first is concerned with the body and the second with the psyche, mind and character.
Physical sexual desire is not merely concerned with sex, but a masked deisre for
parenthood, an attempt to perpetuate oneself. Plato believed this passion for physical
parenthood was the most rudimentary fruition of the good and the eternal. He also believed
that only higher love could lead to happiness. For Plato, the love of wisdom is the highest
form of love. Love can be equated with life force, as it is akin to the biological will to live and
the life energy.
Many scholars have used Plato's notions to draw conclusions about human nature. Freud's
notions about the personality being dependent on the id, ego and superego are similar to
Plato's 3 aspects of the psyche. Carl Jung's notions about the libido and its general
nonspecialized drive character seem to stem from the early drive theories of Plato.
Evolutionary psychologists discuss humans' need to reproduce copies of themselves and
their gene pool. In the psychology of emotion and social psychology, psychologists have
studied and outlined the different forms of love. Personality psychologists define the core
form of energy residing in man, most frequently, as "psychic energy." The field of energy
medicine discusses the relationship of energy centers in the body to the mental state and
nature of humans.
Source: psyking.net
Page | 51

The teacher of Aristotle, Plato (428/427 BC - 348/347 BC), provided some useful insights into
the theoretical structure of the human mind, based largely upon his elegant Theory of
Forms. He used the idea of a psyche, a word used to describe both the mind and the soul, to
develop a rough framework of human behavior, reasoning and impulses.
Plato proposed that the human psyche was the seat of all knowledge and that the human
mind was imprinted with all of the knowledge it needed. As a result, learning was a matter of
unlocking and utilizing this inbuilt knowledge, a process he called anamnesis.
In his famous work, 'The Republic,' Plato further developed this idea and first proposed the
idea that the mind consisted of three interwoven parts, called the Tripartite Mind.

The Logistikon: This was the intellect, the seat of reasoning and logic.

The Thumos: This was the spiritual centre of the mind, and dictated emotions and feelings.

The Epithumetikon: This part governed desires and appetites.

According to Plato, the healthy mind discovered a balance between the three parts, and an
over reliance upon these parts led to the expression of personality. For example, gluttony
and selfishness could be explained by a dominance of the Epithumetikon, letting desires
govern behavior.
In the Republic, a treatise aimed at theorizing the perfect society, Plato proposed that the
rulers of such a society, those who determined course and policy, should be drawn from men
where the Logistikon held sway. Individuals with a strong Epithumetikon made excellent
Page | 52

merchants and acquirers of wealth whilst the Thumos, which can loosely identified with will
and courage, was the domain of the soldier.
Later, Plato renounced his idea of a tripartite mind and returned to earlier proposals of a
dualistic explanation for the mind, balanced between intellect and desire. However, this
three way split would reemerge in Aristotle's idea of a trinity of souls and, based upon the
idea prevalent in many societies and religions, which gave a reverence to the number three,
20th Century psychoanalysts maintained the idea of a human mind balanced between three
impulses.

Source:
explorable.com

Aristotle

Page | 53

Biography:
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, better known as the teacher of Alexander the Great. He
was the
student of Plato and was considered to be an important figure in
Western Philosophy. Famous for his writings on physics,
metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric,
linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology,
he was an extremely learned and educated individual. He is
also among the first person to set a comprehensive system
of Western philosophy which include views about morality
and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics.
This system became the supporting pillar of both Islamic and
Christian scholastic thought. It is even said that he was
perhaps the last man who had the knowledge of all the known
fields at that time. His intellectual knowledge ranged from
every known field of science and arts of that era. His writing
includes work in physics, chemistry, biology, zoology,
botany, psychology, political theory, logic,
metaphysics, history, literary theory, and rhetoric. One
of his greatest achievements was formulating a
finished system also known as Aristotelian syllogistic.
His other significant contribution was towards the
development of zoology. It is quite true that Aristotle's
zoology is now obsolete but his work and contribution
was unchallenged till 19th century. His historical
importance and contribution towards science is quite
irreplaceable.

His Works and Contributions:

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, better known as the teacher of Alexander the Great. He
was the student of Plato and was considered to be an important figure in Western
Philosophy. Famous for his writings on physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic,
rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology, he was an extremely
learned and educated individual. He is also among the first person to set a comprehensive
system of Western philosophy which include views about morality and aesthetics, logic and
science, politics and metaphysics. This system became the supporting pillar of both Islamic
and Christian scholastic thought. It is even said that he was perhaps the last man who had
the knowledge of all the known fields at that time. His intellectual knowledge ranged from
every known field of science and arts of that era. His writing includes work in physics,
chemistry, biology, zoology, botany, psychology, political theory, logic, metaphysics, history,
literary theory, and rhetoric. One of his greatest achievements was formulating a finished
system also known as Aristotelian syllogistic. His other significant contribution was towards
the development of zoology. It is quite true that Aristotle's zoology is now obsolete but his
work and contribution was unchallenged till 19th century. His historical importance and
contribution towards science is quite irreplaceable.

Aristotles Writings
Aristotle in his lifetime wrote on numerous topics and fields, but unfortunately only one third
of his original writing survived. The lost writings include the poetry, letters, dialogues and
Page | 54

essays all written in Platonic manner. Most of his literary works are known to the world by
the writing of Diogenes Laertius and others. His important works include Rhetoric, Eudemus
(On the Soul), on philosophy, on Alexander, on Sophistes, on justice, on wealth, on prayer
and on education. He also wrote for general public reading which involves variety of popular
philosophical writings. The teaching of Plato had its influence in many of the dialogues but a
fall out between Aristotle and his teacher was evident in his later writings. In another group
of survived writings, which is actually a collection of historical and scientific material,
includes an important fragment of Constitution of the Athenians. It was a part of the larger
collection of constitutions which Aristotle and his students had collected for the purpose of
studying and analyzing various political theories. The discovery of this fragment in 1890 in
Egypt not only shed light on the Athenian government and constitution at that time but also
pointed out the difference between the scientific studies of Aristotle and his followers.
His Approach Towards Science
Aristotles approach towards science was different from that of his teacher, Plato. While the
latter dedicated his wholly and solely to first philosophy, that of metaphysics and
mathematics, Aristotle believed that it was also very important to study second philosophy:
the world around us, from physics and mechanics to biology. It can be said that Aristotle
single handedly invented science as it is today, including various fields and categories. Also,
unlike Plato who was only involved with abstract form, Aristotle chose to study minutely the
natural world, plants and animals, how they worked, what were they made up of and to
understand how each of them fitted in the larger picture of nature. His research and study of
nature was idolized on four important causes matter, form, moving cause and final cause.
He wrote in detail about five hundred different animals in his works, including a hundred and
twenty kinds of fish and sixty kinds of insect. He was the first to use dissection extensively.
His Legacy
Theophrastus, his successor at Lyceum, wrote a number of books on botany which were
considered one of the primary bases of botany till middle ages. Few names of plants
mentioned by him are still survived to modern times. From a modest beginning, Lyceum
grew to be a Peripatetic school. The other notable students from his Lyceum were
Aristoxenus, Dicaearchus, Demetrius of Phalerum, Eudemos of Rhodes, Harpalus,
Hephaestion, Meno, Mnason of Phocis, and Nicomachus. His influence on Alexander the
Great can be clearly seen from the fact that Alexander used to carry a horde of botanist,
zoologist and researchers along with him on his expeditions. Aristotle is considered as The
Philosopher by many scholastic thinkers and was one of the most influential persons ever
lived.

Source: thefamouspeople.com
Aristotle (384-322) was born in a small Greek colony in Thrace called Stagira. His father was
a physician and served the grandfather of Alexander the Great. Presumably, it was his
father who taught him to take an interest in the details of natural life.
He was Platos prize student, even though he disagreed with him on many points. When
Plato died, Aristotle stayed for a while with another student of Plato, who had made himself
a dictator in northern Asia Minor. He married the dictators daughter, Pythias. They moved
to Lesbos, where Pythias died giving birth to their only child, a daughter. Although he
married again, his love for Pythias never died, and he requested that they be buried side by
side.

Page | 55

For four years, Aristotle served as the teacher of a thirteen year old Alexander, son of Philip
of Macedon. In 334, he returned to Athens and established his school of philosophy in a set
of buildings called the Lyceum (from a name for Apollo, the shepherd). The beautiful
grounds and covered walkways were conducive to leisurely walking discussions, so the
students were known as peripatoi (covered walkways).
First, we must point out that Aristotle was as much a scientist as a philosopher. He was
endlessly fascinated with nature, and went a long way towards classifying the plants and
animals of Greece. He was equally interested in studying the anatomies of animals and their
behavior in the wild.
Aristotle also pretty much invented modern logic. Except for its symbolic form, it is
essentially the same today.
Source: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/athenians.html

Aristotles Contributions to Psychology

ARISTOTLE WROTE:

Aristotle - De Anima, first book to treat psychology as a systematic philosophy.

Developed notions about the psyche. Founded philosophical psychology. Studied with
Plato 20 years. After Plato's nephew, Speusippus, is named the head of the
Academy, Aristotle leaves Athens, but later returns, to found his own school, the
Lyceum, in 335 BC. Although he, too, wrote philosophical dialogues, only a few
fragments have come down to us. His surviving writings exist in the form of
treatises. Was considered the father of modern scientific thought, he was also
Alexander's tutor.

Aristotle was the greatest systematic philosopher of antiquity. He was the first to
philosophise on the basis of science. Because of his great knowledge, especially in the
physical sciences, he became known in history as a "panepistimon" or man of all sciences.
Aristotle developed the dialectical method in logic, not in the Socratic sense of the dialogue
but as a process consisting of thesis, antithesis and synthesis, which then becomes the new
thesis.
Source: psyking.net
In it, he says the mind or soul is the first entelechy of the body, the cause and principle
of the body, the realization of the body. We might put it like this: The mind is the purposeful
functioning of the nervous system.
Source: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/athenians.html
PARA PSYCHE (Greek for about the mind or soul)
Page | 56

Aristotle, building upon the work of the earlier philosophers and their studies into mind,
reasoning and thought, wrote the first known text in the history of psychology, called Para
Psyche, 'About the Mind.' In this landmark work, he laid out the first tenets of the study of
reasoning that would determine the direction of the history of psychology; many of his
proposals continue to influence modern psychologists.
In the book, the definition of psyche, as was common at the time, used 'mind' and 'soul'
interchangeably, with the Ancient Greek philosophers feeling no need to make no distinction
between the two. At this period, apart from dalliances with Atheism from Theodorus, Greek
philosophers took the existence of divine influence as given. Only Socrates really questioned
whether human behavior and the need to be a 'good person' was about seeking personal
happiness rather than placating a divine will.
In Para Psyche, Aristotle's psychology proposed that the mind was the 'first entelechy,' or
primary reason for the existence and functioning of the body. This line of thought was
heavily influenced by Aristotle's zoology, where he proposed that there were three types of
souls defining life; the plant soul, the animal soul and the human soul, which gave humanity
the unique ability to reason and create. Interestingly, this human soul was the ultimate link
with the divine and Aristotle believed that mind and reason could exist independently of the
body.
He was one of the first minds to examine the urges and impulse that drove and defined life,
believing that the libido and urge to reproduce was the overriding impulse of all living things,
influenced by the 'plant soul.' Whilst he partially linked this to the process of achieving
immortality and fulfilling the purposes of a divine mind, he proposed this reproductive urge
many centuries before Darwin. This idea is a fine example of one of the great intuitive
mental leaps that define Aristotle's legacy.

ARISTOTLE'S PSYCHOLOGY OF IMPULSES AND URGES

Continuing this line of thought, Aristotle attempted to address the relationships between
impulses and urges within the human mind, many years before Freud resurrected many of
the basic tenets of Aristotle's psychology with his psychoanalysis theory. Aristotle believed
that, alongside the 'Libido,' were 'Id' and 'Ego,' the idea of desire and reason, two forces that
determined actions.
Aristotle's psychology proposed that allowing desire to dominate reason would lead to an
unhealthy imbalance and the tendency to perform bad actions. Here, Aristotle's thought
created a paradigm that remained unchallenged for centuries and one that still underpins
the work of modern psychology and philosophy, where desire is renamed as emotion and
reason as rationality.
Uniquely, Aristotle also understood the importance of time on the actions driving a person,
with desire concerned with the present and reason more concerned with the future and longterm consequences. As an aside and a slight divergence into sociology, this short-termism
and quest for immediate results is one of the driving forces behind economic collapses,
environmental degradation and political popularism.

Page | 57

Perhaps more people should study Aristotle and his ideas of what drives human behavior.
Aristotle can, quite legitimately, be called the first behaviorist and the basis of work by B.F.
Skinner and Pavlov, two of the most famous names in the history of psychology.
Aristotle's psychology included a study into the formation of the human mind, as one of the
first salvos in the debate between nature and nurture that influences many academic
disciplines, including psychology, sociology, education, politics and human geography.
Aristotle, unlike Plato, was a believer in nurture, stating that the human mind was blank at
birth and that educating the individual and exposing them to experiences would define the
formation of the mind and build a store of knowledge.

THREE KINDS OF SOUL

Like Plato, he postulates three kinds of souls, although slightly differently defined.
There is a plant soul, the essence of which is nutrition. Then there is an animal soul, which
contains the basic sensations, desire, pain and pleasure, and the ability to cause motion.
Last, but not least, is the human soul. The essence of the human soul is, of course, reason.
He suggests that, perhaps, this last soul is capable of existence apart from the body.
He foreshadowed many of the concepts that would become popular only two thousand years
later. Libido, for example: In all animals... it is the most natural function to beget another
being similar to itself... in order that they attain as far as possible, the immortal and
divine.... This is the final cause of every creatures natural life.
And the struggle of the id and ego: There are two powers in the soul which appear to be
moving forces -- desire and reason. But desire prompts actions in violation of reason...
desire... may be wrong.
And the pleasure principle and reality principle: Although desires arise which are opposed
to each other, as is the case when reason and appetite are opposed, it happens only in
creatures endowed with a sense of time. For reason, on account of the future, bids us resist,
while desire regards the present; the momentarily pleasant appears to it as the absolutely
pleasant and the absolutely good, because it does not see the future.
And finally, self-actualization: We begin as unformed matter in the womb, and through years
of development and learning, we become mature adults, always reaching for perfection. "So
the good has been well explained as that at which all things aim."

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Source:
explorable.com/aristotles-psychology

Socrates
Biography:
Socrates was the son of Sophroniscus, an Athenian
stone mason and sculptor. He learned his father's
craft and apparently practiced it for many years. He
participated in the Peloponnesian War (43104 B.C.E.
) when Athens was crushed by the Spartans, and he
distinguished himself for his courage. Details of his
early life are scarce, although he appears to have
had no more than an ordinary Greek education
before devoting his time almost completely to
intellectual interests. He did, however, take a keen
interest in the works of the natural philosophers, and
Plato records the fact that Socrates met Zeno of Elea
(c. 495430 B.C.E. ) and Parmenides (born c. 515
B.C.E. ) on their trip to Athens, which probably took
place about 450 B.C.E.
Socrates himself wrote nothing, therefore evidence
of his life and activities must come from the writings
of Plato and Xenophon (c. 431352 B.C.E. ). It is likely
that neither of these presents a completely accurate

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picture of him, but Plato's Apology, Crito, Phaedo, and Symposium contain details which
must be close to fact.
From the Apology we learn that Socrates was well known around Athens; uncritical thinkers
linked him with the rest of the Sophists (a philosophical school); he fought in at least three
military campaigns for the city; and he attracted to his circle large numbers of young men
who delighted in seeing their elders proved false by Socrates. His courage in military
campaigns is described by Alcibiades (c. 450404 B.C.E. ) in the Symposium.
In addition to stories about Socrates's strange character, the Symposium provides details
regarding his physical appearance. He was short, quite the opposite of what was considered
graceful and beautiful in the Athens of his time. He was also poor and had only the barest
necessities of life. Socrates's physical ugliness did not stop his appeal.

His Works and Contributions:

SOCRATIC METHOD(method of "elenchus")
Perhaps his most important contribution to Western thought is his dialectic method of
inquiry, known as the Socratic method or method of "elenchus", which he largely applied to
the examination of key moral concepts such as the Good and Justice. It was first described
by Plato in the Socratic Dialogues. To solve a problem, it would be broken down into a series
of questions, the answers to which gradually distill the answer a person would seek. The
influence of this approach is most strongly felt today in the use of the scientific method, in
which hypothesis is the first stage. The development and practice of this method is one of
Socrates' most enduring contributions, and is a key factor in earning his mantle as the father
of political philosophy, ethics or moral philosophy, and as a figurehead of all the central
themes in Western philosophy.
To illustrate the use of the Socratic method; a series of questions are posed to help a person
or group to determine their underlying beliefs and the extent of their knowledge. The
Socratic method is a negative method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses
are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. It was
designed to force one to examine one's own beliefs and the validity of such beliefs.
An alternative interpretation of the dialectic is that it is a method for direct perception of the
Form of the Good. Philosopher Karl Popper describes the dialectic as "the art of intellectual
intuition, of visualising the divine originals, the Forms or Ideas, of unveiling the Great
Mystery behind the common man's everyday world of appearances."[29] In a similar vein,
French philosopher Pierre Hadot suggests that the dialogues are a type of spiritual exercise.
"Furthermore," writes Hadot, "in Plato's view, every dialectical exercise, precisely because it
is an exercise of pure thought, subject to the demands of the Logos, turns the soul away
from the sensible world, and allows it to convert itself towards the Good."
Source: Wikipedia
SOCRATIC QUESTIONING
Socratic questioning (or Socratic maieutics) is disciplined questioning that can be used
to pursue thought in many directions and for many purposes, including: to explore complex
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ideas, to get to the truth of things, to open up issues and problems, to uncover assumptions,
to analyze concepts, to distinguish what we know from what we don't know, to follow out
logical implications of thought or to control the discussion. The key to distinguishing Socratic
questioning from questioning per se is that Socratic questioning is systematic, disciplined,
deep and usually focuses on fundamental concepts, principles, theories, issues or problems.
Socratic questioning is referred to in teaching, and has gained currency as a concept in
education particularly in the past two decades. Teachers, students or indeed anyone
interested in probing thinking at a deep level can and should construct Socratic questions
and engage in these questions. Socratic questioning and its variants has also been
extensively used in psychotherapy.
Socratic questioning has also been used in therapy, most notably as a cognitive
restructuring technique in cognitive therapy, Logotherapy and Classical Adlerian
psychotherapy. The purpose here is to help uncover the assumptions and evidence that
underpin people's thoughts in respect of problems. A set of Socratic questions in cognitive
therapy to deal with automatic thoughts that distress the patient:
1. Revealing the issue: What evidence supports this idea? And what evidence is against
its being true?
2. Conceiving reasonable alternatives: What might be another explanation or viewpoint
of the situation? Why else did it happen?
3. Examining various potential consequences: What are worst, best, bearable and most
realistic outcomes?
4. Evaluate those consequences: Whats the effect of thinking or believing this? What
could be the effect of thinking differently and no longer holding onto this belief?
5. Distancing: Imagine a specific friend/family member in the same situation or if they
viewed the situation this way, what would I tell them?
Careful use of Socratic questioning enables a therapist to challenge recurring or isolated
instances of a person's illogical thinking while maintaining an open position that respects the
internal logic to even the most seemingly illogical thoughts.
Source: Wikipedia
SOCRATIC PARADOXES
Many of the beliefs traditionally attributed to the historical Socrates have been characterized
as "paradoxical" because they seem to conflict with common sense. The following are
among the so-called Socratic paradoxes:[35]

No one desires evil.

No one errs or does wrong willingly or knowingly.

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Virtueall virtueis knowledge.

Virtue is sufficient for happiness.

The term, "Socratic paradox" can also refer to a self-referential paradox, originating in
Socrates' utterance, "what I do not know I do not think I know", often paraphrased as "I know
that I know nothing.

Socrates is considered to be one of the most important ancient

philosopher/psychologist. He laid
the foundation of ideas for many philosophers/psychologists to follow.
In his opinion knowledge and truth reside in the mind and one has to look for and find
it there. It means that in order to gain knowledge and understand various phenomenon one
has to look inwards instead of looking at the outward things and trying to find an explanation
in them.
He further said that knowledge and awareness create virtue, so in order to be
virtuous one has to
look into the self. In other words, Socrates stressed on the study of soul i.e. looking inwards,
and he rejected
external observation.
Another of the Socratic contributions is that he defined the concept of happiness.
To Socrates,
stealing is not happiness but the satisfaction gained through acquiring by honest means is
happiness.
He regarded the soul, called psyche in Greek, as superior to body and said that the
psyche or the
soul helps us to distinguish between good and bad.
Socrates asserted that all things have a definite purpose and nothing occurs
without that purpose.
Another of the great contributions of Socrates is his method of teaching. It is called
the Socratic
method of teaching. It is also the modern method of teaching and it consists of a dialogue,
rather than
monologue and focuses on the logical correctness of the argument. The teacher and the
student interact
with each other and have an intelligent dialogue that helps them to understand and
comprehend better. The
monologue is discouraged because it involves only one way flow of information, further it
does not clear up
any misunderstanding that may arise in the mind of the students, who are not able to
express themselves.
The Socratic method of teaching is in practice these days

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Source: http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?
ancient_greek_philosophy/psychology_socrates_plato_history_and_systems_of_psychology&
b=90&c=2

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