The Journey Of Adulthood, 5/e
Helen L. Bee & Barbara R. Bjorklund
Chapter 2
Theories of Adult Development
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Conceptual Organization of Theories
● Developmental progress versus Developmental change
● Stage theories versus Non-stage theories
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Progress with
Stages
Erikon’s Theory of Identity Development
Loevinger’s Theory of Ego Development
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Progress with
Stages
Erikon’s Theory of Identity Development
● The most influential theory on adult
development.
● Psychosocial development continues over entire
life span.
● Development follows a universal sequence.
● Successful identity development involves
resolving eight crises or dilemmas.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Progress with
Stages
Loevinger’s Theory of Ego Development
● Stages developed based on empirical study.
● Each builds on the one that precedes it.
● Rate and process of development across stages
is variable.
Impulsive stage
Self-protective stage
Conformist stage
Self-aware stage
Conscientious stage
Individualistic stage
Autonomous stage
Integrated stage
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Progress without
Stages
Vaillant’s Theory of Adaptation to Life
● Accepts Erikson’s stages as the basic framework for
development.
● Focuses on a direction of growth or development.
● Major form of adaptation is the defense mechanism, a set
of strategies used to deal with anxiety.
● Developed the Defensive Functioning Scale (see Table
2.3 on pages 42-43).
● Focuses on the progress adults make towards higher
levels of maturity.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change with
Stages
Levinson’s Theory of Seasons of Adulthood
Life-Course Theory: A Sociological Perspective
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change with
Stages
Levinson’s Theory of Seasons of Adulthood
● Life structure, the underlying pattern or design of a person’s life at a
given time.
● Key components of the life structure are relationships
● Alternating periods of stability and transition during which old life
structure is reexamined, adjusted, or altered.
● Levinson believes that the sequence of eras is universal.
● He assumes change with age, but not development.
● Women experience the same stages as men, although the content of
those stages differs.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change with
Stages
Life-Course Theory: A Sociological Perspective
● Sequence of socially defined, age-graded events and
individual roles.
● Based on study of the life cycle.
● Roles: position we fill in a social structure (e.g., parent).
● Role strain occurs when a person’s own qualities or skills
are a poor match for
the demands of any one role.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change with
Stages
Life-Course Theory: A Sociological Perspective
Key Concepts of Life-Course Theory:
Life trajectory
Life transitions
Turning point
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change with
Stages
Life-Course Theory: A Sociological Perspective
Elder identifies four primary principles of life-course theory:
1) Principle of historical times and places.
2) Principle of timing.
3) Principle of linked lives.
4) Principle constructionism.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change with
Stages
Life-Course Theory: A Sociological Perspective
Contributions of life-course theory:
● Consideration of development beyond childhood
● Dynamic influences on development
● Influence of a changing society on individual life
trajectories.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change Without
Stages
Baltes’ Life-Span Theory
Selective Optimization with Compensation
Pearlin’s Stress Process Framework
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change Without
Stages
Baltes’ Life-Span Theory
● Development = age-related change in adaptive capacity.
● Focused on ability to make positive changes in response to adversity.
● Overall architecture of life span development shown in figure 2.3.
1. Evolutionary selection benefits for human genome decrease
over the life span
2. There is an increase in need for culture as we get older
because cultural resources make up for decrease in genetic
protection and the effects of biological aging.
3. There is a decrease in the efficacy of culture with age.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change Without
Stages
Selective Optimization with Compensation: a life-span
developmental theory that is based on Baltes’ architecture
model.
● Selection involves choosing specific goals that are
appropriate for the individual and the situation.
●Optimization is the acquisition, refinement, and
maintenance of effective resources (e.g., one’s health and
physical abilities).
● Compensation is the functional response to the loss of
some resource necessary in attaining the selected goals.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Theories of Developmental Change Without
Stages
Pearlin’s Stress Process Framework
Stress process framework:
1) Stressors can be primary or secondary. Stress
proliferation is the process of primary stress creating
secondary stress.
2) Health outcome (both physical and psychological) is
affected by stress.
3) Moderators are personal or social resources that buffer
one from the effects of stress. This explains individual
differences in health outcomes.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Additional Theoretical Complexities
Additional dimensions relevant to the description
of theories include:
Universality versus diversity.
● Erikson, Loevinger, and Levinson all believe there is universality
● Pearlin and Vaillant focus on diversity of adult pathways.
Internal versus external influences.
● Psychological theorists tend to posit that there are underlying,
normative processes of aging.
● Sociological theorists more focused on external/contextual processes.
The Journey of Adulthood 5/e by Bee & Bjorklund. Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.