PSYC 140 THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVES IN LIFESPAN
DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS
AND COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
Your Exam Plug
,A. Controversies in Lifespan Development - Answer: This introduction to theoretical perspectives is
necessary to understand what directs knowledge in this field
The two controversies in psychosocial development are
1. Nature vs. Nurture
2. Continuity vs Discontinuity
sssDefine Nature vs. Nurture - Answer: Is one of the most important considerations in the field.
What causes people the be the way that they are?
Are they born that way? Nature, or biology
Are we natusrally born to be a certain way?
Or do people change due to their environment, such as parental influence, socioeconomic status, or
level of education? Nurture
Does our environment Nurture (shape) us into who we are?
Define Continuity and Discontinuity - Answer: This controversy questions the process of change.
Continuity - is change a smooth blended transition that can seem seamless from one stage to another?
Discontinuity - is change distinct, does each stage begin individually, no overlap, and is finished before
moving to the next stage? being in an absolute stage solely one stage at a time?
B. Major Theorists and Theories:
, Define and Describe the most influential theorists and theories in psychosocial lifespan development -
Answer: Part B of this module will present the most influential classic theorists in psychosocial
development lifespan
1. Sigmund Freud and the Psychosexual Stages of Development - Answer: Freud created five stages of
development, each involving a conflict and a fixation with an area of the body that is associated with
sexual gratification.
some words are now part of western culture - being "anal" and speaking "phallic symbols" both derived
from Freud
R.R. Rice - Freud believed our personalities were base on the interaction and conflict between the id,
ego, and superego.
Define the id - Answer: the id is the most basic and first part of the personality. It consists of the
unconscious. impulses that demand immediate fulfillment. It operates on the pleasure principle.
Anything desired by the id must be for immediate pleasure
Freud - this is the personality we are born with
Define the Ego - Answer: The ego balances the desire for immediate fulfillment, which operate according
to the reality principle
this function of personality is not inborn but develops as children learn that not all desires can be
fulfilled, or at least not without a delay. The ego operates in the conscious, then, and addresses how the
real-world impacts the desires of the id
Define the Superego - Answer: the superego is the final function of the personality, developing by the
time a child is school-aged. The superego is the child's internalization of social norms and standards. It
must attempt to balance out the other two functions, as well as the conflict between the internal life
and the realities of the external world. In a well-functioning adult, this balance works. However, that
balance between competing impulses is not always easy to achieve.
PERSPECTIVES IN LIFESPAN
DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS
AND COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
Your Exam Plug
,A. Controversies in Lifespan Development - Answer: This introduction to theoretical perspectives is
necessary to understand what directs knowledge in this field
The two controversies in psychosocial development are
1. Nature vs. Nurture
2. Continuity vs Discontinuity
sssDefine Nature vs. Nurture - Answer: Is one of the most important considerations in the field.
What causes people the be the way that they are?
Are they born that way? Nature, or biology
Are we natusrally born to be a certain way?
Or do people change due to their environment, such as parental influence, socioeconomic status, or
level of education? Nurture
Does our environment Nurture (shape) us into who we are?
Define Continuity and Discontinuity - Answer: This controversy questions the process of change.
Continuity - is change a smooth blended transition that can seem seamless from one stage to another?
Discontinuity - is change distinct, does each stage begin individually, no overlap, and is finished before
moving to the next stage? being in an absolute stage solely one stage at a time?
B. Major Theorists and Theories:
, Define and Describe the most influential theorists and theories in psychosocial lifespan development -
Answer: Part B of this module will present the most influential classic theorists in psychosocial
development lifespan
1. Sigmund Freud and the Psychosexual Stages of Development - Answer: Freud created five stages of
development, each involving a conflict and a fixation with an area of the body that is associated with
sexual gratification.
some words are now part of western culture - being "anal" and speaking "phallic symbols" both derived
from Freud
R.R. Rice - Freud believed our personalities were base on the interaction and conflict between the id,
ego, and superego.
Define the id - Answer: the id is the most basic and first part of the personality. It consists of the
unconscious. impulses that demand immediate fulfillment. It operates on the pleasure principle.
Anything desired by the id must be for immediate pleasure
Freud - this is the personality we are born with
Define the Ego - Answer: The ego balances the desire for immediate fulfillment, which operate according
to the reality principle
this function of personality is not inborn but develops as children learn that not all desires can be
fulfilled, or at least not without a delay. The ego operates in the conscious, then, and addresses how the
real-world impacts the desires of the id
Define the Superego - Answer: the superego is the final function of the personality, developing by the
time a child is school-aged. The superego is the child's internalization of social norms and standards. It
must attempt to balance out the other two functions, as well as the conflict between the internal life
and the realities of the external world. In a well-functioning adult, this balance works. However, that
balance between competing impulses is not always easy to achieve.
