Theoretical Perspectives in Lifespan
Development
A. Controversies in Lifespan Development
While few students are thrilled at the prospect of studying psychological theory, it is extremely
important to understand what directs knowledge in the field. In addition, theoretical perspectives
are always significant portions of outcome tests (for example, CLEP, N-CLEX) in development!
Watch the video below as you study the material in this module.
We will begin with a few controversies in the field. While these controversies are by no means
solved, most experts acknowledge the importance of considering both sides. Why is it relevant to
discuss these controversies? One reason is because various professionals may lean toward one or
the other perspective, and it is important to be aware of these theoretical leanings. In addition,
and this is particularly the case with the first controversy, researchers spend a significant amount
of time teasing out the relative contributions of the various sides as they seek to understand
specific topics in human development.
1. Nature vs. Nurture
The nature/nurture issue in human development is one of the most important considerations in
the field. At issue is what causes people to be the way they are. Are they born that way? People
leaning toward that perspective rely on “nature,” or biology, to explain human behavior. Or, do
people change due to their environments, such as parental influence, socioeconomic status, or
level of education? These explanations fall under “nurture.”
As you can see, both sides are necessary for understanding development. Yet, some
professionals, due to their interest and expertise, may lean toward one or the other perspective.
2. Continuity vs. Discontinuity
This controversy has to do with the process of change. Is development continuous? If so, then the
various stages of development gradually flow into one another. Sometimes it might be hard to
even discern where one stage stops and another starts. But if development is discontinuous, then
stages are distinct. One definitely ends before the other begins.
Historically, as we’ll learn shortly, a discontinuous perspective prevailed. More recently,
development is viewed more as a continuum. However, depending on the type of development
being discussed, it is helpful to know that both types of change might be possible.
B. Major Theorists and Theories
Have you heard of the following theorists: Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson? While
they are only a few of the classic theorists in lifespan development, they were some of the most
influential. Each originated stage theories of human development. We begin with a brief
discussion of Freud’s psychodynamic theories.
1. Sigmund Freud and the Psychosexual Stages of Development
Freud described five stages of development, each of which involves a conflict and a fixation with
an area of the body that is associated with sexual gratification. Terms from this theory are really
part of Western culture now. For example, being “anal” and speaking of “phallic symbols” both
harken back to Freud. The following quote from R.R. Rice describes and interacts with Freud's
stages:
Freud posited that our personalities develop based on the interaction and conflict between the id,
ego, and superego. The id is the most basic and first part of personality to emerge. It consists of
our unconscious impulses that demand immediate fulfillment. It operates on the pleasure
principle: Anything desired by the id must be for immediate pleasure. According to Freud, this is
the part of personality that we are born with. The desire for immediate fulfillment is balanced by
the ego, which operates 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 even if they can,
might be fulfilled after a delay. The ego operates in the conscious, then, and addresses how the
real world impacts the desires of the id. The superego is the final function of personality,
developing by the time a child is school-aged. The superego is the child’s internalization of
social norms and standards. As the ego is caught between the id’s impulses and the superego’s
moral standards, it must attempt to balance the conflict between the other two functions, as well
as the conflict between the internal life and the realities of the external world. In a wellfunctioning adult, this balance works. However, that balance between competing impulses is not
always easy to achieve.
Personality development progresses through stages that are named after the bodily area from
which a person of a particular age centers her pleasure and enjoyment. Either deriving too much
pleasure or getting too little pleasure in a particular stage can cause a person to become stuck (or
fixated, to use Freud’s language) as we seek to recreate the pleasure, or to address the fact that
we were deprived during that stage’s pleasures. We will address what Freud suggested are the
primary developmental tasks of these stages, as well as where he thought problems could
develop.
Oral Stage (Birth - 18 months): In the oral stage, children derive their primary pleasure through
their mouths. Their major developmental task from birth to approximately 18 months is to grow
and begin to understand the world. They do that by investigating whether or not new things are
food—everything goes into a baby’s mouth, and they are easily soothed by sucking, so pacifiers
provide a pleasurable experience for young children. Of course, the central activity that provides
pleasure to children in this stage is nursing. Children in this stage are primarily functioning in
response to their id impulses. If they derive too much pleasure in this stage (for example, they
are allowed to breastfeed for a long time and are weaned late) or too little pleasure (they are
weaned early), they will become fixated and not progress fully to healthy adult development.
Instead, their personality will be one of dependency on others and general neediness as they seek
to recreate the initial comfort they found when all of their needs were taken care of by their
mother. Behavioral indicators that an adult has a fixated oral personality might also be smoking
or chewing gum or constantly biting one’s fingernails. These are reversions to seeking oral
pleasure.
Anal Stage (18 months - 3 years): During the anal stage, children’s pleasure moves from an oral
focus about feeding to a focus on the anus, as the primary developmental task shifts to toilet
training. Children derive pleasure from learning to control their bodies, and by extension, to
control the environment around them. They can choose to eliminate their bowels or not, and so
gain control of themselves and their environment. Many parents will remember times when their
potty-training child made pronouncements about needing the bathroom on a car trip and the
frantic search for a place to stop that then ensues: The child is definitely in control of the
environment in that case. Difficulties with toilet training, whether training too late or
traumatically too early can lead to anal fixations, which are also about control. For example, an
anal retentive personality might have a high need for orderliness and cleanliness in his
environment, whereas an anal expulsive personality might exert control over her surroundings by
leaving her belongings scattered and messy. In both cases these are issues of control of the
environment.
Phallic Stage (3 years - 5 years): During this stage of development, the zone from which
pleasure is derived is the genitalia, specifically the penis. Boys and girls are both beginning to
explore their bodies and are learning about differences in anatomy. The focus of this stage, then,
is on boys’ anatomy. According to Freud, once girls realize that boys have a penis and they
don’t, girls experience penis envy because they are missing this significant feature. Once boys
realize they have a penis and girls don’t, they come to believe that girls must have lost their
penis, and so become overly focused on keeping theirs. In order to work through this, boys go
through what Freud called Oedipal conflict, a series of steps where boys turn their affections
toward their mothers and desire them sexually. Boys are fearful that their fathers will be angered
by their competition for her affection, and so boys undergo castration anxiety where they fear
that they will be emasculated by their fathers. In order to deal with this anxiety, boys recognize
that they cannot compete against their fathers, and thus begin to identify with their fathers in
order to adopt an appropriate male role. It is the internalization of the external standards of
masculinity that helps boys to develop a superego.
Girls do not navigate this pathway during the phallic stage, instead focusing on their lack of a
penis and blaming their mothers who are also missing a penis for their lack, beginning the
process of the Electra conflict. According to psychodynamic theory, girls move from an
attachment to their mother to experiencing deep affection for and attachment to their fathers,
leading to some of the same competition and fear that boys in this stage experience. Girls
ultimately resolve this conflict by looking to their mothers as a model for how to be a woman,
ultimately incorporating those external standards into their sense of what it means to be a girl. As
an aside, since girls do not go through the Oedipal conflict, in Freud’s estimation girls had a less
firmly developed superego and consequently a weaker moral compass. For both boys and girls,
successful navigation of the phallic stage will lead to the development of the superego that helps
them repress their sexual desires.
Fixation in the phallic stage is likely to result in different outcomes for boys and girls. For boys,
it will stem from unsuccessful resolution of the Oedipal conflict so that they are overly focused
on masculinity. For girls who unsuccessfully resolve their penis envy, their continued desire for a
penis will cause them to be emasculating; they will attempt to cut men down emotionally and
socially.
Latency Stage (5 years - puberty): According to Freud, once the phallic stage is navigated,
children enter a period of latency, where no new psychological challenges or conflicts emerge.
Rather, children focus on developing same-sex friendships throughout elementary school and
developing interests throughout those school years.
Genital Stage (puberty - adulthood): Assuming that a person has successfully navigated the first
three stages, once puberty is reached the person enters the genital stage. Although the area of
focus for pleasure is the genitals, it is quite different from the phallic stage. The difference here
is that mutual genital pleasure is the focus, rather than just male sexual anatomy. The genital
stage, then, is about healthy relationships with others and with productive work. The genital
stage of personality focuses on our healthy adult growth.
Although there are definitely issues of sexuality raised by Freud’s theory below, you can see that
an individual’s transition through these phases is also about more than just sexuality. Freud’s
psychodynamic approach demonstrates a broader theory about growth, starting with complete
dependency in infancy and moving into mature functioning and productivity as we age (Rice,
2020).
Many theorists and researchers have critiqued these stages. For instance, many have noted that
Freud lumps adolescents and adults together in the final stage and is uninterested in exploring
additional development. However, a lifespan perspective to development notes the very
important changes that occur after adolescence. Freud was a product of his time, which was a
period in which people assumed that few developmental changes occurred after adolescence.
This has now been shown to be incorrect; a number of important changes occur in adulthood,
and some of these changes will be covered in this course. Other researchers take issue with
Freud’s research methods, stating that Freud’s particular clinical sample and biased analysis call
the stages into question. Since he only studied individuals seeking psychoanalysis for a variety of
mental conditions, many question whether his stages are applicable to normal, healthy
development, or whether they primarily reflect what might occur in a patient sample.
However, they are still relevant to discuss for their historical importance and their current
influence today.
2. Erik Erikson and the Psychosocial Stages of Development
Erik Erikson described eight stages of human development, ranging from infancy to late
adulthood. Erikson integrated social experiences extensively into his stage theory. Thus, they are
most aptly described as psychosocial stages. Read the detailed description of the stages. (Links to
an external site.) It’s recommended that you watch the videos and take notes on the content for
study purposes. After you’ve done this, you can continue with this module.
You hopefully noticed that each of Erikson’s stages reflects a crisis. This is similar to Freud’s
stages, where either adaptive or maladaptive outcomes are possible at each stage. Each theorist
was at one point in the psychodynamic school of thought, which emphasizes the unconscious and
early childhood experiences. However, Erikson in many ways moved beyond a strictly
psychodynamic approach.
Other differences that you may have noted between the two theories are the lack of sexual
content in Erikson’s stages, as well as his detailed emphasis far beyond adolescence.
3. Behaviorism and Social Learning
Behaviorism is a hugely influential perspective in psychology. In general, behaviorists
scientifically study human and animal behavior and focus on what is observable and measurable.
However, there are many forms and applications of behaviorism. We will discuss classical
conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning.
a. Classical Conditioning
You’ve most likely heard the term “classical conditioning.” However, the process by which it
occurs is rather detailed. Ivan Pavlov is the researcher credited with discovering classical
conditioning based on his research on dogs’ digestive systems. Since he earned a Nobel Prize for
his work, the Nobel prize website has an excellent description of his work. Access this link and
read in detail (Links to an external site.). Then answer the following questions, referring back to
the website as needed:

How did Pavlov become interested in studying reflexes?
o Answer: Pavlov, like a good scientist, was very curious and became interested
when he saw that the research dogs salivated any time that they saw a researcher

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in a lab coat. A normal trigger for salivation would be the smell of food, but the
dogs had learned to associate food with the lab coats.
What is a conditioned reflex?
o Answer: A conditioned reflex, or conditioned response, is a learned response.
That is, an organism becomes responsive to a stimulus that previously was
neutral. For example, over time, Pavlov’s dogs became conditioned to respond to
the lab coats.
How does treatment for phobias apply classical conditioning principles?
o Answer: This type of conditioning to the lab coats happened accidentally, but
classical conditioning can be used very intentionally to help people. Systematic
desensitization operates on principles similar to classical conditioning and helps a
phobic individual to, over time, associate a feared stimulus with feeling relaxed.
Since relaxation and high anxiety are incompatible, the high anxiety will
eventually decrease or go away entirely.
b. Operant Conditioning
Have you ever worked with children? If you have, perhaps you used a reward as an incentive for
good behavior. If so, you relied on the principles of operant conditioning. B.F. Skinner was one
of the foremost researchers on operant conditioning (he even coined the term).
Watch this video interview with Skinner, taking notes on what you observe and hear.
There is much in Skinner’s viewpoint that is unacceptable to many Americans today, particularly
his view of free will. However, Skinner effectively showed how behavior can be shaped by the
environment, namely, by reward (reinforcement) and punishment. The term “operant” refers to
an organism operating on the environment. For example, when you receive something that
reinforces or encourages your behavior, how then do you respond or operate? According to
operant conditioning principles, a reinforcer following a behavior should make you more likely
to commit that behavior again, while a punishment following a behavior should make you less
likely to commit that behavior again.
c. Social Learning
Our final behaviorism topic is social learning. An important name in this area is Albert Bandura.
He is called a social cognitive theorist/researcher because he connected behaviorism with
cognition and the environment. Unlike B.F. Skinner, he accepted the importance of studying
mental processes, or cognitions, even though they couldn’t be directly observed.
Bandura extensively studied modeling…. and not the type that occurs down a catwalk! This type
of modeling involves imitating what you see others do. Social learning emphasizes that people
learn by observing others, and this learning can occur without necessarily shaping behavior
through reward and punishment. We’ll later see the importance of social learning theory for
explaining children’s behavior.