Criminology: Describe and Critically Evaluate Two Theories which See Adolescence as a Life Stage - Essay Example

 In this essay two theories that deal with adolescence as a stage in the development of individuals in reaching maturity in society are critically examined. They are 1) Piaget’s theory on the stages of cognitive development, and 2) Erikson’s Psychosocial theory of human development. Jean Piaget, concentrating more on child development, stops at the fourth stage when the child reaches adolescence, whereas Erik Erikson describes eight stages of the lifespan until old age and death. In Erikson’s formulation the fifth stage is related to adolescence. Adolescence has been defined as the time of life between childhood and maturity, the period of physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty to maturity. Briefly, Piaget is mainly concerned with the development of cognitive processes (intelligence) in the growing child, while Erikson places his emphasis on the psychosocial aspects of growing up. Piaget’s four stages correspond roughly to 1)infancy, 2) pre-school 3) childhood, and 4) adolescent years. He refers to these stages as 1) sensorimotor stage: from birth to 2 years, 2) Preoperational stage from ages 2 to 7, 3) Concrete operational stage from ages 7 to 11, and 4) Formal operational stage, after age 11. These are approximate ages, as there are individual differences and also an overlapping of more than one stage of thinking as the child grows older (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget ). Erikson’s stages are conceptualized as crises which need to be resolved before progressing to the next stage. From birth to 1 year the crisis to be resolved is between Basic Trust vs. Mistrust. From age 2 to 3 it is Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. Between age 4 to 5 it is Initiative vs. Guilt, and between 6 and 12 it is Industry vs. Inferiority. The next stage with which this essay is primarily concerned is between age 13 and 19 (the teenage years of adolescence). Here the crisis is between Identity vs. Role confusion. For the sake of completeness the crises in the next three stages are: Ages 20-24, Intimacy vs. Isolation. Ages 25-64, Generativity vs. Stagnation and lastly, Age 65 until death, Ego Integrity vs. Despair. According to some analysts, Erikson’s stages can be divided into groups of four. The first 4 deals with the individual figuring out the world, while the last four deals with figuring out yourself. Therefore adolescence is regarded as the first stage when individuals begin to start figuring out who they really are and their role in society. (http://www.psychpage.com/learning/library/person/erikson.html ). Piaget’s theory has been described as ’cognitive constructivist’ because of its biological and cognitive bias, and has been criticized for this. Other theorists like Vygotsky have advocated ’social constructivism’ emphasizing the social nature of growing and learning. Both aspects of learning and human development are important. Erikson has emphasised the psychosocial nature of human growth and is founded on Freud‘s psychoanalytic theory of the oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital periods of human growth. For our purposes it is necessary to contrast Piaget’s Formal Operational stage with Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Diffusion stage. When a child reaches adolescent years, according to Piaget, it can think logically in the abstract and can hypothesize the future. The adolescent becomes concerned with ideological problems. Again, the critics argue that Piaget’s postulation of schemas is too rigid. Some children were observed to manage concrete operations earlier than age 7, while others never reached the level of formal operations even as adults. He did not appear to have given enough emphasis to the role of language and the availability (or not) of significant adults in the child’s environment (http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm ). Erikson developed his theories during the mid-twentieth century while Piaget began theorizing during the late twenties and early thirties of the last century. Adolescence as a problematic period of life was beginning to seep into the consciousness of society through extensive media coverage and interest. The film ’Rebel Without a Cause’ starring the ill-fated James Dean was a case in point. Adolescence as a separate period of the life-cycle requiring such angst had not been a universally accepted feature in all societies. In most tribal societies there was a specific ’rite of passage’ to indicate that a child (especially boys) had reached maturity and was ready to take on the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood. In the case of girls menarche was a clear indication of having grown up. But, in modern societies because of improved nutrition, girls reach puberty at a much earlier chronological age. In developed societies, there were so many variations in the age at which a boy or girl could take up work or domestic responsibilities since higher education requires a longer period of preparation than in traditional societies. Erikson’s stage 5 where the crisis of Identity vs. Role Confusion is postulated as occurring has therefore gained increasing validity in today‘s complex world. During adolescence Erikson postulates that individuals ‘…attempt to develop identity and ideas about strengths, weaknesses, goals, occupations, sexual identity, and gender roles. Teens “try on” different identities, going through an identity crisis, and use friends to reflect back to them.’ ‘… if they resolve this crisis, they develop fidelity’ and ’if they fail to resolve the crisis they develop identity diffusion, their sense of self is unstable and threatened; too little identity and they may join cults or hate groups, too much identity and they may show fanaticism.’ Peer groups therefore become very important at this stage. (http://www.psychpage.com/learning/library/person/erikson.html ). Identity means essentially how a person sees themselves in relation to their world. It’s a sense of self or individuality in the context of life and what lies ahead. Role Confusion is the negative perspective - an absence of identity - meaning that the person cannot see clearly or at all who they are and how they can relate positively with their environment. This stage coincides with puberty or adolescence, and the reawakening of the sexual urge whose dormancy typically characterizes the previous stage. (http://www.businessballs.com/erik_erikson_psychosocial_theory.htm ). It was the psychologist G. Stanley Hall (1904) who first characterized adolescence as a period of ‘storm and stress’. This was ascribed to hormonal factors and took on currency throughout the century. However, recent research has shown that ’less than 10% of families with adolescents experience serious relationship difficulties … and that only 15 - 30% of adolescents experience serious developmental difficulties …’ The popular views about adolescents ’…presented in the media and in fictional literature, have perpetuate the stereotypic portrayal of adolescents as moody, emotional and rebellious.’ (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_164_41_n_17094446 ) There is therefore no evidence to support the ‘(M)any theorists (who) have portrayed adolescents as incapable of rational thought and whose behaviors are in constant conflict with family and societal norms.’ (op cit). Most theories attempting to conceptualize adolescent characteristics have concentrated on ‘…three specific characteristics: (a) parent-adolescent conflict, (b) emotional moodiness, and ( c) risk taking behaviours.’ Having examined the literature these are seen to be nothing more than ’normative outcomes of the transitions of adolescence’ (op cit). On the other hand, adolescent violence attracts press attention. ’Such problems as gang violence, teen-on-teen homicide, aggravated sexual assault, and domestic battery involving children and adolescents have raised concern among policymakers, law enforcement officials, school administrators … ’ It is reported that in the US, … ’the total annual number of homicides committed by juveniles doubled between 1987 and 1994, with the majority committed by African American males between the ages of 15 and 17.’ (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_159_40/ai_n15966354 ). A similar picture, although not authenticated by research, emerges in the UK where there have been much publicized drug related gang homicides by black youth in urban centers in Britain. It is more than likely that the high correlation between adolescence and violence or homicide, is not due to intrinsic developmental factors peculiar to adolescence, but more a reflection of socio-cultural, economic and political inequalities endemic in society. Having looked briefly at Piaget’s and Erikson’s theories of child development and particularly at the stage at which children reach adolescence, one can summarize as a consensus view that on the whole adolescence involves an enhanced capacity for abstract thinking (Piaget), and is the period where the crisis between identity and role confusion is resolved (Erikson). It is possible to see how at the point of leaving childhood behind them and approaching adulthood, there could be problems of adjustment necessarily mediated by many background factors both positive and negative. The conclusion is that there is no evidence to connect adolescence with increased criminal activity unless mediated by factors outside the cognitive and psychosocial developmental stages identified by renowned theorists like Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson. (c. 1450 words) References < http://en.wikipedia,org.wiki/Jean_Piaget > < http://www.psychpage.com/learning/library/person/ > < http://www.learningandteaching.inforeikson.html > < http://psychpage.com/learning/library/person/erikson/html > < http://businessballs.com/erik_erikson_psychosocial_theory.htm > < http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is/_164_41_n_17094446 > < http://findarticles/mi_m2248/is_159_40/ai_n15966354 > Read More