PSYC30016 Chap.1 Developmental Frameworks
Developmental Frameworks
Four lenses, four explanatory jobs
This chapter turns Erikson, Baltes, Havighurst and dynamic systems theory into usable analytical lenses. Erikson organises psychosocial tensions and the social relationships through which they are negotiated. Baltes keeps development lifelong, multidirectional and contextual. Havighurst directs attention to developmental tasks.
Dynamic systems theory traces reciprocal relations that can amplify or redirect a trajectory. The point is not to crown one theory. It is to select the lens that fits the question and explain the mechanism it makes visible.
Age is not a mechanism
An age band locates a phenomenon in developmental time, but it does not explain why it occurs.
A strong answer identifies a task, relationship, contextual influence or feedback process and connects that process to the facts. This prevents stage labels from becoming causes and makes room for individual and cultural variation.
Comparison needs one shared criterion
Two theories are comparable only when they address the same outcome or explanatory problem.
Compare them on treatment of context, capacity to explain variation, clarity about mechanism or ability to generate a prediction. Then state what each lens adds and which part of the phenomenon remains unexplained.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Theory as linked description, explanation and prediction
- 02
Erikson and psychosocial tensions
- 03
Baltes and multidirectional lifespan change
- 04
Havighurst and developmental tasks
- 05
Dynamic systems and reciprocal relations
- 06
Theory comparison through a shared criterion
Worked example · free
Explain a difficult transition through two lenses
- 1Name the task created by the transition, such as building role competence and new relationships.
- 1Apply the task account to the missing opportunities or supports in the prompt.
- 1Trace a reciprocal loop between withdrawal and fewer successful interactions.
- 1Compare the lenses on mechanism: task identifies what must be negotiated, systems explains how the pattern maintains itself.
- 1State a qualified prediction about structured, low-risk interaction opportunities.
Key terms
- Psychosocial tension
- A developmental vulnerability organised around the relation between the person and the social world in Erikson's account.
- Multidirectionality
- The principle that different capacities can change in different directions at the same time rather than forming one global path of progress or decline.
- Developmental task
- A period-linked demand shaped by maturation, social expectation and individual aims.
- Dynamic system
- A set of reciprocal person-context relations whose feedback can stabilise or redirect behaviour over time.
- Mechanism
- The process proposed to connect an explanatory condition with an observed developmental outcome.
Developmental Frameworks FAQ
Why use more than one developmental theory?
Different theories highlight different explanatory levels. One may organise the social tension or task, while another explains reciprocal change or contextual variation. Using more than one lens is valuable when the comparison is built around the same phenomenon rather than presented as separate summaries.
Is an age-linked stage enough to explain behaviour?
No. A stage locates the behaviour in a broad developmental pattern. An explanation still needs a mechanism, such as task negotiation, relationship change, contextual opportunity or reciprocal feedback, and it must be applied to the facts in the prompt.
How should two theories be compared in an essay?
Choose one criterion, such as treatment of context, account of individual variation or predictive usefulness. Apply both theories to the same outcome, state what each adds, and identify the specific boundary that keeps either account from becoming universal.
How can I tell whether I have explained a mechanism?
A mechanism sentence identifies a process that connects conditions to change. It should specify what happens between the starting facts and the outcome, such as feedback between withdrawal and lost interaction opportunities. Test the sentence by removing the theorist's name. If the process remains clear and could generate a prediction, the answer is explanatory rather than decorative.
Exam move
Make a four-column matrix with Erikson, Baltes, Havighurst and dynamic systems theory. For each recurring course phenomenon, write one question the lens asks, one mechanism and one limitation. Practise the same vignette through two columns and force yourself to compare them on one criterion. During revision, remove every sentence that only announces a theory name.
Replace it with a sentence that connects the mechanism to a fact and ends with a prediction or boundary. Build a second matrix with course phenomena down the side: peer competence, identity exploration, family negotiation, emotion regulation and individuation. Fill each cell only when the lens genuinely adds an explanation. Blank cells are useful because they stop theory from becoming decorative.
Next, write three versions of one paragraph, changing the comparison criterion from context to individual variation to prediction. Check that the conclusion changes with the criterion. Finally, rehearse a sixty-second oral explanation in which every theory name is followed by a because clause. If the clause only restates the label, return to the lecture definition and identify the process.
This routine prepares both reflective writing and time-limited planning because it makes selection deliberate rather than familiar.
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