I. Stages of Early Childhood in Four Frameworks Psycho-social, Moral, Spiritual, and Racial

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1 I. Stages of Early Childhood in Four Frameworks Psycho-social, Moral, Spiritual, and Racial The Psycho-social Stages of Erik Erikson This page presents an overview of the developmental tasks involved in the social and emotional development of children and teenagers which continues into adulthood. The presentation is based on the Eight Stages of Development developed by psychiatrist, Erik Erikson in According to Erikson, the socialization process consists of eight phases - the "eight stages of man." His eight stages of man were formulated, not through experimental work, but through wide - ranging experience in psychotherapy, including extensive experience with children and adolescents from low - as well as upper - and middle - social classes. Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a "psychosocial crisis," which arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be satisfactorily negotiated. These stages are conceived in an almost architectural sense: satisfactory learning and resolution of each crisis is necessary if the child is to manage the next and subsequent ones satisfactorily, just as the foundation of a house is essential to the first floor, which in turn must be structurally sound to support and the second story, and so on. 1. Learning Basic Trust Versus Basic Mistrust (Hope) Chronologically, this is the period of infancy through the first one or two years of life. The child, well - handled, nurtured, and loved, develops trust and security and a basic optimism. Badly handled, he becomes insecure and mistrustful. 2. Learning Autonomy Versus Shame (Will) The second psychosocial crisis, Erikson believes, occurs during early childhood, probably between about 18 months or 2 years and 3½ to 4 years of age. The "well - parented" child emerges from this stage sure of himself, elated with his new found control, and proud rather than ashamed. Autonomy is not, however, entirely synonymous with assured self - possession, initiative, and independence but, at least for children in the early part of this psychosocial crisis, includes stormy self - will, tantrums, stubbornness, and negativism. For example, one sees may 2 year olds resolutely folding their arms to prevent their mothers from holding their hands as they cross the street. Also, the sound of "NO" rings through the house or the grocery store. 3. Learning Initiative Versus Guilt (Purpose) Erikson believes that this third psychosocial crisis occurs during what he calls the "play age," or the later preschool years (from about 3½ to, in the United States culture, entry into formal school). During it, the healthily developing child learns: (1) to imagine, to broaden his skills through active play of all sorts, including fantasy (2) to cooperate with others (3) to lead as well as to follow. Immobilized by guilt, he is: (1) fearful (2) hangs

2 on the fringes of groups (3) continues to depend unduly on adults and (4) is restricted both in the development of play skills and in imagination. 4. Industry Versus Inferiority (Competence) Erikson believes that the fourth psychosocial crisis is handled, for better or worse, during what he calls the "school age," presumably up to and possibly including some of junior high school. Here the child learns to master the more formal skills of life: (1) relating with peers according to rules (2) progressing from free play to play that may be elaborately structured by rules and may demand formal teamwork, such as baseball and (3) mastering social studies, reading, arithmetic. Homework is a necessity, and the need for self-discipline increases yearly. The child who, because of his successive and successful resolutions of earlier psychosocial crisis, is trusting, autonomous, and full of initiative will learn easily enough to be industrious. However, the mistrusting child will doubt the future. The shame - and guilt-filled child will experience defeat and inferiority. Lawrence Kohlberg s Stages of Moral Reasoning The Preconvential Level - At this level, the child is responsive to cultural rules and labels of good and bad, right or wrong, but he interprets the labels in terms of either the physical or hedonistic consequences of action (punishment, reward, exchange of favors) or the physical power of those who enunciate the rules and labels. The level is divided into the following three stages: Stage 0: Egocentric judgement. The child makes judgements of good on the basis of what he likes and wants or what helps him, and bad on the basis of what he does not like or what hurts him. He has no concept of rules or of obligations to obey or conform independent of his wish. Stage 1: The punishment and obedience orientation. The physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the human meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning deference to power are values in their own right, not in terms of respect for an underlying moral order supported by punishment and authority (the latter is stage 4). Stage 2: The instrumental relativist orientation. Right action consists of what instrumentally satisfies one's own needs and occasionally the needs of others. Human relations are viewed in terms such as those of the market place. Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way. Reciprocity is a matter of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch your", not loyalty, gratitude, or justice.

3 James Fowler - Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning I found both of this book while picking through the remains at library book sales, choosing books for prison libraries. I believe grace had a hand in it. Every Friday morning I facilitate a group of prisoners in a Spiritual Practices Book Discussion group. I hope that this framework will help them in their journeys and in my own. James Fowler has suggested that there are six stages of Faith Development. His book is a presentation of these stages. Scotty McLennan s book is a presentation of these stages with actions anyone can take to deepen their spiritual experience, regardless of the stage of their own development. 1) Magic: This stage can occur anytime after the first two years of life and usually concludes by age ten. The world is perceived magically: full of fairies and demons, super heroes and villains. It is hard to separate sleeping and waking states, nightmares and daydreams. Children in this place speak of God as all-powerful - someone who is responsible for everything that happens internally and externally, usually including both good and ill, from good health to plane crashes. God can create ghosts and destroy dragons. 2) Reality: Usually after the age of six...children enter the stage of Reality, in which they learn to think logically and order their world with scientific categories such as number and time and causality... In this reality-based spiritual stage, God begins to be images more tangible as a person - in Western culture, often as an old man with a long white beard. The Bible and other scriptures are read concretely and literally, rather that as mere tales. Moral rules begin to have an impact. Now, there is a cause-and-effect relationship to God or Ultimate Reality. God can be influenced by good deeds, promises, and vows. People have some degree of free will and choice, which also means control over good and bad results. Most children go through a transition period during which they still hold on to fragments of their Magic Stage. For example, a child may believe more strongly in Santa Clause when she starts to believe that God has moral rules that reward or punish her for being naughty or nice...childhood is a period of spiritual tension between the stages of Magic and Reality.

4 Stages of Racial Identity Development for People of Color William Cross author of Shades of Black: Diversity in African American Identity 1. Pre-encounter - Black child absorbs the beliefs and values of the White culture, including the idea that it is better to be White. This can be reduced by parents who work to provide positive cultural images. 2. Encounter - begins when an event or series of events force the young person to acknowledge the personal impact of racism. This often begins in school. Racial Identity Development for Whites Janet Helms author of Black and White Racial Identity 1. Contact stage - Whites pay little attention to the significance of their racial identity. I m just normal. A few children are actually taught racism but most just breathe it in the air around them and internalize stereotypes. They think of racism as the prejudiced behaviors of individuals rather than as an institutional system of advantage benefiting Whites. These messages can go unchallenged for a long time. 2. Disintegration - marked by a growing awareness of racism and White privilege. Often this is when they form a friendship with a person of color and see firsthand how racism operates by seeing such incidents as the police beating of Rodney King or participating in an unlearning racism workshop. This awareness has the uncomfortable emotions of guilt, shame, and anger. Whites begin to see how much their lives and the lives of people of color have been affected by racism.

5 II. Stages During Adolescence The Psychosocial Stages of Erik Erikson After Stage 3, one may use the whole repetoire of previous modalities, modes, and zones for industrious, identity-maintaining, intimate, legacy-producing, dispair-countering purposes. 4. Industry Versus Inferiority (Competence) Erikson believes that the fourth psychosocial crisis is handled, for better or worse, during what he calls the "school age," presumably up to and possibly including some of junior high school. Here the child learns to master the more formal skills of life: (1) relating with peers according to rules (2) progressing from free play to play that may be elaborately structured by rules and may demand formal teamwork, such as baseball and (3) mastering social studies, reading, arithmetic. Homework is a necessity, and the need for self-discipline increases yearly. The child who, because of his successive and successful resolutions of earlier psychosocial crisis, is trusting, autonomous, and full of initiative will learn easily enough to be industrious. However, the mistrusting child will doubt the future. The shame - and guilt-filled child will experience defeat and inferiority. 5. Learning Identity Versus Identity Diffusion (Fidelity) During the fifth psychosocial crisis (adolescence, from about 13 or 14 to about 20) the child, now an adolescent, learns how to answer satisfactorily and happily the question of "Who am I?" But even the best - adjusted of adolescents experiences some role identity diffusion: most boys and probably most girls experiment with minor delinquency; rebellion flourishes; self - doubts flood the youngster, and so on.

6 Lawrence Kohlberg s Stages of Moral Reasoning Conventional Level At this level, the individual perceives the maintenance of the expectations of his family, group, or nation as valuable in its own right, regardless of immediate and obvious consequences. The attitude is not only one of conformity to personal expectations and social order, but of loyalty to it, of actively maintaining, supporting, and justifying the order and identifying with the persons or group involved in it. The level consists of the following two stages: Stage 3: The interpersonal concordance or "good boy-nice girl" orientation. Good behavior is what pleases or helps others and is approved by them. There is much conformity to stereotypical images of what is majority or "natural" behavior. Behavior is frequently judged by intention -- "he means well" becomes important for the first time. One earns approval by being "nice". Stage 4: The "law and order" orientation. The individual is oriented toward authority, fixed rules, and the maintenance of the social order. Right behavior consists in doing one's duty, showing respect for authority, and maintaining the given social order for its own sake. James Fowler - Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning 3) Dependence: Most adolescents struggle with the tension between Dependence and Independence. The need for dependence, which starts around age twelve, stems from a number of unavoidable factors in both psychological and physiological development. The first and most important factor is puberty, which can be a confusing and painful time for girls and boys. Around this age, children also become affected more by peer pressure and are more easily influenced by the leadership of respected older people. These factors contribute to the period of dependence, during which time an individual is susceptible not only to cult involvement and brainwashing but also to the development of a meaningful outlook on life. In the Dependence stage, the young person hungers for a very personal relationship with God - the One who knows the individual and loves him or her unconditionally. God then helps and directs the person as an idealized parent, often replacing the actual parents, whom the adolescent begins to see as flawed.

7 4) Independence - One s Independence stage can begin as early as age sixteen. Instead of relying on outsiders, social conventions, and spiritual advisor to define one s religious orientation, the late teenager or young adult begins to find spiritual authority within. This is a common time for the individual to say, I m spiritual, but I m not religious, not wanting to be part of any institution of under anyone s control. At the same time, God or Ultimate Reality tends to become more impersonal and distant. Even for those who find in effect that the kingdom of God is within them (Luke 17:21), and in that sense close at hand, the internal God is usually described as soul or spirit. This form of God is not something with whom one interacts interpersonally in the way one would with a parent. Instead, God lies buried, waiting to be found as an animating force, deep beneath layers of one s personal psychology and various kinds of self-deception. Some may become functional deists during the Independence stage. Deists feel that a Supreme Being may have created the universe but has long since retreated and left the universe subject to the forces of natural and human laws. Perhaps this God or Force remains in the form of energy or electricity, but certainly not as a person who intervenes to break natural laws with miracles or as someone who carries on conversations with us. A common analogy for the absent God is that of a clock maker, who constructs and winds up the clock but lets it run on its own. Thomas Jefferson and Voltaire were deists throughout most of their lives. Some people in the Independent stage demythologize religious symbols, rituals, and stories. They search for historical background, literary function, and conceptual meaning. That also means that sacred power is muted or lost. Instead of experiencing the holy directly, these people have trouble getting beyond critical examination of the rituals, symbols, and myths that mediate the sacred. Since many adults never reach the Independent stage, and for a large number it does not emerge until the mid-thirties or forties, the tension between Dependent and Independent can cause considerable stress and strain in social and religious settings.

8 Stages of Racial Identity Development for People of Color William Cross author of Shades of Black: Diversity in African American Identity 3. Immersion / emersion - a time of strong desire to surround oneself with symbols of one s racial identity, and actively seek out opportunities to learn about one s own history and culture with the support of same-race peers. The Black person in the immersion / emersion phase is energized by the new information he or she is learning - angry perhaps that it wasn t available sooner - but excited to find our that there is more to Africa than Tarzan movies and that there is more to Black history than victimization. Racial Identity Development for Whites Janet Helms author of Black and White Racial Identity For Whites, adolescence is often the time of beginning to think about what it means in our society to be White unless circumstances bring these issues up earlier. 1. Contact stage - Whites pay little attention to the significance of their racial identity. I m just normal. A few children are actually taught racism but most just breathe it in the air around them and internalize stereotypes. They think of racism as the prejudiced behaviors of individuals rather than as an institutional system of advantage benefiting Whites. These messages can go unchallenged for a long time. 2. Disintegration - marked by a growing awareness of racism and White privilege. Often this is when they form a friendship with a person of color and see firsthand how racism operates by seeing such incidents as the police beating of Rodney King or participating in an unlearning racism workshop. This awareness has the uncomfortable emotions of guilt, shame, and anger. Whites begin to see how much their lives and the lives of people of color have been affected by racism. 3. Reintegration - pressure from ones associates and discomfort with the feelings generated make Whites at least consider going back to the contact stage. The social pressure from friends and acquaintances to collude, to not notice racism, can be quite powerful. But it is very difficult to stop noticing something once is has been pointed out. 4. Pseudo-independent - often seen as guilty White liberals. It is hard to accept that they are seen as members of a dominant racial group not only by other Whites but also by people of color. There is often a great desire to spend time with People of Color but if they are in the immersion stage the White might take it personally and give up.

9 III. Stages of Maturity The Psycho-social Stages of Erik Erikson 6. Learning Intimacy Versus Isolation (Love) The successful young adult, for the first time, can experience true intimacy - the sort of intimacy that makes possible good marriage or a genuine and enduring friendship. 7. Learning Generativity Versus Self-Absorption (Care) In adulthood, the psychosocial crisis demands generativity, both in the sense of marriage and parenthood, and in the sense of working productively and creatively. 8. Integrity Versus Despair (Wisdom) If the other seven psychosocial crisis have been successfully resolved, the mature adult develops the peak of adjustment; integrity. He trusts, he is independent and dares the new. He works hard, has found a well - defined role in life, and has developed a selfconcept with which he is happy. He can be intimate without strain, guilt, regret, or lack of realism; and he is proud of what he creates - his children, his work, or his hobbies. If one or more of the earlier psychosocial crises have not been resolved, he may view himself and his life with disgust and despair Lawrence Kohlberg s Stages of Moral Reasoning Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level. The individual makes a clear effort to define moral values and principles that have validity and application apart from the authority of the groups of persons holding them and apart from the individual's own identification with the group. The level has the two following stages: Stage 5: The social-contract legalistic orientation (generally with utilitarian overtones). Right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights and standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society. There is a clear awareness of the relativism of personal values and opinions and a corresponding emphasis upon procedural rules for reaching consensus. Aside from what is constitutionally and democratically agreed upon, right action is a matter of personal values and opinions. The result is an emphasis upon the "legal point of view", but with an

10 additional emphasis upon the possibility of changing the law in terms of rational considerations of social utility (rather than freezing it in terms of stage 4 "law and order"). Outside the legal realm, free agreement, and contract, is the binding element of obligation. The "official" morality of the American government and Constitution is at this stage. Stage 6: The universal ethical-principle orientation. Right is defined by the decision of conscience in accord with self-chosen ethical principles that appeal to logical comprehensiveness, universality, and consistency. These principles are abstract and ethical (the Golden Rule, the categorical imperative); they are not concrete moral rules like the Ten Commandments. At heart, these are universal principles of justice, of the reciprocity and equality of the human rights, and of respect for the dignity of human beings as individual persons. James Fowler - Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning 4) Independence - One s Independence stage can begin as early as age sixteen. Instead of relying on outsiders, social conventions, and spiritual advisor to define one s religious orientation, the late teenager or young adult begins to find spiritual authority within. This is a common time for the individual to say, I m spiritual, but I m not religious, not wanting to be part of any institution of under anyone s control. At the same time, God or Ultimate Reality tends to become more impersonal and distant. Even for those who find in effect that the kingdom of God is within them (Luke 17:21), and in that sense close at hand, the internal God is usually described as soul or spirit. This form of God is not something with whom one interacts interpersonally in the way one would with a parent. Instead, God lies buried, waiting to be found as an animating force, deep beneath layers of one s personal psychology and various kinds of self-deception. Some may become functional deists during the Independence stage. Deists feel that a Supreme Being may have created the universe but has long since retreated and left the universe subject to the forces of natural and human laws. Perhaps this God or Force remains in the form of energy or electricity, but certainly not as a person who intervenes to break natural laws with miracles or as someone who carries on conversations with us. A common analogy for the absent God is that of a clock maker, who constructs and winds up the clock but lets it run on its own. Thomas Jefferson and Voltaire were deists throughout most of their lives. Some people in the Independent stage demythologize religious symbols, rituals, and stories. They search for historical background, literary function, and conceptual meaning. That also means that sacred power is muted or lost. Instead of experiencing the holy directly, these people have trouble getting beyond critical examination of the rituals, symbols, and myths that mediate the sacred.

11 Since many adults never reach the Independent stage, and for a large number it does not emerge until the mid-thirties or forties, the tension between Dependent and Independent can cause considerable stress and strain in social and religious settings. 5) Interdependence - The Interdependence stage has been called a second naiveté because it is a time when religious symbols become sacred once again and are found to have new power. As the name suggests, this stage of Interdependence is the reconciliation of the previous stages of Dependence and Independence. People at this spiritual level live in a dialectical yin-and-yang world, in which they are able to tolerate ambiguity and seeming contradiction and enjoy complexity. God or Ultimate Reality is experienced paradoxically. For example, many people at this stage can pray to God the person, even though they intellectually understand the divine as an impersonal force in the universe. Instead of taking an either-or approach to life, people at the Interdependence stage are able to see all sides of an issue at the same time. Religiously, people at the Interdependent stage are open to dialogue between different traditions because they understand that truth is multidimensional. Any particular religious symbol, myth, or ritual is necessarily limited and incomplete, bound by the follower s personal experiences. This is not a purely relativistic approach, however, as it is in the Independence stage. People in the Interdependent stage know the value of picking a particular path. Those at the Interdependent stage do not demythologize religion, because critical analysis is tempered by spiritual awareness. For example, someone at this level recognizes that Communion, on the surface, is a totemic ritual but still feels the sacred meaning of the Eucharist. 6) Unity - People at the stage of Unity feel unconditionally related to the Ultimate. In other words, they have a direct awareness of the oneness of all existence. Before this stage we may have momentary experiences but people at the Unity stage have these kinds of experience much more often, and these experiences continually inform the rest of their understanding. Yin and yang and all other forms of paradox now disappear into undivided unity. People at this stage speak of God in an all-pervasive sense: God is felt to be in everything, and everything seems to exist in God. As a result, they possess a universalizing compassion and a vision of universal community beyond all forms of tribalism. Personal security also ceases to be a concern at the stage of Unity, and virtually all forms of ego attachment disappear. One is now ready for deep relationships with individuals at any of the other faith stages and from any other religious tradition. These mystically aware people can be seen to be subversive of structures and organizations (including institutional religion). As a result they can become targets of misunderstanding and conflict. Some have died at the hands of others, such as Mohandas Gandhi, who was assassinated by a fellow Hindu for his openness to Muslims. Often these figures are more revered and respected after they are dead. Two modern examples of those revered well before their death are Mother Teresa, a Catholic, and the fourteenth Dali Lama, a Buddhist.

12 Stages of Racial Identity Development for People of Color William Cross author of Shades of Black: Diversity in African American Identity 4. Internalization - characterized by sense of security about one s racial identity. Often willing to make friendships across group boundaries. 5. Internalization - commitment. Translates a personal sense of racial identity into ongoing action expressing a sense of commitment to the concerns of Blacks as a group. Racial Identity Development for Whites Janet Helms author of Black and White Racial Identity 2. Disintegration - marked by a growing awareness of racism and White privilege. Often this is when they form a friendship with a person of color and see firsthand how racism operates by seeing such incidents as the police beating of Rodney King or participating in an unlearning racism workshop. This awareness has the uncomfortable emotions of guilt, shame, and anger. Whites begin to see how much their lives and the lives of people of color have been affected by racism. 3. Reintegration - pressure from ones associates and discomfort with the feelings generated make Whites at least consider going back to the contact stage. The social pressure from friends and acquaintances to collude, to not notice racism, can be quite powerful. But it is very difficult to stop noticing something once is has been pointed out. 4. Pseudo-independent - often seen as guilty White liberals. It is hard to accept that they are seen as members of a dominant racial group not only by other Whites but also by people of color. There is often a great desire to spend time with People of Color but if they are in the immersion stage the White might take it personally and give up. 5. Immersion / emersion - recognizing the need for a more positive self-definition we find Whites who are further along and can help us. It is time to study the history of Whites who have resisted the role of oppressor and who have been allies to people of color. 6. Autonomy - take on the roll of ally, search out the stories of other allies and share your experience with others who are just starting out. Rewarded with an increasingly multiracial and multicultural existence.