Socialization, Family & Cultural Influences - GRE Subject Test: Psychology

The only Russian-American in this grouping is Urie Bronfenbrenner. Moreover, it was Bronfenbrenner who devised and explicated the Ecological Systems Theory of development, which describes increasingly broad swaths of social and cultural influences from parents and the local neighborhood on up through mass media and cultural values. Bronfenbrenner highlighted the need for community, social, and cultural involvement in the healthy development of children.

Erikson aligned himself with the psychodynamic perspective, but reached beyond the work of his peers by incorporating a social component into his explanation of human development across the lifespan. His 8-stage model explains development from infancy through old age. This model has generated an abundance of research and has secured his place in psychology's history. It is important the note the place of conflict and crisis in his model as those are key elements in a psychodynamic orientation.

In Erikson's eight-stage model of psychosocial development, children between the ages of five and twelve years are in the Industry vs. Inferiority stage, which is characterized by the drive to prove one's worth both by society's standards and one's own. If a child in this stage should learn that he or she had the worst performance in the class on an exam, then he or she would have failed to meet both his/her and the teacher's standards.

Harry Harlow's famous experiment with Rhesus monkeys demonstrated that infant monkeys preferred the "cloth" mothers with no food to the "wire" mother with food. He concluded that infant monkeys needed "contact comfort", which is the idea that the mere contact with a nurturing figure is more essential for emotional development than physical sustenance.

Ainsworth's "strange situation task" involved a mother-child pair entering a room with toys. The child is allowed to explore the toys, and in a few minutes a stranger joins the pair in the room. Shortly after, the mother leaves the room. Observing the child's reactions to this scenario can help determine the child's attachment style. A securely attached child is mildly distressed upon separation, but greet the mother positively upon her return. Infants who shows no distress upon separation and avoid contact upon return would have an insecure/avoidant attachment style. Infants who show distress upon separation, but resist physical contact upon her return would have an insecure/resistant attachment style.

The Heinz Dilemma is part of a test to determine the moral level of a given individual. The dilemma involves a man's wife needing a particular medication in order to save her life. Because the man could not pay for the medication and the pharmacist was unwilling to lower the price, the man steals the medication. Based on the individuals reasoning, Kohlberg could help determine the stage of moral development of a given individual. Although Kohlberg also studied gender development, the Heinz dilemma was specific to moral development. Kohlberg did not study cognitive or psychosocial development.

Gottman's four horsemen all have to do with the quality of interactions, not the quantity. Traits like defensiveness and stonewalling act as strategies to create separation, and contempt and criticism in language are attacks on the other partner. While inconsistent communication is certainly not good, it does not fall into Gottman's categorization.

Companionate love occurs after a long period of partner union. It lacks the passion associated with the first 5-10 years of a relationship, by Sternberg's model. This is the difference between companionate love and consummate love, which includes passion, commitment and intimacy.

Stranger anxiety begins around 7 months and lasts until 11 months. Of note, separation anxiety can set in between 12-15 months. At 1-6 months is too young to demonstrate these characteristics, so babies are typically comfortable with strangers during this time.

A child generally develops a sense of self as a male or a female at 3 years. During this time they are also expected to be potty trained (achieve bladder control), ride a tricycle, and use around 900 words. By 4 years, the child will start to engage in play with other children and start role playing (ex. playing house).