One of the relatively important things that I teach my
students as a college teacher of psychology is where people are; understanding what
levels and stages people occupy at a given time helps to understand ourselves,
our motivations, the success of our mental and physical adaptation to our
culture and to the world around us.
Three developmental psychologists that I cite in General
Psych class are Jean Piaget, who was interested in intellectual development,
Erik Erikson, who was interested in psycho-social development (how well we ‘fit
in’ to our society), and Lawrence Kohlberg, who was interested in moral
development.
I have taken each of these three theorists and done a very
brief analysis of the behaviors of the president-elect, comparing his behaviors
to the scales developed and outlined by each of the three. For each of the three theorists, I have
assigned a likely developmental age to the president-elect.
I am concerned that we have elected someone to the office
who will be counter-productive and dangerous.
I’ll let you decide for yourself if you agree.
The descriptions for each of the stages that I reference
were pulled more or less directly from public domain locations on the
internet. I haven’t done anything to
them, other than to review them and determine that they are accurate reflections
of the stages described. The locations
where stage descriptions are generically pulled from internet sources are
identified as such.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S AGE ACCORDING TO THE
SCALES OF THREE DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
Jean Piaget developed a scale for measuring intellectual
development that consists of four stages.
Consider the following two stages from Jean Piaget’s intellectual
development scale.
[From internet sources]
The Preoperational Stage (roughly ages 2-7): At this stage,
kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and taking the
point of view of other people. They also often struggle with understanding the
ideal of constancy. For example, a researcher might take a lump of clay, divide
it into two equal pieces, and then give a child the choice between two pieces
of clay to play with. One piece of clay is rolled into a compact ball while the
other is smashed into a flat pancake shape. Since the flat shape looks larger,
the preoperational child will likely choose that piece even though the two
pieces are exactly the same size.
The Concrete Operational Stage (roughly ages 7-11): Kids at
this point of development begin to think more logically, but their thinking can
also be very rigid. They tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical
concepts. At this point, children also become less egocentric and begin to
think about how other people might think and feel. Kids in the concrete
operational stage also begin to understand that their thoughts are unique to
them and that not everyone else necessarily shares their thoughts, feelings,
and opinions.
[End internet references]
In Jean Piaget’s intellectual
development stages, Trump is most likely on the cusp of transition between the Preoperational
Stage and the Concrete Operational Stage.
His behavior suggests the intellectual maturity of someone at the level
of a reasonably sophisticated 6 year old.
His egocentrism and lack of empathy, coupled with his lack of reasoning
and failure to distinguish abstract from reality suggest the Preoperational
Stage and his rigid thought and lack of flexibility in perspective suggest the
Concrete Operational Stage.
TRUMP’S LIKELY AGE ON THE PIAGET INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
SCALE: 6½.
Erik Erikson developed a scale for measuring psycho-social
development that consists of eight stages.
Consider the following two stages of Erikson’s psycho-social development
scale.
[From internet sources]
Industry (or competence) vs. Inferiority (roughly 5-12): Children
are at the stage where they will be learning to read and write, to do sums, to
do things on their own. Teachers begin to take an important role in the child’s
life as they teach the child specific skills.
It is at this stage that the child’s peer group will gain
greater significance and will become a major source of the child’s self-esteem.
The child now feels the need to win approval by demonstrating specific
competencies that are valued by society, and begin to develop a sense of pride
in their accomplishments.
If children are encouraged and reinforced for their
initiative, they begin to feel industrious and feel confident in their ability
to achieve goals. If this initiative is not encouraged, if it is restricted by
parents or teacher, then the child begins to feel inferior, doubting his own
abilities and therefore may not reach his or her potential.
If the child cannot develop the specific skill they feel
society is demanding (e.g. being athletic) then they may develop a sense of
inferiority. Some failure may be necessary so that the child can develop some
modesty. Yet again, a balance between competence and modesty is necessary.
Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of competence.
Identity vs. Role Confusion (roughly 12-18 years): During
this stage adolescents search for a sense of self and personal identity,
through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs and goals.
The adolescent mind is essentially a mind or moratorium, a
psychosocial stage between childhood and adulthood, and between the morality
learned by the child, and the ethics to be developed by the adult
During adolescence the transition from childhood to adulthood
is most important. Children are becoming more independent, and begin to look at
the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. The
individual wants to belong to a society and fit in.
This is a major stage in development where the child has to
learn the roles he will occupy as an adult. It is during this stage that the
adolescent will re-examine his identity and try to find out exactly who he or
she is. Erikson suggests that two identities are involved: the sexual and the occupational.
According to Bee (1992), what should happen at the end of
this stage is “a reintegrated sense of self, of what one wants to do or be, and
of one’s appropriate sex role”. During this stage the body image of the
adolescent changes.
Erikson claims that the adolescent may feel uncomfortable
about their body for a while until they can adapt and “grow into” the changes.
Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of fidelity.
Fidelity involves being able to commit one's self to others
on the basis of accepting others, even when there may be ideological
differences.
During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to
form their own identity based upon the outcome of their explorations. Failure
to establish a sense of identity within society ("I don’t know what I want
to be when I grow up") can lead to role confusion. Role confusion involves
the individual not being sure about themselves or their place in society.
In response to role confusion or identity crisis an
adolescent may begin to experiment with different lifestyles (e.g. work,
education or political activities). Also pressuring someone into an identity
can result in rebellion in the form of establishing a negative identity, and in
addition to this feeling of unhappiness.
[End internet references]
In Erik Erikson’s psycho-social development stages, Trump is
most likely on the cusp of transition between the Industry vs Inferiority Stage
and the Identity vs Role Confusion Stage.
Trump’s constant need for assurance of self-esteem (‘big
hands,’, ‘they can’t say no,’ and constant tweet wars with celebrities) suggest
the Industry vs Inferiority Stage. He
appears to be more intent and focused on perception of self than on concrete
reality and on ‘bigger picture’ endeavors.
It is rather painfully apparent that he has a huge inferiority complex
and needs constant ego strokes. He is
totally lacking in modesty and lacks completely the ability to be self-deprecating.
He appears to be insecure about body issues (‘small hands’
defense and comparisons, orange epidermis, ‘comb over,’ asking that certain
picture of him not be used). He evidences a need to appear in control both
sexually and vocationally. His search
for beliefs and goals is muddled - to say the least - and that issue/conviction
which he holds intensely one day may be completely reversed the following day.
TRUMP’S LIKELY AGE ON THE ERIKSON PSYCHO-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
SCALE: 13.
Lawrence Kohlberg developed a scale for measuring moral development that consists
of six stages grouped into three levels.
Consider the following three stages of Kohlberg’s moral development
scale.
[From internet sources]
Stage One; obedience and punishment driven (infancy to
pre-school) - individuals focus on the direct consequences of their actions on
themselves. For example, an action is perceived as morally wrong because the
perpetrator is punished. "The last time I did that I got spanked, so I
will not do it again." The worse the punishment for the act is, the more
"bad" the act is perceived to be. This can give rise to an inference that even
innocent victims are guilty in proportion to their suffering. It is
"egocentric," lacking recognition that others' points of view are
different from one's own. There is
"deference to superior power or prestige."
Stage Two; self-interest driven (preschool age) - expresses
the "what's in it for me" position, in which right behavior is
defined by whatever the individual believes to be in their best interest but
understood in a narrow way which does not consider one's reputation or
relationships to groups of people. Stage two reasoning shows a limited interest
in the needs of others, but only to a point where it might further the
individual's own interests. As a result, concern for others is not based on
loyalty or intrinsic respect, but rather a "You scratch my back, and I'll
scratch yours" mentality. There is
a lack of societal perspective and all actions at this stage have the purpose
of serving the individual's own needs or interests.
Stage Three; good intentions as determined by social
consensus (school age to teen years) - the self enters society by conforming to
social standards. Individuals are receptive to approval or disapproval from
others as it reflects society's views. They try to be a "good boy" or
"good girl" to live up to these expectations, having learned that
being regarded as good benefits the self. Stage three reasoning may judge the
morality of an action by evaluating its consequences in terms of a person's
relationships, which now begin to include things like respect, gratitude, and the
"golden rule". "I want to be liked and thought well of;
apparently, not being naughty makes people like me." Conforming to the
rules for one's social role is not yet fully understood. The intentions of
actors play a more significant role in reasoning at this stage; one may feel
more forgiving if one thinks that "they mean well".
Stage Four; authority and social order obedience driven
(school age to teen years) - it is important to obey laws, dictums, and social
conventions because of their importance in maintaining a functioning society.
Moral reasoning in stage four is thus beyond the need for individual approval
exhibited in stage three. A central ideal or ideals often prescribe what is
right and wrong. If one person violates a law, perhaps everyone would—thus
there is an obligation and a duty to uphold laws and rules. When someone does
violate a law, it is morally wrong; culpability is thus a significant factor in
this stage as it separates the bad domains from the good ones. Most active
members of society remain at stage four, where morality is still predominantly dictated
by an outside force.
[End internet references]
Trump’s behaviors orient primarily around stages 1-3. He invokes stage one when he refuses to
release his tax returns and to accept the consequences for his behavior as
reflected in those returns. Stages two
and three are the primary motivators and descriptors for his morality. His very ‘essence’ (The Art of the Deal) is a
rather pure expression of a quid pro quo mentality and ethos. He lives the preponderance of his private and
personal life asking ‘what’s in it for me?’ Nearly every idea and action he has
initiated and invoked on the public stage has been a reflection of
self-service.
His stage three manifestations are reflected in his constant tweets, which are
more concerned about the entertainment industry than pragmatic infrastructure
or national concerns. He is overly
concerned with his popularity and whether or not his behavior (morality) makes
him liked or disliked. It would not be
unreasonable to say that he is consummately driven by external opinions and
influences.
The mention of stage four in this particular analysis is
interesting in that he does not evidence stage four behaviors, but instead
INVOKES stage four as rationale and motive for much of his own stage two,
egocentric, behavior. When he suggests “I
know what’s best for you,” he is invoking the quintessential authoritarian
logic and force. Because I know what’s
best, you must listen to me and you will – as a result – be acceptably
moral. He does not live by or adhere to stage
four, but invokes it as a basis for his stage two behavior.
TRUMP’S LIKELY AGE ON THE KOHLBERG MORAL DEVELOPMENT SCALE: 11.
