Just as there are psychologists who researched and wrote about childhood development, there are also those who focused on development through adulthood. While they each take a different and unique perspective, they all agree that development does in fact continue into adulthood. We are now going to look at four well-known psychologists and the theories they each created to describe adult development.
Roger Gould's Theory
The premise beneath Roger Gould's adult development theory is that development takes place with the replacement of childhood responses with ones that are more mature. His belief is that we learned behavior as children that we believed would keep us safe. As we grow, we are challenged to give up those old behaviors when faced with a situation that invites a different and healthier response.
Let's meet 30-year-old Gina. When Gina was eight years old, her father left her and her mother and never contacted them again. Gina never trusted men again. She learned that if she kept men at a distance, she would be emotionally safe. Gina has recently been trying to work on trusting men that are trustworthy. She has been seriously dating a man who wants to marry her, but she finds herself struggling to make that kind of commitment for fear he will later leave her. According to Gould, Gina is caught between her childhood behavior to avoid men and a potentially new response to begin trusting. If she changes this part of herself, she is exhibiting development. However, if she continues to resist change, she will fail to develop.
Daniel Levinson's Theory
Daniel Levinson also created his own theory on adult development. Levinson believed that life is composed of various stages that require us to make decisions, like choosing our life direction. He stated that development takes place as a person moves from one of these stages to another. He listed seven life stages that are typical to one's life journey. They include:
- Early adult transition
- Entering the adult world
- Age 30 transition
- Settling down
- Mid-life transition
- Entering middle adulthood
- Late adulthood
Let's meet Larry. We will follow Larry as he grows through his various life stages.
Larry is 18 years old and starts off in early adult transition, when he leaves home to go to college. This is a stage of the initial stages of independence.
When he graduates four years later, he is in the entering the adult world phase, which means he will now be responsible for finding a job and taking care of himself in new ways, like paying bills and developing relationships.
When Larry turns 30, he enters the age 30 transition, which means he is undergoing a new change that brings him into the next season of life. For Larry, this means he is getting married.
After a few years of being married, Larry and his wife, Karen, start having children. They are now entering the settling down stage.
Years later, when Larry is 43, he enters a mid-life transition, or a life crisis, as he wonders if his life has meaning and daydreams about the plans he had when he was in his twenties.
Larry decides to make some changes, like starting to collect antiques and investing more in his relationship with Karen. As he settles into these new projects, while accepting where his life is today, he is entering middle adulthood.
Many years later, when Larry is in his seventies, he is in the late adulthood stage, where his life is stable and he reflects on positive memories and past accomplishments.
William Perry's Theory
Perry focused on adult development but specifically as it applied to young adult students. He believed that young adults develop as they change their perspective from the belief in absolute truth to one of multiple truths. He listed nine steps of development that make up this progression. Let's follow Peter as he develops through those nine stages.
When Peter arrives in college, he is under the assumption that authorities know everything. This is the first stage for young adults. Peter has spent his young life always believing and following the orders of those in authority like his teachers, coach, and parents.
As the year progresses, Peter enters the second stage as he disagrees with the opinion of one of his professors. He starts to believe that only true authorities are correct. This means that others, like Peter's professor, are not true authorities and therefore incorrect.
Toward the end of the year, Peter sees that his favorite professor didn't have all the answers to class questions. He is now in the third stage of recognizing that all authorities might not know everything, but they are seeking out the truth.
Through his other classes, Peter discovers that a few of his professors think differently, and that they are looking for students to find out the answer for themselves rather than being told the answer to memorize. He has now entered the fourth stage in development.
When Peter takes a philosophy class the next year, he has to deal with some difficult hypothetical situations, and his classmates have different opinions on how they should be solved. Peter now understands that everything is relative, though not equally valid, as some answers are better than others.
After a meeting with his advisor on his major, Peter realizes that he has to make his own decisions rather than leaning on the opinions of authority figures around him. There are now two actions Peter can take: he makes a first commitment of his own when he tells his parents he will study philosophy and possibly go to law school afterward. Then, Peter makes other commitments over the next few years of sharing his personal thoughts in classes, with friends, and family.
The ninth stage involves Peter owning his personal opinions while also being ready to learn from others. Peter displays the fulfillment of this stage as he openly shares his thoughts in classes and listens to hear what his professors and peers have to say.
Carl Jung's Theory
Carl Jung did not provide a list of particular stages for adults to pass through, but he did discuss some main tasks to be accomplished during adulthood. He described this time as one for past reflection, making peace with past events, and forgiving parents for any mistakes they made in childhood. He also said adults should use this time to develop mastery of their skills and become more flexible and less rigid.
If we were to consider 50-year-old Jenny, we would see her accomplishing this list of tasks. Jenny considers her past and apologizes to her daughter for not giving her the attention she needed. She is also forgiving her parents for not being present enough for her as a child. Last but not least, she is developing her talent as a journalist and has just been promoted at work.
