What is the significance for human development of Erikson’s epigenetic perspective (pp. 272-273)?

Instructions

Course Reader, Chapter 15. Erik Erikson on The Eight Ages of Man (from his book Childhood and Society)
This classic discussion by a noted psychoanalyst asks us to look at the human life cycle as a whole. What is the significance for human development of Erikson’s epigenetic perspective (pp. 272-273)? How does it encourage us to view all the stages of human development, from infant to child to adolescent to adult to elder, in the perspective of the entire life cycle? Take any one or two of Erikson’s life stages and discuss them; what insight do they provide insight into the human life cycle?

1) It must be at least 3 paragraphs long (it can be more, but not less).

2) Each of the first three paragraphs MUST be at least 8 substantial sentences – full sentences, not sentence fragments. (More than 3 paragraphs is fine, not required.)

3 There MUST be AT LEAST ONE empty, blank line between the three (or more) paragraphs.

4) You MUST check your spelling and grammar. Please use spellcheck, which means writing your essay in a word processing format and then posting it in Blackboard – an essay filled with typose [SEE HOW UGLY THEY LOOK?] and spelling errors will not gain credit.

5) Your essay MUST contain DETAILED discussion, analysis and response to the reading in question. This means that I need to see at least two actual citations (more are even better) from the article – with page numbers from each citation (not from the same page). Citing a few words or a sentence [NOT MORE] from the article in quotes is REQUIRED as is the page number.

6) A VIEWPOINT ESSAY MUST be labeled as such – please call it (as an example) Viewpoint Essay Erikson John Smith. In other words, Viewpoint Essay followed by the author of the article on whom you are writing, then both your first and last name. A Response must clearly be labeled as a Response. This may sound complicated, but you will quickly see how it works and will be able to do this easily. Please understand: I am reading many, many essays, and I need you to do this to facilitate my being able to easily find and read your work.

There will be a point deducted if you misspell the name of an author, even once. This begins in Forum One. Helpful Hint: It is Erik Erikson, NOT Ericksen, or Eriksen, or Erickson

The Essays and Responses you are posting should be seen by you as professional work completed for an upper division university course. You must post your essays using a uniform font and font size, and there must be no broken lines or zig-zags, or strange embedded characters that do not belong. There is no substitute for proofreading before posting, even a second or third time, to be sure that your posted work is “clean” in this basic sense.

Your first three Viewpoint essays will be a minimum of 3 paragraphs, separated by at least one completely blank and empty line, with at least 8 well-formed and complete sentences in each paragraph, and at least 2 specific page citations from the reading (these essays are worth 8 points each (a total of 24 points).

Examples That Meet (or more than meet) The Required Format for your Viewpoint Essay

Example one

Holding my daughter after her birth is one of the few acts in my existence where if felt my purpose in life was clear. Every part of my body relayed that I was meant to hold and comfort, nurse, and protect this helpless little being in my arms. Her inability to thrive on her own was clear. She did not have the reflexes or defined senses to protect against the elements of the world. After reading Dr. Ashleys Montagu’s theory on exterogestation and his writings in Chapter 1, The Mind of the Skin, from his book Touching and the Significance of Skin, my view of this experience with my newborn daughter expanded. The newborn that was in my care was in an embryonic phase. The phase Dr. Montagu’s exterogestation theory identifies as the first 9-12 months of the human infant outside of the uterus. (Gould p.72) A 9-12 month phase where the dependent helpless newborn starts with a brain developed to 25% of its capacity in utero and ends with a brain nearly doubled its size as it grows and learns from the stimulus of the external world. (Ex. 4, HDEV 3800 manual). A world that begins when the newborns emerges from the amniotic fluid of the womb into the arms of its mother and into a world where its senses are stimulated through the contact of its skin. Montagu identifies that this contact through touch is significant in the development and survival of the human baby as well and other animals through the physiological responses.

The skin as first introduced by Dr. Ashley Montagu in chapter one, The Mind of the Skin, is an organ whose massive neuro connections allow an organism to grow and learn from the physical world. Montagu shows in his illustration of the brain that different areas of the brain interpret information from different areas on the skin. The brain develops an understanding of the environment through necessary sensation to the skin or touch. The skin is described as possibly being the next most important organ “next to the brain” (p.1) To exemplify that touch can make a difference, Montagu cites a research example conducted by Dr. Hammett where the variance in outcome was dependent on how the rats of the study had been handled or touched prior to the removal of the parathyroid or thyroid. The minimally handled rats, or ungentled rats, revealed an animal “frightened, and bewildered, anxious and tense in the presence of people” (p.13), whereas, the gentle or handled rat presented as calmer and more relaxed animal. In the study, the survival of the gentle rat was significantly greater post surgically than the ungentled rat due to the response of the ungentled rat to stress. A result that Dr. Hammett did not expect bit found to be a serendipitous finding that related the difference in gentled and ungenteled animals in his research. For other studies cited by Dr. Montagu the animals stimulus to the skin is in the form of “licking”(p.15).

At birth the significance of touch or cutaneous connection is “licking” by a mother to its baby in the animal world. This “licking”marks whether the baby animal will survive as cited by Dr. Montagu. Without this stimulation or “licking” of the skin at the perineal area by the mother, the birthed animal will suffer death from failure to eliminate from the genitourinary or anal area. (p.16) This result is recognized by Montagu for rats, lambs, pups, kittens, baboons, and mammals comprehensively. It also supports the significance of touch in relations to survival. To further identify the importance of touch, Dr. Montagu includes the studies conducted by Professor Harlow. Professor Harlow’s research questioned how would baby rhesus monkeys respond to two artificial mothers. Each artificial mother is made of a wire; with one remaining a wire frame and the second a wire frame covered with cloth. Nutrition was offered in the form of a bottle and studies varied the arrangement as to which artificial mother offered nutrition. As the studies concluded, the surprising results showed that the baby rhesus monkey preferred the attachment or affection of the cloth artificial mother over the wire mother that offered nutrition. This preference was defined by the amount of time the rhesus monkey spent on the cloth artificial mother (p.30) Overall, the studies cited in Chapter 1 of Dr. Ashley Montagu’s book, demonstrate that touch is significant in the development and survival of animals including humans as interpreted in the physiological response from the stimulus to our comprehensive skin covering that is well connected to the brain.

Example 2

Lauren Lindsey Porter’s, The Science of Attachment, dives into the importance of the bond that an infant and mother share. Porter explores the correlation between the strength of that bond the development of that infant. She references the work of English psychiatrist, John Bowlby, to highlight the significance of the level of attachment and bond between mother and child and how that bond can later play a huge role in the physiological development of the child. In 1950, Bowlby began his work for his attachment theory, which is “based on the belief that the mother-child bond is the essential and primary force in infant development, and thus forms the basis of coping, negotiation of relationships, and personality development (62)”. If there is no mother figure, the primary care giver fills this role in creating that bond. There are two types of attachment styles for children: insecure and secure. Insecure attachment includes “preoccupation, avoidant response, and a lack of cooperative communication in mother-child pair (62)” and secure attachment is when there is constant contact between mother and child and trust is formed, giving the child a sense of ease. An infant is likely to develop one of these styles based on how its needs are met by its mother while the two interact. The bond plays such a big role in the development and healthy brain activity in infants and stress can stump this development in a big way. At crucial developmental points while an infant grows, Bowlby’s work shows that “attachment is a biological necessity” and “is key to survival (62)”.

Porter also references William Sears, MD, and his ‘modern movement’, attachment parenting. Before Sears began his research on this, “Attachment parenting is seen as just another choice in an array of parenting options and is typically viewed as the most difficult and least appealing choice (62)”. A lot of the information provided about attachment parenting gives examples and advice on how to do this, but does not give much supporting data reasoning. There are now studies of brain functions on a deeper level that provide results and evidence to back up Bowlby’s theory. Brain development is crucial during the first few years of life and “During this period, the focus is on right-brain development. The right brain is deeply connected to both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which control vital functions that support survival and cope with stress… (64)”. The limbic system is also under development during this time which controls emotions and memory. With the studies that Sears was able to do and “the help of neuroscience and sophisticated use of technologies… we are now able to see just how this interplay looks (64)”. Sears wanted to see the relation between an infant’s social environment and the biological effects. He looked at how stress can literally change or impact the development of the brain in an infant. An example Sears uses is the mother-child dyad which is a synchronizing between the mother and her infant. Basically, when the mother cares for her infant and gives it the needs it demands, the baby’s response triggers the system this promotes healthy brain development. This caring that the mother does is known as attunement. The mother gives and responds to her child and delivers what the child needs. “This process assists brain development and creates a foundation for the negation of all social interactions (64)”. If the mother does not pay attention to the child’s need, stress can really impact the infant. Stress of an infant can be brought on by numerous things and that anytime they are not at homeostasis or at a state of equilibrium, the emotions of that infant can be very overwhelming and this distress can put the infant into a state of hyper arousal or dissociation.

“In order to maintain emotional equilibrium, babies require a constant and committed relationship with one caring person (65)”. When a baby’s equilibrium is so thrown off from being in distress, he or she will go into a survival mode and that is when the cycle of hyper arousal or dissociation can happen. Hyper arousal uses the sympathetic nervous system and is the “startle” reaction. When the child is overwhelmed with stress in this stage, the brain tries to balance out, blood pressure and heart rate increase and major stress hormone levels are also increased. I have seen my nephew cry so hard and be so upset when my sister would leave the house that he would vomit. This response can actually be caused by the increase of Vasopressin, which is a hormone that is associated with feeling nausea and vomiting. This is one of the hormones that is increased when a child is in hyper arousal stage. “Prolonged periods spent in this state are damaging (65)”. The stage to follow this is the dissociation. In this stage, the child feels helpless by the stress he or she is feeling and goes into a state where he or she disengages the external world. The brain essentially goes into shut down mode and tries becomes submissive to the situation. During both of these stages, the brain cannot develop and loses the potential for growth during this critical time period. When a child infant because he or she is hungry, the infant not trying to manipulate the parent; the infant is reaching out for the help and need of survival. Babies do not cry to manipulate or to be spoiled, they cry because they need something, whether it is food, comfort, or help getting back to equilibrium. A child only knows survival instincts and during these early years, needs the mother or care giver to help stay in that safe state. The infant needs to stay in a state where the brain can develop and grow and not be in a state where the development cannot proceed because the infant is battling stressful situations.

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