By The MotherMind Doctor
Arrested Development is a great name for a sitcom.
It comes from the medical term for ‘stoppage of physical or mental (emotional, psychological, intellectual) development’ and many jokes can be based on this premise.
It is no longer used in mental health due to it not being very politically correct and is now referred to mental status instead.
In other areas of research, it can mean a plateau of development.
Developmental Psychology looks at the growth, change and adaption of people and their behaviour.
It covers physical, cognitive and social emotional development and examines nature and nuture influences.
It is a complex area with ongoing debates and currently explores stages of life with strong influence from Erik Erikson, Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.
Freud’s work on psychosexual development is widely known and has since been modified from crude descriptions such as penis envy.
The German-American psychologist Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychological development progress through a lifetime and looks at how it affects people’s behaviour.
Lev Vygotsky, suggested that development does not progress through stages, but rather that developmental begins at birth and continues until death so is too complex for such structure. He suggests adults/carers provide ‘scaffolding’ for the child to learn when they are in the ‘zone of proximal development’ to take on more learning. Thus, development should be analysed and occurs with the interaction of the person and the environment.
Attachment theory is another approach in developmental psychology (discussed in another dysfunctional dozen blog). Then there is the nature vs nature debate… leading to evolutionary developmental psychology which continues to be explored.
Erikson’s stages have a clear definition which makes it more easily applicable to our own upbringing to help understand our own psychosocial development. Each stage has a ‘virtue’ attached that is acquired.
For example, stage 2 involves early childhood 1.5-3 years when a child starts to discover independence. If a child feels incompetent then shame and doubt occurs. Will is achieved with success in this stage, leading to ‘self control without a loss of self-esteem’.
It is interesting how many people, particularly girls, have significant shame and doubt with low self-esteem. According to Erikson, this could be an ‘arrested’ development of this stage.
Shame can be ‘healthy’ to keep society ethical and self correct behaviour. But it can also be ‘toxic’ which is psychologically harmful, self punishing with negative self talk such as ‘I am not worthy the way I am’ or ‘I am a failure’. Shame is related to violence, aggression, addiction, eating disorders and bullying and can be learnt from shame-inducing approaches to discipline. It can be related to a mismatch in carer/child sensitivities and needs and requires a safe space to be able to acknowledge and share this experience before it can be processed. Healing is possible since everyone can feel shame. If this resonates for you, then consider talking to someone you trust.
The concept of fidelity in stage 5 relates to autonomy in that it is the stage of adolescence exploring their unique identity. A person’s morality is developed if they are encouraged to explore personal beliefs, goals and values. But identity crisis can be the result of role confusion, which can lead to trying out different lifestyles to find their ‘fit’.
This also fits with psychiatrist Carl Jung’s concept of ‘individuation’ which is the process of self realisation, discovering meaning and purpose in life and ‘becoming who you really are’. This is the central theme of Jungian psychology (analytical psychology).
To individuate, two things need to occur:
1. Strip away the social mask and false identity from early development
2. Strip away the unconsicous influences of the ‘collective’ of society
The difference in Jungian psychology is that he believed we are ALL fragmented and divided and searching for our souls. This means we are all mostly unconscious (on autopilot) before individuating.
Even when we develop our ‘identity’ this is the ‘ego’ which is ‘one-sided’. That is, it is split between conscious and unconscious. What we think we know is a distortion (or illusion).
Once we become more secure and embrace our innermost uniqueness, the ‘self’, we then connect with the collective on a deeper level.
This is similar to the yin and yang in Taoism. Yin is the shadow and Yang is the light, opposing forces but complementary. Masculine and feminine forces appear to oppose if masculine seeks autonomy and feminine seeks communion so we need to acknowledge both sides in ourselves in order to not repress a part of ourselves. In such a state, we project our unconscious fantasies onto reality, and enforce our self deception.
The same approach for opposites such as good and evil, mind and body, spirit over nature. Jung coined the phrase introversion and extroversion for predispositions of approaches to life.
He explained four functions to pass judgement in the form of thinking types (logical), feeling types (understanding), sensing types (realists) and intuiting types (futurists). The goal is to meet all four at the cross section to be able to achieve all four equally.
Jungian psychology offered two methods to support individuation: dream work and active imagination.
This is where the unconscious Self communicates with our conscious mind.
As in many areas of the mind, there are many theories that attempt to explain what we experience in a way that we can conceptualise and manage. While we don’t have all the answers, it goes some way to help us understand our journey and for each person to make it an individual journey, hopefully with good supports.
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