The Psychology Book

46

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

Human development

BEFORE

1905 Sigmund Freud, in

Three Essays on the Theory of

Sexuality, claims the teenage

years are the “genital stage.”

AFTER

1928 American anthropologist

Margaret Mead, in Coming

of Age in Samoa, declares

that adolescence is only

recognized as a distinct

stage of human development

in Western society.

1950 Erik Erikson, in

Childhood and Society,

describes adolescence as

the stage of “Identity vs.

Role Confusion,” coining

the term “identity crisis.”

1983 In Margaret Mead

and Samoa, New Zealand

anthropologist Derek Freeman

disputes Mead’s claim that

adolescence is merely a

socially constructed concept.

A D O L E S C E N C E

IS A NEW BIRTH

G. STANLEY HALL (1844–1924)

Human development is determined by

nature: it is a repetition of our “ancestral record.”

A child has animallike dispositions

and goes through several growth stages.

At adolescence, the evolutionary momentum

subsides; this is a time for individual change.

The child then emerges as an adult: a more civilized,

“higher-order” being.

Adolescence is a new birth.

During this wild, lawless time,

teenagers are increasingly sensitive, reckless,

self-conscious, and prone to depression.