A critical examination of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs challenges its applicability to all cultures. The “Dig Deeper” feature in module 9.6 provides an example of a mother struggling to feed her children when she is faced with conditions out of her control. In the U.S., some families face circumstances that are also beyond their control, such as lack of healthcare, low wages, poverty, and inequalities. However, there is an argument that people who cannot afford children should not have them. How would you apply the motivation for sex to this argument? How would you apply the motivation for eating to this argument? Be sure to also consider if Maslow’s theory is applicable to these situations, and why you believe that to be the case.
We may have never considered how we can develop morally outside of religious institutions. According to Kohlberg and Gilligan, we do so. Explain why Carol Gilligan was critical of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. Use details about each theory to demonstrate that you understand them both.
There are numerous theories of personality development. Discuss why philosophers, pseudoscientists, and psychologists are interested in personality development. Provide examples of how each of the three groups has sought to explain personality development.
How are groups and individuals discriminated against based on sex and gender identity? Research a landmark Supreme Court case involving one of these and explain how it reflects what we learned in the assigned module readings about American cultural attitudes toward sex and gender.
Read the Cultural Factors modules from lessons 9 and 10. Select two factors from one of the lessons that you were not aware of and discuss their importance in the study of psychology.