Erik Eriksons Eight Psychosocial Stages

Erik Eriksons Eight Psychosocial Stages This paper explores the developmental attributes physically, cognitively and socially of two children, one male and one female, ages five and ten, respectively. This writer will identify the socio-economic status (SEC), age, gender, ethnic background, and family demographics of each of these children. The two children this writer has chosen come from similar living situations (i.e. they both live with single mothers), but have vast differences in their physical, cognitive, and social development. This paper will examine Erik Eriksons Eight Psychosocial Stages as explained by Dacey, Fiore, Travers (2009) in an effort to explain the noticeable differences in the two children that this writer has chosen to observe. These two children were chosen because they are both being raised in a single parent household, which is something that this writer can relate to, as this writer is a single mother. This writer will also explore the Cognitive Development Approach theories of Jean Piaget and A lbert Banduras Social Cognitive Learning in an attempt to further explain the significant differences in these two children. Childhood Observation Theories on Human Development Many psychologists have different perspectives when it comes to analyzing theories on human development. For the purposes of these observations, this writer has chosen to take a closer look at the views of three well known psychologists. The psychological theories of development that this paper will explore are the theories of Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Albert Bandura. First, this writer will discuss Erik Erikson and his Psychosocial Theory of Development. It is a widely accepted belief that, Erik Erikson was the chief proponent of a psychosocial theory of development (2009). This writer believes that Erikson had a great understanding of the human life process. Erik Erikson is best known for his ideas on Stages of Psychosocial Development and Identity Crisis. Erikson broke down the progression of human life into a series of eight stages, each of these stages being marked by a crisis that must be resolved so that the individual can move on to the next stage. It makes perfect sense that everyone should overcome a crisis in order to successfully move on to the next stage in their life. In a seminal work, Erikson used the term crisis as a developmental term that is a time of increased vulnerability and heightened potential (Erikson, 1968). Erikson also contributed to our understanding of personality as it developed and shaped over the course of the li fespan. While we must combine the theories of many psychologists in order to understand the development of humans through the lifespan, Erik Eriksons views on development seem to be the ones with which most people can closely relate. Now, we will move our attention to Jean Piaget, a man who was well ahead of his time. It has been said that, Jean Piaget was among the first researchers to study normal intellectual development (2009). Jean Piaget is credited as being one of the most significant psychologists of the twentieth century. Piaget focused his attention on the roles that cognitive mechanisms play in development. Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development consist of four stages: Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational, and Formal operational. Piagets first stage is the Sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to about two years of age. During the Sensorimotor stage, the infant uses senses and motor abilities to understand the world, beginning with reflexes and ending with complex combinations of Sensorimotor skills (http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html). Piagets second stage of Cognitive Development is the Preoperational stage, which lasts from two to seven years of age. It is during this st age that children are able to make use of symbols and rapid growth of language occurs. The third stage of Piagets Cognitive Development is the Concrete operational stage, which lasts from seven to eleven years of age. In this stage, the child can reason about physical objects. The final stage of Piagets Cognitive Development is the Formal operational stage, which occurs from eleven years of age and up. During the Cognitive Development stage, Piaget believed that abstract thinking leads to reasoning with more complex symbols. In this stage we become increasingly competent of adult-style thinking (http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html). Lastly, the writer would like to discuss Albert Bandura and Social Cognitive Learning. Banduras Social Cognitive Learning theory suggests that people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling. For instance, The theory has often been called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation (http://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html). As Bandura and Walters (1963) noted, children often do not do what adults tell them to do but rather what they see adults do, hence learning by observation. There is much to be gained in the area of Social Cognitive Learning by observing others. That is, By observing others, children may acquire new responses, including socially appropriate behaviors (2009). Banduras term for observational learning is modeling. In order for effective modeling to take place, there are four conditions that must be present; these conditions include attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. That is, Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences (http://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html). Discussion This writer will begin by describing the subjects of her observations. For this exercise, the researcher used her son, Aidan, and, Samantha, the daughter of her friend, both of which she has known since birth. Aidan is a 5-year-old, white male with no siblings. He is raised in a single parent household and has no contact with his father. Aidan and his mother live in a very large house with the subjects grandfather on several acres of farm land. Aidan has extensive contact with his grandfather, aunts, uncles, cousins, and close family friends that are considered family. Up until recently, Aidan also had extremely close contact and a wonderfully close relationship with his grandmother and great-grandfather, both of whom have passed away within the last two years. In classifying the socio-economic status from which Aidan comes, this writer would describe it as a middle class socio-economic status. Aidan also attends private school with a very small class size. Thus he is privy to more o ne-on-one contact with his teacher, which is something that may not be available to children attending public schools. The second subject that the writer observed is, Samantha, who is a 10-year-old girl, with one male sibling (age 4). She is being raised by her single mother and has never had any contact with her father. Samantha lives in a lower-middle class neighborhood with her mother and younger brother. Before moving into her current home, Samantha grew up in an income based housing complex. Samanthas mother works full time in order to support her two children. Because of her mothers busy work schedule, Samantha spends most of her time with her maternal grandparents. Samantha is of a lower socio-economic status than the other subject of this paper, attends public school and seems to have a hard time socializing with her classmates and teachers. She also appears to struggle with anger issues and has a rather severe lack of self-confidence. Given the observations on the subjects above, the writer will now explore the developmental theories of Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Albert Bandura, respectively. First we will begin with Erik Erikson and his Psychosocial Theories of Development. Aidan, the researchers first subject, appears to be on track with all of Eriksons Psychosocial Stages, within his age range. For instance, In Ericksons first stage, which is by far the most important, infants should develop a sense of basic trust (2009). In Aidans case, this stage was successfully completed due to him being on a set schedule and being surrounded by warmth, care, consistency, and discipline. Though he faced a multitude of health problems during this phase of his development, the love and warmth that was bestowed upon him enabled him to successfully complete Erik Eriksons first stage. Eriksons second Psychosocial stage, Autonomy versus shame and doubt, takes place during early childhood and is focused on children developing a greater sense of personal control (http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm). Important events associated with this stage of Psychosocial Development include gaining more control over food choices, children wanting to dress themselves and choose their own clothing, toilet training, and control of ones body functions. Aidan was very insistent about doing these things during this phase of his development. Interestingly enough, he displayed some of these behaviors during Ericksons first stage of Psychosocial Development. For example, Aidan was potty trained by the time he was 18 months old, chose his own clothes, and began trying to dress himself. This brings us to Eriksons third stage of Psychosocial Development, Initiative versus Guilt. This phase takes place during the preschool/nursery school years and is marked by children beginning to assert their power and control over the world by directing play and other social interaction (http://psychology.abo ut.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial_2.htm). Manipulation of surroundings are prevalent in this stage of a childs development, as they are building on the ability to control themselves, children now acquire some influence over others in the family (2009). This is the phase of development that Aidan is in currently, and he is definitely an assertive little boy who likes to direct play and be in charge. Aidan can be manipulative in certain situations, such as, if mommy says no, he will immediately go ask his granddaddy. Overall, this researcher feels that Aidan has successfully completed all of Erik Eriksons Psychosocial stages thus far. Now, we will discuss the researchers second subject, Samantha. Upon the researchers observations, Samantha was unsuccessful in completing the Basic trust versus mistrust phase. This writer believes that this may be due to caregivers who were inconsistent, emotionally unavailable, or rejecting. The afore mentioned variables could very well have contributed to feelings of mistrust in Samantha as an infant. With that stated, Failure to develop trust will result in fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable (http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm). Samanthas mother had her at a very young age and may have been ready to deal with the complete change of life that comes with bringing a child into the world. Because of the unsuccessful completion of this first and most important stage in Samanthas development, she exhibited signs of inadequacy and self-doubt during the Autonomy versus Shame, Doubt phase, thus meaning that she was unsucc essful in completing the second stage as well. When Samantha reached the third stage of Eriksons Psychosocial Theory of Development, there seemed to be a marked improvement in her behavior, however she still displayed characteristics of a child who was very hard to deal with. It was at this time that she was enrolled in a stable preschool where she remained until it was time for her to start kindergarten. This researcher believes that this was probably the stability that Samantha was longing for and so desperately needed. Before being enrolled in preschool, it was not uncommon for her to be subjected to her mothers various relationships, which often were unsuccessful. Since Samantha has never had a father, she always became easily attached to these various men. This leads this researcher to believe that this may be an underlying reason for Samanthas lack of trust and inability to fit in with others. At this point, Samantha has now moved into Eriksons fourth stage of Psychosocial The ory of Development, Industry Inferiority. For instance, Children expand their horizons beyond the family and begin to explore the neighborhood (2009). In Samanthas case, she can best be described as a recluse. From the moment she gets home from school, she doesnt emerge from her room until it is dinnertime. This researcher feels that this is certainly not a healthy environment, as there is no communication between mother and daughter. At times, Samantha seems to be very resentful of her mother. In this researchers opinion, Samantha has not successfully completed any of Erik Eriksons Psychosocial Stages of Development thus far. The writer will now explore Jean Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development. As stated earlier, Jean Piaget believed that cognitive development means that we form more sophisticated cognitive structures as we pass through four stages: the Sensorimotor, the Preoperational, the Concrete operational, and the Formal operational (2009). The Sensorimotor stage, which begins at birth and goes to about 2 years of age, is marked by an infants ability to use their bodies to form cognitive structures. The researchers first subject, Aidan, had various complications that required physical and occupational therapy, as well as neck surgery all before two years of age. Due to these complications, he was somewhat delayed in moving from the Sensorimotor stage to the Preoperational stage. Once he got all of the physical and occupational therapies and neck surgery behind him, he rapidly moved into the Preoperational stage. During this stage, children ages 2 to 7 years, are able to make use of symbols and t here is a rapid growth in language. Aidan, being the researchers son, was taught sign language from three months of age until he was about 2 years old. The reasoning for this was so that he would be able to communicate with others before he was able to talk, but when the time for rapid growth in language came, Aidan preferred to use sign language over verbalization. After a few talks and much encouragement, Aidan soon began to chatter away. Samantha, the writers second subject, flourished throughout the Sensorimotor stage and Preoperational stage. She was a very active little girl with a great imagination and amazing verbal skills. It is the Concrete operational stage that Samantha struggles with. It is during this stage that accommodation occurs. Accommodation is Piagets term to describe the manner by which cognitive structures change (2009). Samantha seems to be unable to make rational judgments, which in turn causes her to be very manipulative. This researcher believes that this goes back to a very lax parenting style in which Samantha is treated as more of a burden than the gift that she is. The final theory to be discussed is Albert Banduras Social Cognitive Learning Theory. Simply stated, Bandura believed that we obtain information from observing other people, things, and events (2009). Bandura stresses the importance of modeling in observational learning. In Aidans case, he has been surrounded by the positive influence of modeling. He is a polite, however sometimes rambunctious little boy who knows how to use his manners. Children are like sponges, always observing and soaking up everything around them. This can sometimes lead to bad behaviors or socially appropriate behaviors. In Samanthas case, she is a product of her surroundings. This researcher believes that due to her stressful home life, Samantha only knows to act out in order to get attention. The unfortunate things about this is that the attention she gains from acting out is never the attention she desperately needs.

Unbranding Starbucks

The coffee industry has been booming since the 1950’s mostly because of the explosion of the cafe style coffee houses in the 1990’s that have followed industry forerunners such as Starbucks (Sangeetha, 2010). Coffee is the second leading commodity worldwide, with a market share worth over $100 billion and over 500 billion cups consumed annually (Goldshein, 2011). Coffee is produced in over 50 countries worldwide providing a livelihood for over 25 million people, but 67% of the world’s coffee growth is conducted in the United States (Goldshein, 2011). In the 1990’s, with the coffee craze, came locally owned cafes and specialty stores that by 2005 made up 30% of the coffee retail market. These niche coffee shops have shown a 7% annual growth rate annually (Goldshein, 2011). For supermarkets and traditional (larger) retail outlets, who in 2005 held 60% of the market share, remained the primary channel to acquire both specialty and traditional coffee beverages (Sangeetha, 2010). For Starbucks, this market share helped to make them the third largest restaurant chain in the United States (Goldshein, 2011). In 2008, the economic downturn began and the corporate coffee chains were forced with closing stores due to overwhelming overhead with the increase to coffee prices as external factors (Sangeetha, 2010). This forced coffee companies to reinvent their promotional strategies for their specialty coffees in 2009 to send the message that these coffees would allow for â€Å"thrifty luxury† and comfort during stress (Sangeetha, 2010). This reinvention also sparked a socially responsible note with consumers that were demanding these responsibilities be adopted by the companies they purchase from. By expanding product lines and market offerings, many corporate coffee companies scrambled to find a solution to the changing market demands of consumers. As the market continues to shift, growth of coffee will focus on differentiating the brand and returning to the quality assurance that consumers have grown to expect (Colbert, 2013). By creating new products and innovations, companies will likely increase their market shares and profits (Colbert, 2013). Much of the growth of future demands for coffee will come from price sensitive developing markets due to the volatility that persists in the current market supply of coffee (Colbert, 2013). Though global brands have a large following, local brand will continue to flourish in coming years due to their ability to tailor their product offerings to consumers while corporate companies will continue to see these local coffee houses intrude on their consumer base (Colbert, 2013). In recent years, the coffee market has made a shift to more convenient ways for consumers to procure coffee. Starbucks made the move to more convenience for consumers by teaming up with Pepsi-Cola to offer bottled Frappuccino at supermarkets and convenience stores (Sangeetha, 2010). Starbucks also teamed up with Kraft Foods Inc. to supply stores with bagged whole bean and ground coffee for consumers to enjoy in the comfort of their own home (Sangeetha, 2010). With the trend of instant coffee, Starbucks responded to that as well and created a line of instant coffees to be sold in their Starbucks locations as well as supermarkets (Sangeetha, 2010). Other companies such as Nescafe and Folgers are also offering an instant coffee on the shelves of supermarkets and have been for decades now (BIC, 2013). Along with the instant coffee craze, single-serve systems have been a hot commodity to help coffee retailers maintain a market share. Green Mountain Coffee (GMC) began as a small coffee shop in Vermont and has grown to producing and selling 26. 8 million pounds of Arabica coffee annually (GMCR, 2013). Because GMC prides themselves on sustainable and responsible business practices, in 1998 they developed the Keurig single-serve system to cut on waste and produce better tasting, freshly brewed coffee in a minutes time (GMCR, 2013). At first, Keurig was only offering GMC and a few select brands, but as the single-serve trend picked up, companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks jumped on the band wagon (Staff, 2011; Chen, 2013). In 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts joined the Keurig family but were only offering their products at Dunkin’ Donut locations and not in supermarkets (Staff, 2011). Though offering the single-serve packs for your system at home was a good thought, Dunkin’ Donuts hurt themselves when it came to convenience because patrons still had to visit a store to purchase the single-serve packs for their home system (Staff, 2011). Earlier this year, Starbucks also signed on with GMC and Keurig to produce Starbucks and Tazo branded single-serve packs (Chen, 2013). This agreement is a five year contract and will triple the amount of Starbucks products on the Keurig machine by taking on additions such as Seattle’s Best and Teavana Teas to name a few (Chen, 2013). This strategy will increase the marketing position for Starbucks as well as GMC and Keurig because Starbucks has a loyal following that may see the single-serve system as an opportunity to save money and added convenience. In 1971, Starbucks opened as a small coffee shop in historic Pike’s Place Market in Seattle, Washington (Starbucks, 2012). By 1982, Starbucks was ready to grow as they hired on Howard Schultz as the director of retail operations and marketing (Starbucks, 2012). He realized that espresso was a trending beverage in Italy and saw a potential for a coffee bar culture that we now know as Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks, 2012). This was the first growth strategy that Schultz envisioned; creating an atmosphere for young and trendy coffee drinkers to sit and enjoy their cup of coffee. Schultz next strategy was to expand Starbucks beyond Seattle and Washington. With the help of local investors, Starbucks opened across the country and in just two years had 17 locations including Chicago and Canada (Starbucks, 2012). Starbucks was making a name for it and by 1988 had 33 locations and began providing health insurance for employees (Starbucks, 2012). Though Starbucks remained a privately owned company, in 1991 they offered a stock option programs for all employees unlike any other American company had before (Starbucks, 2012). This was a growth strategy for Starbucks because it showed a true interest in the well being and future of employees. Not only did the employees benefit from such incentives, but Starbucks received a brand name boost through media and word of mouth for their generosities (Starbucks, 2012). That same year, they opened their first airport coffee shop and maintained 116 stores in North America (Starbucks, 2012). By 1993, Starbucks has grown to such proportions that to keep up with production they opened their own coffee bean roasting plant in Washington State and more than doubled their store locations to 272 (Starbucks, 2012). 994 brought on a huge change for Starbucks with the drive thru window that now assimilated them to restaurant chains like McDonalds and began to weaken Starbucks profit margin (Starbucks, 2012). With this assimilation came even more expansion for Starbucks with a second roasting facility located in Pennsylvania, 677 locations nationwide, and introduction of new p roducts like the Frappuchino and premium ice cream in supermarkets (Starbucks, 2012). These growth strategies helped create a lifestyle and image association with the Starbucks logo as well as broadened their product variety which is a perceived value for consumers. In 1996, Starbucks opened their first location outside of American in Japan and later in Singapore (Starbucks, 2012). With the globalization that the company began to experience, this meant that their brand name and consumer loyalty was quickly catching on and not just in America. By 1997, Starbucks had 1,412 locations and also began the Starbucks Foundation to help strengthen communities in which they operate (Starbucks, 2012). This foundation is still active today and is used to fund literacy programs, develop young leaders, and participate in community service opportunities to give back with hands on approach (Starbucks, 2012). This is a perfect example of the social responsibility craze that began in 1999 and Starbucks teamed up with Conservation International to encourage and promote sustainable coffee practices and in 2000 became Fair trade certified with TransFair USA (Starbucks, 2012). Starbucks has continued to grow by establishing their own trading company, acquiring Seattle Coffee Company in 2003, and keeping up with the economical and sustainable practices of consumers offered the first paper cup made of recycled material in 2006 (Starbucks, 2012). This again reinforced Starbucks strategies to become industry leaders because in 2006, consumers were increasingly concerned about sustainability and it was forecasted that consumers will be willing to pay more for economically responsible products and services (Fletcher, 2006). From 2007 to current day, Starbucks has been rebranding and reworking their business practices trying to get back to their original design and a way to save money in the long run (Sangeetha, 2010; Starbucks, 2012). With a variety of new coffees on the menu and more food offerings, Starbucks has created a food giant that is now competing with McDonalds and other â€Å"quick service restaurants† and 17,651 stores globally as of July, 2012 (Starbucks, 2012). Unbranding for Starbucks is a major risk because it is competing with itself as well as the same competitor that the company is trying to outdo. With uick service restaurants serving specialty coffee on a bargain budget, Starbucks is risking losing a larger piece of the market pie with the unbranded store concept. Starbucks is known mostly for their name and logo in the global market. This is an attribute not a scar and as so Starbucks should be proud of their history and even more proud of the power house of coffee they have become. It was noted that the unbranded stores were expanding their horizons by offering beer, live music, and pottery classes as to attract a younger and more trendy consumer like that of competitors (Mitchell, 2009). These provide a clear message on what the average coffee consumer wants in today’s market; cheap, fast, and trendy. The age of the corporate coffee house is beginning to die off because consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about economic issues and boycotting corporate America (Prakash, 2013). This is mostly due to the interconnectivity that young America and youth of the world are experiencing with the internet, Facebook, and cell phones and create a learning curve for older generations (Prakash, 2013). Bottom line is that consumers enjoy the coffee that Starbucks sells, but subconsciously they are ultimately buying for the brand recognition, consistency, and pride they feel when drinking from a Starbucks logo cup that has their name written on the side of it. If McDonalds offered the exact same coffee as Starbucks but at their ridiculously cheap prices, there is no guarantee that consumers would completely jump ship from Starbucks simply because of the brand recognition and expectations that follow it. I believe that continuing to unbrand Starbucks is taking a step away from the heart of what Starbucks is known to be. The business model that Starbucks had in place before the unbranding begun was not broken completely, but simply had broken or misguided components. Face it, Starbucks grew too big, too fast and opened stores faster than they could keep track of. That is an aspect that corporate fails to realize; local coffee shops have one, maybe two locations to maintain and thus keeps the over head low. With the low overhead of locally owned shop, they are able to offer wider variety of products and services. They also often have backing from other local businesses through the chamber of commerce and because the owner is a member of the community has ties that help grow business through patronage. The unbranded store may work in Seattle, but only for a short time before consumers realize they are being taken for a fool by the big bad corporation. Starbucks needs to do what they do well, serve a hot cup of coffee with friendly banter in exchange and customer service that beats any other cafe and rid them of serving breakfast items. They are a coffee shop not a McDonalds. Starbucks is a strong brand name that is recognizable globally and the leading coffee conglomerate in the United States. I propose that Starbucks live up to the superior standards that they set forth in the beginning and continue to offer premium quality coffee under their branded logo. With the unbranding it has been made apparent that Starbucks employees staged sit-ins at local coffee shops in Seattle to â€Å"spy† on the competition (Mitchell, 2009). These sit-ins resulted in one of the unbranded stores looking identical to a bar next door in terms of color scheme and aesthetic design (Mitchell, 2009). Starbucks needs to stop trying to be the competition and regain their momentum as the pack leader by running with the global recognition that they hold benefit over local cafes. By co-branding more products and taking on sponsorship opportunities that feed positivity into the Starbuck brand and reinforce company values, consumers will pay tribute and return with loyalty. We have seen it done with McDonalds and Ronald McDonald House Charities. In 1974, the first Ronald McDonald House opened with the help of Shamrock Shake donations made by a Philadelphia store owner (McDonalds, 2012). If Starbucks would take their Starbucks Foundation and team up with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America to promote youth leadership and strengthening the community (Starbucks, 2012). The success that McDonalds experienced after helping to open the Ronald McDonald House, is the same experience that Starbucks could potentially take advantage of to improve the company image and consumer base. With the increasing interest in social responsibility and the extraordinary amount of devastating events and natural disasters happening, this is an issue that is in Starbucks’ backyard. The urban youth that need guidance and nurturing; their future consumer demographic all wrapped in a nice tiny package waiting to be tapped into.Work CitedBest Instant Coffee (BIC), 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.instantcoffeebrands.net/ Chen, K. Starbucks to Triple Products for GMCR’s Keurig. The Motley Fool, May 9, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/05/09/starbucks-to-triple-products-for-gmcrs-keurig.aspx Colbert, R. Coffee 2013: Ready for Take Off. Robobank, International Coffee Organization, March 5, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.ico.org/event_pdfs/seminar-consumption/rabobank-e.pdf Fletcher, A. Sustainable development a business reality, says report. Food Navigator, April 25, 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Sustainable-development-a-business-reality-says-report Goldshein, E. 11 Incredible Facts About The Global Coffee Industry. Business Insider, November 14, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-the-coffee-industry-2011-11?op=1 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), 2013. Keurig Brand Partners. Retrieved from: http://www.keurig.com/in-the-news/2010/~/media/files/news%20and%20media%20pdfs/roaster_profiles.ashx McDonalds Corporation, 2012. Ronald McDonald House Charities. Retrieved from: http://www.rmhc.com Mitchell, S. Starbucks Goes Stealth with Unbranded, â€Å"Local† Cafes. Institute for Local Self Reliance, July 22, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.ilsr.org/starbucks-goes-stealth-unbranded-local-cafes/ Prakash, P. State of the Urban Youth, India 2012. IRIS Knowledge Foundation,2013. Retrieved from: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=professor_vibhutipatel&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fas_ylo%3D2013%26q%3Dyouth%2Band%2Bpolitics%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C44%26as_vis%3D1#search=%22youth%20politics%22 Sangeetha, K. Starbucks Unbranded Stores: A Move to Regain Former Glory. Amity Research Centers HQ, 2010. Staff Writer. Green Mountain, Dunkin’ team up on single-serve joe. Boston.com, February 22, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/02/green_mountain_21.html Starbucks Company, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.starbucks.com/

The Historic Rise of Christian Fundamentalism in the United States in the Late Nineteenth Century.

Fundamentalism is a religious response to modernity. Although the term is frequently used in a popular context to mean any religious position perceived to be traditional, archaic or scripture-bound, it has a specific meaning from an historical perspective, and a genealogy which has seen the term change from the self-referential description of a particular religious group, to a term which may have lost its impact through misplaced, and indiscriminate, application.Originally used by a specific group of American Protestants, who shared a similar world-view and theology, Fundamentalism grew from individuals within disparate denominations finding common cause to an organized movement with the power to challenge modernity at the level of the courtroom and the popular press. This essay will consider just how we can account for Fundamentalism’s emergence in the US by first considering its historical roots within the Great Awakening, and up to the 1920’s with the Scopes â€Å"M onkey† trial.Secondly it will consider the theological innovations that underpinned Fundamentalism by exploring both Dispensationalism and Premillenarianism, before finally placing Fundamentalism within its sociological background by looking at broader cultural movements in American society, and considering how changes in both the scientific and intellectual spheres challenged the traditional place of evangelical Protestantism. Christian fundamentalism has been succinctly defined by George Marsden as â€Å"militantly anti-modernist Protestant evangelicalism. In the latter part of the 19th century and into the first decades of the 20th they developed specific beliefs and operating principles that set them apart from what was, in their view, dangerously liberal evangelical Protestantism. In a post-Darwinian world the Protestant worldview, particularly in the US, came under a number of specific threats from advances in science and contemporary intellectual developments. Unlike t he liberals, who sought compromise with these developments, it was the Fundamentalists â€Å"chief duty to combat uncompromisingly ‘modernist’ theology and certain secularizing cultural trends. † This militant tendency would eventually lead them to challenge modernity in the courtroom, and through utilizing the political system to achieve their ends. Although Fundamentalists were anti-modernity, they were not anti-modern in their readiness to embrace new forms of communication media. Newspapers, publishing, cinema and radio were all exploited as effective methods to publicize their agenda. The very term â€Å"Fundamentalism† was coined in 1920, in the Watchman-Examiner newspaper, by Curtis Lee Laws, who defined fundamentalists as those ready to â€Å"do battle royal for the Fundamentals. Traditional evangelicalism, from which Fundamentalism would grow, had taken shape during the Great Awakening of the 18th century. A series of Christian revivals had broug ht together a number of disparate movements, and blended Calvinist and Methodist theologies along with experiential conversion into a powerful and popular Christian movement. It also preached on the evils of alcohol and other forms of vice, in addition to the need to evangelize to the poor for their moral renewal through a social Gospel that emphasized personal piety and good works. Nineteenth century America started out as an overwhelmingly Protestant country.The specific lineage of the majority group was traced back to northern European ancestry, from the settlers who had travelled across the Atlantic in search of land in which they might practice a truly reformed Christianity. Different colonies along the eastern seaboard had been under the theocratic rule of the different Protestant sects, yet all had a common purpose in implementing God’s will as laid out in the Bible. This would all change with the arrival in the 1820s off the first large scale immigration of Catholics, along with Jews and other religious minorities.Together with homegrown religious movements like the Mormons, these new groups altogether changed the religious landscape of the US, and helped to reconcile the different protestant groups to one another. Evangelicalism emerged as a â€Å"voluntary association of believers founded on the authority of the Bible alone. † The evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin had a profoundly worring effect on the victorian Protestant mindset. They, along with advances in philology, geology and the historical critical method of Biblical scholarship began to undermine the foundations of religious certitude.The Bible had been seen as the very word of God and was therefore the only guide a Christian would need to guide her through the ethical and moral trials of life, safe in the knowledge that God’s will was being followed. The Bible had always been revered as â€Å"the revealed word of God, correct in every detail and in need of no add ition† to the text, and yet it was now under sustained questioning within academia. Towards the end of the 19th century an interdenominational revivalist network, which sought to counter these trends, began to take shape around the era’s greatest evangelist, Dwight L.Moody. A one-time shoe salesman, Moody had a conversion experience to evangelicalism. After a massively popular tour of Ireland and the UK in the mid 19th century he returned to the US as a preacher with the power to attract very large audiences. Moody was of the generation immediately preceding that of the Fundamentalists, but he had nonetheless provided them with a sufficiently well developed network (which included his famous Bible Institute), and a strong charismatic personality about which the emerging movement could coalesce.Moody, who could not countenance â€Å"Liberals in what they were teaching or doing to the Christian Faith†, found common ground with Fundamentalist thinkers and opinion sh apers. Starting in 1910 a series of small booklets appeared called â€Å"The Fundamentals†. Each booklet contained a series of essays by a leading evangelical thinker, plus a number of personal stories that attested to a radicalized evangelicalism.Although Fundamentalism, as we now know it, did not emerge as an absolute ideology from this publication alone, it was emerging as a broad movement within evangelical Protestantism as more of its membership took an increasingly hard line on modernity. As they saw themselves â€Å"losing control of their churches, their families, their working environments, their schools and their nation† certain members withdrew into a specific eschatological belief system and a principle of separatism from liberal protestant thinkers.Organized around a system of Bible â€Å"conventions† that were held in the birthplace of Fundamentalism, New England, leading evangelistic preachers and scholars contemplated their â€Å"opposition to m odernist theology and to some of the relativistic cultural changes that modernism embraced. † Relativism, especially where the revealed word of God was concerned, was a hated innovation. Fundamentalists refused to acknowledge the relative merit of each religion, or each Christian denomination; either their beliefs were right and were worth defending, or they were wrong.They would defend an absolute truth, but not a relative one. The second decade of the 20th century saw the Fundamentalists win two important battles, but gain public opprobrium as a direct result. The first, the Scopes â€Å"Monkey† trial of 1925, was a victory that saw the courts uphold the teaching of the Genesis account of human origins over the empirical Darwinian view. The case became a cause celebre throughout the US, and opened up the Fundamentalist position to widespread ridicule through a largely hostile press. The second front in which they had a pyric victory was over prohibition.The ban on alc ohol consumption was in place from 1919-1933, during which time illegal alcohol distillation and sales fueled the rise of mafia organizations, and encouraged political and police corruption. Public morality did not increase as a result of banning alcohol, and the public resented the intrusion of religious ideology into public life. Afterwards Fundamentalists largely withdrew from public life to nurse their wounds and regroup, rather than retreat. Fundamentalism arose as a â€Å"historically new religious movement with distinctive beliefs† from its base in evangelical Protestantism.These beliefs, which they would go to great lengths to promote and defend, centered on their own conception of themselves as a special people in God’s eyes with a Biblically mandated mission to prepare the way for the return of Christ. The two most characteristic beliefs, which defined the Protestant Christian Fundamentalist, were dispensationalism and premillenarianism. Fundamentalists drew their theology from a literal reading of Christian scripture, with a special emphasis being placed on the eschatological books of Revelation and Daniel, from which they were able to discern God’s plan for mankind’s future.A literal interpretation of Holy Scripture demands the believer is able to trust the text as a revealed source of God’s will. Fundamentalists believed the Bible to be the actual word of God, as revealed to the authors of the various books it contains. The message it contains must be divinely ordered; free from the errors human agency is so prone to. Inerrancy in the Bible, specifically the King James version, was the central pillar Fundamentalist theologians developed their understanding of God’s will upon.They believed the Bible free from all mistakes, errors and faults; that it was in an unchanged condition since the earliest days of Christianity’s founding fathers. It could therefore be absolutely relied upon by the individual for her understanding of the words and deeds of Christ, his followers and his message of salvation. It was the â€Å"infallible word of God and hence anything which challenged it†¦was not just wrong but sinful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  especially for the evangelical who took a liberal position, and risked personal damnation by doing so.Another central tenant, that of â€Å"dispensationalism†, became a hallmark belief for Fundamentalists. It is a scheme for â€Å"interpreting all of history on the basis of the Bible, following the principle of ‘literal where possible. ’† They believed that history was divided up into seven distinct eras, or dispensations. Each of these eras was marked by a catastrophe for mankind, so the first dispensation was recorded in Genesis as the period of Eden, which culminated in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the earthly paradise with the stain of original sin.Others dispensations ended with Noah and the flood, or the Tower of Babel and mutually incomprehensible languages etc. The present age was known as the â€Å"age of the Church† and would culminate in the apocalypse as foretold by the revelation of John in the New Testament. This would be followed by the return of Christ to earth and the final of the seven dispensations; that of the reign of God on earth. The revelation of John, as interpreted by the Fundamentalists, speaks of a period of time numbering one thousand years in which Christ will reign before judgment on humanity.Theological debate within evangelical Christianity takes two approaches to just when the millennium will take place – one side, the moderate evangelicals, believes there will be a millennium followed by judgement and the other side, that of the Fundamentalists, believes that Christ will return first, judge human kind and institute the period of heaven on earth. This belief, of Christ’s return followed by the millennium, is known as premillenarianism and became fo r Christians with fundamentalist leanings the focal point for both their heological positioning, and for informing both their political and social policies. Moderate evangelical millenarians believed that helping those worse off in this world, the poor and the destitute, would bring about Christ’s return through instigating a period of prosperity first, hence they involved themselves in the social Gospel through good works and charity. Premillenarians, on the other hand, waited on the return of Christ first and therefore did not believe that charitable work would save souls from the coming judgment.Theological development within fundamentalism was therefore a response to greater sociological conditions prevalent in the US in the early decades of the 20th century. Post-war America was a radically different country than it had been just two generations before. Sociological conditions had altered in ways that elicited a response from some Protestants that were analogous to the e xperience of ethno-cultural groups newly arrived in the US; Protestants had, in Marsden’s analogy, â€Å"experienced the transition from the old world of the nineteenth century to the new world of the twentieth wholly involuntarily. Fundamentalists had experienced a traumatic cultural shock as the result of changes to American society that had been rapid, far-ranging and decisive. Structural changes within the family, the work place and the political order had dislodged the Protestant world-view in the US from a position of being, in their view, normative to a relative position in the panoply of religious identities in the modern American experience. Traditional Protestantism was â€Å"no longer a matter of necessity; it was a choice and a leisure activity. This fragmentation of Protestant identity was a mirror of broader changes that had taken place within society. Social institutions had undergone a shift, within modernity, that fed into the Fundamentalist idea of change as anathema to stability and as undermining a true understanding of Christianity, and its role as the only sure path to personal salvation. The family unit had been, within living memory for many of Fundamentalism’s early adherents, a stable basis upon which to build the religious life.As an agrarian unit, the family had encouraged hierarchy with the father on top of a structure that spent most of its time together. This was necessary for the time consuming, and expensive, business of agricultural production. Family life, which included work, education, prayer and social instruction, had once guaranteed the propagation of the next generation of family, worker and religious adherent. Modernity brought new social roles, and new forms of social mobilization, through factory production and office work.Men, and to a lesser degree women, now traveled to a place of employment outside of the family home. The area of the US that had seen the greatest amount of industrialization, the N ortheast, was also the area that gave birth to Fundamentalism. As new opportunities to better oneself socially and financially arose so did new forms of egalitarianism. The needs of a developing industrial society called for the individualization of people through empowering them to make personal decisions about where they would live, marry and pray.Within the cities many people began to explore new forms of spiritual expression, with substantial numbers of people returning to traditional branches of a Protestantism which was now exploring new theologies, such as premillenarianism, in response to anomic uncertainty. Fundamentalism attracted growing numbers of people in urban, rather than rural, settings through marginalization and alienation. â€Å"The growth of fundamentalist churches†¦was largely through conversion† of individuals within the city seeking the assurances offered by the theological assertions of the most radical Protestant sects.The position of the Bible as the inerrant word of God had come under considerable pressure from science through the application of historical critical methodologies, as well as other from other disciplines that were investigating the Bible from new intellectual perspectives, and so had conceded it’s role of containing an ultimate truth. While nominally this would affect all Christianity’s, including Roman Catholicism, the Protestant principle of Sola Scriptura, the individual ability to interpret the word of God without an intermediary, left them particularly venerable to the accelerated pace of scientific progress.While many liberal Protestant theologians were willing to concede to â€Å"lower criticism†, or the critique of the human authorship of the Bible, Fundamentalists could not equivocate when a literal interpretation informed their very world-view, and their relationship to society and culture. It was not any particular movement in science, be it â€Å"hard† empiricism of Darwin or the â€Å"soft† theorizing of the Humanities, that ultimately upset the Fundamentalists as much as the aggregate of suspicion that now hung over the entire Christian project.Religion was â€Å"challenged less by specific scientific discoveries than by the underlying logic of science (indeed, rationality)† which had come full circle with the technological ability that had allowed America to enter into a world war as a super power. The social power to drive the new century was drawn from scientific rationalism, and not, as it had been in the past, from reliance upon the sacred. Fundamentalism was at war with modernity, and wished to reassert the old certainties in an age that had embraced their decline in favor of immediate temporal ability.Protestant Fundamentalism arose as a response to modernity during the late 19th and early 20th century. Faced with a number of challenges on different fronts it developed a theological foundation that marked it off as a dist inct religious phenomenon. Born of the schisms inherent in Protestantism since the reformation, it attracted adherents through a militant defense of traditional religious values that were increasingly undermined as progress in science questioned the Biblical narrative.Dispensationalism, and premillenarianism, in addition to a principle off separatism from liberal Protestant evangelicals, combined to give this new group a powerful voice in American religious life. At their height the fundamentalists were able to successfully challenge the American establishment through a highly publicized court trial that pitted modernity’s champions against religion’s staunchest defenders. At the same time their political influence was such that their dream of public moral regeneration through the wholesale ban on alcohol consumption demonstrated their ability to mount effective campaigns, and win.These victories turned out to be Fundamentalism’s undoing, at least where the gene ral public was concerned, as the publicity generated by the Fundamentalists engendered public ridicule and resentment towards this new group. American society had changed radically from the victorian religious society, based on the principles that had once been clearly understood through a thorough individual grounding in the Bible, to a society that was increasingly materialistic, secular and diverse. As the Fundamentalists withdrew to regroup, and quietly build their power base through their own separate nstitutions, they would later reemerge to continue their challenge to modernity within American society. Bibliography Bruce, S. , Fundamentalism (2nd Ed. ), UK: Polity Press, 2008 Bruce, S. , â€Å"The Moral Majority: the Politics of Fundamentalism in Secular Society† in Studies in Religious Fundamentalism (ed. Lionel Caplan), London: Macmillan Press, 1987 Carpenter, J. A. , Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997 Hudson, W. S. , Religion in America (3rd Ed. )), New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1981 Lawrence, B. B. Defenders Of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age, USA: University of South Carolina Press, 1989 Marsden G. M. , Encyclopedia of Religion (ed. Lindsay Jones), Vol. 5. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005 Marsden G. M. , Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism 1870-1925, New York: Oxford University Press, 1980 Marty, M. E. , and Appleby, R. S. , Fundamentalisms Observed (The Fundamentalism Project, Vol. 1), Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1991 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Carpenter, J.A. , 1997, Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 5 [ 2 ]. Marsden G. M. , 2005, Encyclopedia of Religion (ed. Lindsay Jones), Vol. 5. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, p. 2887 [ 3 ]. Marsden G. M. , 1980, Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism 1870-1925, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 159 [ 4 ]. Marsden, Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 2887 [ 5 ]. Bruce, S. , 2008, Fundamentalism (2nd Ed. ), UK: Polity Press, p. 12 [ 6 ]. Carpenter, Revive Us Again, p. 6 [ 7 ]. Lawrence, B. B. 1989, Defenders Of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age, USA: University of South Carolina Press, p. 162 [ 8 ]. Bruce, Fundamentalism, p. 70 [ 9 ]. Marsden, Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 2889 [ 10 ]. ibid, p. 2890 [ 11 ]. Carpenter, Revive Us Again, p. 5 [ 12 ]. Bruce, Fundamentalism, p. 69 [ 13 ]. Marsden, Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 2889 [ 14 ]. Lawrence, Defenders of God, p. 166 [ 15 ]. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, p. 204 [ 16 ]. Bruce, Fundamentalism, p. 20 [ 17 ]. ibid, p. 17 [ 18 ]. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, p. 202 [ 19 ]. Bruce, Fun damentalism, p. 24

Say Happy New Year With Funny Quotes

Ring in the New Year  on a cheerful note. Say, Happy New Year with  funny quotes. With a sprinkling of  wit and loads of imagination, these New Year quotes can be the proverbial icing on the cake. The last day of December is bittersweet. It heralds the time to bid goodbye to the old year and prepare for a new beginning. The first of January is not just another date on the calendar. It is a chance to make amends  and start fresh. Quotes to Ring in the New Year Jim Gaffigan My New Years resolution for 2010? I will be less  lazy. Anonymous Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits. Eric Zorn Making resolutions  is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle. Laura Kightlinger It goes Christmas, New Years Eve, and Valentines Day. Is that fair to anyone whos alone? If you didnt get around to killing yourself on Christmas or New Years, boom, theres Valentines Day for you. There should be a holiday after Valentines Day called Are you still here? Jay Leno Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means youve met your New Years resolution. P. J. ORourke The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Years Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person youre married to. Rainer Maria Rilke And now we welcome the New Year, full of things that have never been. Aleister Crowley,  Moonchild May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! My own plan is to swear off every kind of  virtue so that I triumph even when I fall! Robert Clark I would say Happy New Year but its not happy; its exactly the same as last year except colder. Ring in the Celebrations With New Year Resolutions Making New Year resolutions is a  time-honored tradition in many families. In the course of making and breaking resolutions, do not forget to have fun. This is the holiday week, a time when even the worst boss  will cut you some slack. Have you been invited to a  New Year  party? Have you thought about what you will wear for the occasion? And who will accompany you? Live it up this New Years Eve. Appreciate the wisdom in this quotation by Benjamin Franklin, Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for thats the stuff life is made of. Read more New Year quotations to encourage you to celebrate. Spend Time With Family Not a party animal? That is no excuse to stay hidden indoors. Arrange a cozy get-together for your  family. What better way to ring in the New Year than in the company of your favorite people? Rewind to the words of the great Thomas Jefferson:  The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. This evergreen quote highlights the importance of family. Read more New Year sayings that echo similar thoughts. Remember Last Years Lessons When the New Year comes calling, look forward to the opportunities it brings. However, do not forget the hard knocks that life dealt you over the last one year. Those experiences have only made you stronger. While you are at it, dwell on the joys of the past year. As we stand on the line that separates the old from the new, we can only guess what the New Year might bring. Amid the joy we feel at bidding goodbye to the old year, there is usually a pang of regret too. As Charles Lamb once wrote, Of all sound of all bells, the most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year. Appreciate and Use Humor New Years Day is dedicated to joy, optimism, and laughter. Humor is always welcome. Put a little New Years joke on your New Years greeting card. A little line like musician Joe Kings New year, same goal usually brings on the chuckles. If you want something longer, and a little more irreverent, turn to the ever-funny Jay Leno. One popular line by the American comedian goes, New Years Eve, where an auld acquaintance is forgotten! Unless, of course, those tests come back positive. Welcome a Brand New Year If the past year  has been unkind to you, hope that the New Year is different. Read a few more inspirational New Year quotes. They could give you the strength to think positive once again.  Believe in that statement as you prepare to welcome a brand new year. Rather than sulk in the sidelines, think about that utterly joyful quotation by former baseball player Barbara Hoffman, Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey! Put that smile on your face and wish everybody a Happy New Year!