Case Study Investigation

Case Study Investigation
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Case Study Investigation
Part 1: Biography and Influence
Introduction
The United States has had countless leaders since its independence. The nation’s leadership has depended on a two-party system. Arguably, most of those who have risen to the presidency level have been in politics for a long time. Many factors have always determined the need for one to fit the office. If the background of most of the leaders is examined, it is easy to state that most of them were natured in well-off backgrounds. Having the head United States of America as a selfless person from a humble background seemed an impossible task for a long time, but the events are different with Herbert Hoover. None of the contestants was assured of the seat, how did Hoover rise?
In the study, three theories will be applied to analyze Herbert Hoover. They include the socioemotional development theory, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and the social cognitive theory. The socioemotional theory had Erik Erikson in one version and Bingham and Stryker in the other. Erikson’s socioemotional development theory has the tragedies in its adulthood limited to the factors that are linked to the ego and issues of generality. On the other hand, Bingham and Stryker’s theory had them limited to components that relate to life achievements which include relationships, workplaces and social obligations. The study may raise ethical concerns since the dignity of some participants in the study will be in question.

The review shall have biased assertions because of the quantity and intention of the available information. Most of the information available was written to show how humanitarian Hoover was (Leuchtenburg, 2009).
Chronological summary of Herbert Hoover’s biography
On the tenth day of August 1874, the streets west of Branch Iowa saw the birth of a leader, Herbert Hoover, from a humble background. At a young age of ten, he had lost both his parents. His father passed at the age of six years, while his mother on the tenth birthday year. He was moved to Oregon where he was to stay with his maternal aunt, but the uncle was unwelcoming. Studies reveal that he faced opposition from the uncle at that time. He was assigned many household responsibilities. He was lucky to get through his education successfully and later enroll to the Stanford University where he graduated in the Geology pioneer class. He fell in love with Miss Loui while on campus. After his studies, he joined work in the mining industry to meet his family responsibilities as a man. All through his work in the mining industry, fellow workers looked at him as an inspiration (Leuchtenburg, 2009).
When he got into government, he served the public with funds from his pocket. How many leaders have achieved that level of selflessness? His most significant humanitarian nature was next seen during the first World War, where he donated food aid to Britain following the famine that had stricken the nation. He also aided the refugees as a result of the war. Later in his service, he eyed the presidential seat. Despite his will to serve as president, he seemed more of an authoritarian who would command people around with no plan of implementing. His primary failure was the great market stock crash during his term leading to an elevated level of poverty in the nation. That resulted from the signing of laws that caused poor trade relationships with the neighbors (Leuchtenburg, 2009).
Part 2: Theoretical perspectives
The three major selected topics for the study were the socioemotional development theory, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and the social cognitive theory. The socioemotional development theory was founded by Erik Erikson, a follower of Freud. In his work, he covered the phases in what he called the “eight stages of man’s development.” The first is Trust vs. mistrust, which lasts during the infancy stage. In this phase, the individual believes that the environment can be counted on to meet their needs. An example would be a baby who entirely trusts the parent’s presence, and would cry when the parent is absent. It is followed by a period of autonomy vs. shame and doubt during toddlerhood. The toddler will develop the free will to conduct their activities, and may be ashamed when they act in a way they doubt is right. An example would be a toddler who hides clothes they urinated on unknowingly (Huitt, 2008).
During early childhood, they get to gaining initiative vs. guilt. The individual feels terrible for not fulfilling their expectations. Such an incidence would include a child who confesses the next morning that they failed exams because they did not study. In middle childhood, they have the contradiction of industrious vs. inferiority. Here, they learn how to accomplish their activities well. Later on, they enter the phase of identity vs. role confusion, where they gain a deep thought of oneself and build their confidence. An example would be an individual who writes songs to praise their achievements. In young adulthood, they become affiliated to intimacy vs. isolation, where they yearn for love and feel like giving the same. Middle adulthood leads to the development of generality vs. stagnation. The personality feels they have the responsibility of offering the next generation advice. In adulthood, they develop ego vs. despair. They attain a sense of acceptance in life. An example would be a musician who had all the hope of rising to fame but realizes that their music lacks a good reception from the public (Huitt, 2008).
Bingham and Stryke later developed improvements in the theory where they reclassified following suggestions that the central tragedies were equally distributed across the gender. His work was grouped in the five phases of developing a strong personality, seeking identity, nurturing the inbuilt self-motivation, seeking self-sustenance and the contentment of love. Examples of the stages in the life Herbert Hoover who found hardship in his childhood due to the unwelcoming uncle, but had to get through education. He later he sought love during his campus life and then attempted his ultimate goal in leadership. His life seemed to rhyme with the theory, despite the lack of sufficient information of his background (Huitt, 2008).
Lawrence Kohlberg later argued that the ethical conduct in the environment of an individual shaped their behavior. He grouped the determinants into six stages divided into three categories that include the pre-conventional, the conventional and the post-conventional. The pre-conventional had two steps. The first was where the individual would develop obedience to evade punishment, while the second was the self-orientation. An example of the prior includes that of a student who would work hard to avoid being punished, while the latter provides for the case of a girl who sets a rule such as arriving in the house by 10.pm and sticks to it. The conventional category had the third and the fourth stages of development (Craig, 1974).
The third was personal conformity, where social norms would shape the character, whereas the fourth was social order, where the laws of a nation mold the individual till maturity. An example of the third would include a Muslim who cannot eat pork whereas the fourth might hold a scenario such as a law-abiding citizen. The final phase contains the fifth and the sixth stages. The fifth entails the individual being socially oriented whereas the sixth has the individual with the universal ethical principles. Examples of the fifth include a preacher who dresses and talks to the expectations of the society, whereas the last would consist of that of the average human being who cannot walk naked.
Albert Bandura discussed the social cognitive theory in the 1960’s. The features rely on both external and internal reinforcement. The theorist suggested that the factors which surround an individual’s cognition surrounding would lead to the adaptation of behavior. The stimulating factors involved include reciprocal determinism, where individuals learn from mistakes. An example is a child who would never play with fire after being burnt for the first time. The second factor is behavioral capability, where the individual learns something that leads to behavior. An example is a hygiene-painstaking person who discovered that dirt causes germs which lead to diseases. The third would be observation and learning where the individual learns through witnessing. An example is an individual who watches another speak on public and copies their mechanism. The other is reinforcement, whereby, the environment around the individual determines their behavior. The example, in this case, would include setting a motivational reward that makes the employees work hard to earn it. The next is Expectations where anticipated consequences are configured to determine behavior. The example will include that of a public servant who cannot take alcohol because they are expected to serve the public. Self-efficacy is the final determinant, which comprises of people with an inbuilt push. It includes people who believe in perfection.
Application of Theoretical Perspectives
The socioemotional theory has extensive use in the life of Herbert Hoover. Despite the lack of sufficient facts to indicate the experiences he had in his childhood, the character shows to have been through some critical stages of the theory. Having lost his parents at a young age and grown up with an uncle who was unwelcoming posed a significant challenge to his childhood. He is filled with responsibility, and the studies indicate that he was anti-social in his school days and stayed focused on his goals. However, he fell in love with Miss Loui at the Stanford University. In that line, his life the intimacy vs. isolation phase of Erik Erickson’s stages of socioemotional development. His nature of responsibility also expresses the stage of initiative vs. guilt. In his political career, he serves people beyond their low expectation. He spends his hard-earned money on catering for public needs despite being on a low government income. In that case, he reveals the nature of industrious vs. inferiority as explained by Erik Erikson.
Bingham and Stryke’s explanation of the socioemotional development provides the examples of the most celebrated humanitarian. During his childhood, he underwent hardship with the unwelcoming uncle, which made him adapt to working hard in life, as he did all through his career. Most likely, his uncle treated him in that manner to make him grow into a hardy-man, and pick up manly responsibilities. There were few instances where he sought identity in his early life. However, he showed an inward drive to setting and achieving his goals. He made it into being the successful leader he wanted out of himself. Studying and getting qualified for his career made him seek self-sustenance. He later adopted the commitments of love in campus, where he made out with Miss Loui.
Lawrence Kohlberg’s explanation of character revolves the life of Herbert Hoover since the early childhood since the factors are drawn. When living with his unwelcoming uncle, he had to stick to all the assigned duties since he would face punishment if he failed to. He developed obedience. Self-orientation is remarked all through his life since he is seen to set his life goals an always works to achieve them. There is little to describe social conformity in character, but his law abidance nature is indisputable. The last two determinants described by the theorist are evident since he lives with the figure the society expects him to bear, while he has the qualities that suggest the lines with the universal ethics.
Herbert Hoover also proves to rely on Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theories. Behavior capability, which is explained by the theorist is evident when the factors of his environment drive him. They include the need to express his humanitarian nature. His concern for the needy is also apparent when he selflessly donates to the needy in the society. Reciprocal determinism is depicted during his political career when he recovered from the great depression at the time of the great stock market crash of 1929 because he learned from his mistakes of signing the laws that discouraged investors. The factor of behavior through observation and learning is evident when he acquired the skills of his career in mining through observation and learning as explained by the theorist. His self-efficacy set the standards that he aimed at in his political career (Bandura, 1986).
Part 3: Biases and Ethical Concerns
The study of the president is written by William E. Leuchtenburg, who has documented more studies about other presidents. The book of his documentation covers only four pages of his childhood life in Iowa, making it difficult to extract most of the happenings when the character was a growing child. Most of the chapters in the book contain information of his political and post-political career. In any case, the author seemed to have had most of the work from political influence. Evidently, the book has the longest chapter of a fourteen paged length on his presidency, compared to the four pages of his life early life in Iowa, which barely occupies an entire chapter. Furthermore, the information collected is likely to have been gathered from secondary sources, which lack an accurate description of Hoover’s childhood. Most of the theories have their proper explanations in one’s childhood.
The author of the book seems to have obtained some of the factors in the book from his creativity to suit the political needs since all his previous work concentrated on politics. He did not live during the time of the personality he studies. Therefore, the accuracy of the direct speeches quoted in his work seems creatively designed to fit the context. The time the book was written, in 2006, was too late to construct the daily events in the life of a former American president, as his study states. He is also a known scholar for the career of life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was Herbert Hoover’s political opponent.
Despite the questions on the credibility of information, there is some chance of accuracy following that the author had notable students, and attained sufficient education. He is recognized for his Ph. D. He also had a long duration of writing experience before drafting about Herbert Hoover. Most of his previous work has been described as being of high precision compared to the various sources. The flow of his work seems to fit the real background of the president’s life besides marching the information provided by other sources (“William E. Leuchtenburg Biography, 2017).
Part 4: Conclusion
Having the head United States of America as a selfless person from a humble background seemed an impossible task for a long time, but the events are different with Herbert Hoover. None of the contestants was assured of the seat, how did Hoover rise? His birth fell on the tenth day of 1874, in a humble background. He lost both of his parents by the age of 10 and had to put up with his unwelcoming uncle. He successfully attained education and graduated in the pioneer class of geology at Stanford University. He served as an inspiration to fellow workers. He as selfless and he grew into being the most significant humanitarian of all time in his political career when he made many mistakes. He realized that he had a good plan but had no idea on how to successfully implement his strategies. He led the American economy into the worst tragedy when he signed deals that discouraged business investors. He also fell into the most significant depression of his life when he realized that things were not going right.
In analyzing the character, the theories of socioemotional development theory, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and the social cognitive theory were examined. In the most robust applications, Bingham and Stryke’s explanation of “hardy character” for men in the socioemotional development theory is evident in his childhood where he grew in a harsh social and economic environment. His uncle did not give him a welcoming hand when he moved into their residence after the death of his parents. Most of the developmental stages need self-sustenance end with marriage, as depicted in his life. He went to school to study his career before settling into a successful relationship. Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory applies in the sense that his behavior was shaped by past experiences in his political race, including during the great stock market crisis. Despite the explanation of the rise of the presidency, the book seemed to have leaned on a political perspective. A childhood explanation would have given a better analysis of the Hoover’s development. However, the entire story matched the developmental theories to a large extent.
References
Bandura, A., (1986). Prentice-Hall series in social learning theory. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Ha
Craig, R. (1974). Lawrence Kohlberg and Moral Development: Some Reflections. Educational Theory, 24: 121–129. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5446.1974.tb00629.x
Huitt, W. (2008). Socioemotional development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved 27 January 2018, from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/affect/erikson.htmlLeuchtenburg, W. (2009). Herbert Hoover: The American Presidents. Times Books. New York.
William E. Leuchtenburg Biography. (2017). American Historical Association. Retrieved 27 January 2018 from https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/presidential-addresses/william-e-leuchtenburg/william-e-leuchtenburg-biography