Freuds Stages of Psychosexual Development

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is probably the most well known theorist when it comes to the development of personality. Freuds Stages of Psychosexual Development are, like other stage theories, completed in a predetermined sequence and can result in either successful completion or a healthy personality or can result in failure, leading to an unhealthy personality. This theory is probably the most well known as well as the most controversial, as Freud believed that we develop through stages based upon a particular erogenous zone. During each stage, an unsuccessful completion means that a child becomes fixated on that particular erogenous zone and either over or under-indulges once he or she becomes an adult. Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months). During the oral stage, the child if focused on oral pleasures (sucking). Too much or too little gratification can result in an Oral Fixation or Oral Personality which is evidenced by a preoccupation with oral activities. This type of personality may have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or her nails. Personality wise, these individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and perpetual followers. On the other hand, they may also fight these urges and develop pessimism and aggression toward others. Anal Stage (18 months to three years). The childs focus of pleasure in this stage is on eliminating and retaining feces. Through societys pressure, mainly via parents, the child has to learn to control anal stimulation. In terms of personality, after effects of an anal fixation during this stage can result in an obsession with cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal retentive). On the opposite end of the spectrum, they may become messy and disorganized (anal expulsive). Phallic Stage (ages three to six). The pleasure zone switches to the genitals. Freud believed that during this stage boy develop unconscious sexual desires for their mother. Because of this, he becomes rivals with his father and sees him as competition for the mothers affection. During this time, boys also develop a fear that their father will punish them for these feelings, such as by castrating them. This group of feelings is known as Oedipus Complex ( after the Greek Mythology figure who accidentally killed his father and married his mother).

Later it was added that girls go through a similar situation, developing unconscious sexual attraction to their father. Although Freud Strongly disagreed with this, it has been termed the Electra Complex by more recent psychoanalysts. According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of his father, boys eventually decide to identify with him rather than fight him. By identifying with his father, the boy develops masculine characteristics and identifies himself as a male, and represses his sexual feelings toward his mother. A fixation at this stage could result in sexual deviancies (both overindulging and avoidance) and weak or confused sexual identity according to psychoanalysts. Latency Stage (age six to puberty). Its during this stage that sexual urges remain repressed and children interact and play mostly with same sex peers. Genital Stage (puberty on). The final stage of psychosexual development begins at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. Through the lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers, with the primary focus of pleasure is the genitals.

Three basic aspect of personality by Sigmund Freud

Freud proposed that the personality consisted of three structures called the Id, Ego and Superego. Each of these structures is responsible for some aspect of our thinking and behavior. Id = represents our wants, desires, instant gratification, etc. We have no awareness of this part of our psyche, but it can be a driving force in our behavior. The Id is rooted in the desire for pleasure. Superego = represent the moralistic and parental side of our psyche. The supergo attempts to control our basic instincts but it too is outside of our conscious awareness. Ego - represents the rational part of our psyche. It is the closest of the three to our conscious awareness. Ego allows us to live in the world and balance the needs of our basic and instinctive wants and desires (id) and our moralistic and parental restrictions (superego).

Erickon's Psychosocial Stages of Development

1 Basic Trust vs. Mistrust 0-1 Hope Dependency or Paranoia

-when the parents present consistent, adequate, and nurturing care, the child develops basic trust and realizes that people are dependable and the world can be a safe place. The child develops a sense of hope and confidence; this is a belief that things will work out well in the end -when the parents fail to provide these things, the child develops basic mistrust, resulting in depression, withdrawal, and maybe even paranoia 2 Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt 2-3 Will Obsessive/Impulsive or Avoidant

-if parents guide children gradually and firmly, praise and accept attempts to be independent, autonomy develops. The result will be a sense of will which helps us accomplish and build self-esteem as children and adults -if parents are too permissive, harsh, or demanding, the child can feel defeated, and experience extreme shame and doubt, and grow up to engage in neurotic attempts to regain feelings of control, power, and competency. This may take the form of obsessive behavior; if you follow all rules exactly then you will never be ashamed again. If the child is given no limits or guidance, the child can fail to gain any shame or doubt and be impulsive. Some is good, as it causes us to question the outcomes of our actions, and consider others' wellbeing. This may also result in Avoidance; if you never allow yourself to be close to others, they can never make you feel ashamed 3 Initiative vs Guilt 4-5 Purpose Constricted or Antisocial/Narcissistic

-the child becomes curious about people and models adults. Erickson believed the child does attempt to possess the opposite sex parent and experience rivalry toward the same sex parent; however, a true Oedipal Complex only develops in very severe cases -if parents are understanding and supportive of a child's efforts to show initiative, the child develops purpose, and sets goals and acts in ways to reach them -if children are punished for attempts to show initiative, they are likely to develop a sense of guilt, which in excess can lead to inhibition. Too much purpose and no guilt can lead to ruthlessness; the person may achieve their goals without caring who they step on in the process

Industry vs Inferiority

612

Competency

Helplessness or Shallowness

-occurs during Latency, but Erickson did not think this was a rest period; the child begins school and must tame imagination and impulses, and please others. If adults support the child's efforts, a sense of competence develops -if caretakers do not support the child, feelings of inferiority are likely to develop. Too much inferiority, and inertia or helplessness occurs (underachievers). Too much competency and the child becomes an adult too fast, and develops either into a Histrionic or Shallow person One way to divide Erikson's stages is into two groups of four -- the first four have to do with figuring out the world, the last four with figuring out yourself 5 Identity vs Role Confusion 1319 Fidelity Identity Diffusion or Fanaticism

-young adults attempt to develop identity and ideas about strengths, weaknesses, goals, occupations, sexual identity, and gender roles. Teens "try on" different identities, going through an identity crisis, and use their friends to reflect back to them. Marcia offers four resolutions: Identity Achievement (crises and commitment), Moratorium (crises and commitment later), Foreclosure (commitment without crises), and Identity Diffusion (no crises, no commitment) -if they resolve this crisis, they develop fidelity, "the ability to sustain loyalties freely pledged in spite of the inevitable contradictions of value systems" (can be friends with very different people) -if they fail to resolve the crisis, they develop identity diffusion; their sense of self is unstable and threatened; too little identity and they may join cults or hate groups, too much identity and they may show fanaticism 6 Intimacy vs Isolation 2024 Love Promiscuity or Exclusion

-intimacy is the ability to be close, loving, and vulnerable with romances and friends. It is based in part upon identity development, in that you have to know yourself to share it. The virtue gained here is love. Failure to develop intimacy can lead to promiscuity (getting too close too quick and not sustaining it), or exclusion (rejecting relationships and those who have them) 7 Generativity vs Stagnation 2564 Care Stagnation or Overextension

-if you have a strong sense of creativity, success, and of having "made a mark" you develop generativity, and are concerned with the next generation; the virtue is called care, and represents connection to generations to come, and a love given without expectations of a specific return -adults that do not feel this develop a sense of stagnation, are self-absorbed, feel little connection to others, and generally offer little to society; too much stagnation can lead to rejectivity and a failure to feel any sense of meaning (the unresolved mid-life crises), and too much generativity leads to overextension (someone who has no time for themselves because they are so busy) 8 Ego Integrity vs Despair 65-? Wisdom Presumption or Disdain

-this entails facing the ending of life, and accepting successes and failures, ageing, and loss. People develop ego integrityand accept their lives if they succeed, and develop a sense of wisdom a "detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself" -those who do not feel a sense of despair and dread their death; it's too late to change their lives (Ebenezer Scrooge justmanaged to avoid it) Too much wisdom leads to presumption, too much despair to a disdain for life

Laurence Kohlbergs Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg was, for many years, a professor at Harvard University. He became famous for his work there beginning in the early 1970s. He started as a developmental psychologist and then moved to the field of moral education. He was particularly well-known for his theory of moral development which he popularized through research studies conducted at Harvard's Center for Moral Education. His theory of moral development was dependent on the thinking of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and the American philosopher John Dewey. He was also inspired by James Mark Baldwin. These men had emphasized that human beings develop philosophically and psychologically in a progressive fashion. Kohlberg believed...and was able to demonstrate through studies...that people progressed in their moral reasoning (i.e., in their bases for ethical behavior) through a series of stages. He believed that there were six identifiable stages which could be more generally classified into three levels.

Kohlberg's classification can be outlined in the following manner:

LEVEL Pre-conventional STAGE 1 2 SOCIAL ORIENTATION Obedience and Punishment Individualism, Instrumentalism, and Exchange "Good boy/girl" Law and Order Social Contract Principled Conscience

Conventional

3 4

Post-conventional

5 6

The first level of moral thinking is that generally found at the elementary school level. In the first stage of this level, people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they are told to do so by some authority figure (e.g., parent or teacher). This obedience is compelled by the threat or application of punishment. The second stage of this level is characterized by a view that right behavior means acting in one's own best interests. The second level of moral thinking is that generally found in society, hence the name "conventional." The first stage of this level (stage 3) is characterized by an attitude which seeks to do what will gain the approval of others. The second stage is one oriented to abiding by the law and responding to the obligations of duty. The third level of moral thinking is one that Kohlberg felt is not reached by the majority of adults. Its first stage (stage 5) is an understanding of social mutuality and a genuine interest in the welfare of others. The last stage (stage 6) is based on respect for universal principle and the demands of individual conscience. While Kohlberg always believed in the existence of Stage 6 and had some nominees for it, he could never get enough subjects to define it, much less observe their longitudinal movement to it. Kohlberg believed that individuals could only progress through these stages one stage at a time. That is, they could not "jump" stages. They could not, for example, move from an orientation of selfishness to the law and order stage without passing through the good boy/girl stage. They could only come to a comprehension of a moral rationale one stage above their own. Thus, according to Kohlberg, it was important to present them with moral dilemmas for discussion which would help them to see the

reasonableness of a "higher stage" morality and encourage their development in that direction. The last comment refers to Kohlberg's moral discussion approach. He saw this as one of the ways in which moral development can be promoted through formal education. Note that Kohlberg believed, as did Piaget, that most moral development occurs through social interaction. The discussion approach is based on the insight that individuals develop as a result of cognitive conflicts at their current stage.

Social Development Theory (Vygotsky)

Vygotskys Social Development Theory is the work of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), who lived during Russian Revolution. Vygotskys work was largely unkown to the West until it was published in 1962. Vygotskys theory is one of the foundations of constructivism. It asserts three major themes: Major themes: 1. Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. In contrast to Jean Piagets understanding of child development (in which development necessarily precedes learning), Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. He states: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). (Vygotsky, 1978). 2. The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The MKO refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept. The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, coach, or older adult, but the MKO could also be peers, a younger person, or even computers. 3. The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD is the distance between a students ability to perform a task under adult guidance and/or with peer collaboration and the students ability solving the problem independently. According to Vygotsky, learning occurred in this zone. Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the sociocultural context in which they act and interact in shared experiences (Crawford, 1996). According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments. Initially children develop these tools to serve solely as social functions, ways to communicate needs. Vygotsky believed that the internalization of these tools led to higher thinking skills. Applications of the Vygotskys Social Development Theory Many schools have traditionally held a transmissionist or instructionist model in which a teacher or lecturer transmits information to students. In contrast, Vygotskys theory promotes learning contexts in which students play an active role in learning. Roles of the teacher and student are therefore shifted, as a teacher should collaborate with his or her students in order to help facilitate meaning construction in students. Learning therefore becomes a reciprocal experience for the students and teacher.

Urie Bronfenbrenners Ecologica Sysem Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner was generally regarded as one of the world's leading scholars in the field of developmental psychology.[citation needed] His ecological systems theory holds that development reflects the influence of several environmental systems, and it identifies five environmental systems that an individual interacts with. These include, but are not limited to, an individual's school, neighborhood, church, their family, and their peers.

Mesosystem: Refers to relations between microsystems or connections between contexts. Examples are the relation of family experiences to school experiences, school experiences to church experiences, and family experiences to peer experiences. For example, children whose parents have rejected them may have difficulty developing positive relations with teachers. Exosystem: Involves links between a social setting in which the individual does not have an active role and the individual's immediate context. For example, a husband's or child's experience at home may be influenced by a mother's experiences at work. The mother might receive a promotion that requires more travel, which might increase conflict with the husband and change patterns of interaction with the child. Macrosystem: Describes the culture in which individuals live. Cultural contexts include developing and industrialized countries, socioeconomic status, poverty, and ethnicity. A child, his or her parent, his or her school, and his or her parent's workplace are all part of a large cultural context. Members of a cultural group share a common identity, heritage, and values. The macrosystem evolves over time, because each successive generation may change the macrosystem, leading to their development in a unique macrosystem. [1] Chronosystem: The patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances. For example, divorces are one transition. Researchers have found that the negative effects of divorce on children often peak in the first year after the divorce. By two years after the divorce, family interaction is less chaotic and more stable. As an example of sociohistorical circumstances, consider how the opportunities for women to pursue a career have increased during the last thirty years[2]."

The person's own biology may be considered part of the microsystem; thus the theory has recently sometimes been called "Bio-Ecological Systems Theory."