Unit III.

Theories of Human Development

FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

(OA-PHALAGE si Freud dahil conscious na siya sa kanyang personality!)

A. PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Oral stage ​(from birth to 18 months old)

Major pleasure center​: oral cavity

Goal​: to ​develop the proper amount of sucking​, ​eating​, ​biting​, and t​alking​, which aid in early
development steps such as breastfeeding and speaking.

Drawbacks​: Children who did not master this stage would ​develop oral fixation / oral personality
that ​might lead to oral receptive (drinking, smoking, overeating) ​or oral aggressive (nail-biting or
mouth-based aggressive behaviors like use curse words or even gossip). As a result, these
persons ​may become too dependent on others, easily fooled, and lack leadership traits​. On the
other hand, they may also fight these tendencies and become pessimistic and aggressive in
relating with people.

2. Anal Stage ​(18 months old to 3 years old)

Major pleasure center​: anal cavity

Goal​: ​mastery of this system​, usually culminates in proper toilet training; the child find
satisfaction in eliminating and retaining feces.

Drawbacks​: Children who do adequately master this stage or were harshly punished during the
toilet training process develop an anal fixation. This ​might lead to anal retentive (an obsession
with cleanliness, perfection, and control) ​or anal expulsive / exposure personalities in which one
is overly tidy, and the other overly messy and disorganized).

Note: c​ hild’s favourite word might be “NO”

3. Phallic Stage ​(3 to 5 years old)

Major pleasure center​: ​genital organ​ (genitals) in either boys or girls

Goal​: to ​master this internal conflict​ and ​move toward more appropriate sexual desires

Drawbacks: Children who struggle ​develop phallic fixations (sexual deviations e.g. overindulging
and avoidance and weak or confused sexual identity) which ​affect their relationships with their
parents adversely
​ hought to develop his/her first sexual desires which are directed at the closest known
Note: T
adult: the opposite sex parent. Boys develop the castration anxiety, ​Oedipal complex (in Greek
Mythology, Oedipus unintentionally killed his father and married his mother Jocasta) with
affection for their mothers while girls develop unconscious sexual attraction / affection for their
fathers, the ​Elektra complex.

4. Latency Stage ​(5 to 12 years old)

Major pleasure centers:​ dormant sexual feelings for the opposite sex; ​sexual urges remain
repressed

Goal ​: The child consolidates character habits developed in the previous three stages.
Successful master in each of these stages is necessary for a mature, adult personality to
develop before puberty. The children’s focus is the acquisition of physical and academic skills.

Drawbacks: If the child does not learn to derive pleasure from external sources such as
schooling, friendships, he/she ​may develop neurosis or f​ixations on socially unacceptable
activities.

5. Genital Stage ​(12 years old to adulthood)

Major pleasure center:​ the ​surge of sexual hormones​ in the body during puberty; sexual urges
are once again awakened.

Goal ​: Adolescents ​must establish successful relationships with peers​ in order to master this
stage. Adolescents focus their sexual urges towards the opposite sex peers.

Drawbacks​: unsuccessful relationships

Note:

Major pleasure center / erogenous zone - a specific area that becomes the focus of pleasure
needs. This may be the mouth, anus and the genitals

Fixation – result from failure to satisfy the needs of a particular psychosexual stage

B. COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY (id, ego, superego)

Freud divided the mind into three parts: ​id, ego, and superego​. Each part of the mind is
responsible for something different. Id and superego are comparable to the angel and devil
sitting on one’s shoulders telling one right and wrong.
ID

- the ​impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the “pleasure principle” and
only takes into account what it wants and disregards all consequences. Id is ​equivalent
 to the devil ​sitting on one’s shoulder.
- it f​ ocuses on the immediate gratification or satisfaction of its needs. So whatever it feels
good now is what it will pursue with no consideration for the reality, logically, or
practicality of the situation.
- e.g. a baby is hungry. It’s id wants food or milk.

EGO

- the ​organized, realistic portion of the psyche that acts according to the ​“reality principle”
and seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather
than bringing grief. Ego is ​equivalent to one’s conscience​.
- deciding agent of personality
- it always takes into account the reality of the situation.

SUPEREGO

- plays the ​critical and moralizing role in the psyche, aims for protection, includes ego’s
ideals, and punishes misbehaviour with feelings of guilt. Super-ego is ​equivalent to the
angel ​on one’s shoulder.
- develops near the end of the preschool years, or the end of the phallic stage - embodies a
person’s moral aspect; linked to conscience because it exerts influence on what considers
one right and wrong

​ ne has a strong ego, who can help satisfy the needs of the id without going against the
Note: O
superego while maintaining the person’s sense of what is logical, practical, and real.

C. LEVEL OF AWARENESS

i. Unconscious

- most of what influence us through our lives, emotions, beliefs, feelings, and impulses deep
within
- The Oedipus and Electra Complex were both buried down into the unconscious, out of our
awareness due to the extreme anxiety they caused.

ii. Conscious

- we are aware of what is stored; only comprises a very small part of who we are -
most of what we are is hidden and out of reach

iii. Subconscious / preconscious

- This is the part of us that we can reach if prompted, but is not in our active consciousness.
It's right below the surface, but still “hidden” somewhat unless we search for it.
- e.g information such as telephone number, some childhood memories, or the name of your
best childhood friend
Because the unconscious is so huge, and because we are only aware of the very small
consciousness at any given time, Freud used the analogy of the iceberg to illustrate it. A big part
of the iceberg is hidden beneath the water’s surface.

The water may represent all that we are not aware of, have not experienced, and that has not
been made part of our personalities, referred to as the nonconscious.