THEORIES OF HUMAN

DEVELOPMENT
THEORIES
 a supposition or a system of
ideas intended to explain
something.

a set of principles on which the

practice of an activity is based.
 THEORIES OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
 Theories of development provide a framework
for thinking about human growth, development,
and learning.
 But why do we study development?
 What can we learn from psychological theories
of development? If you have ever wondered
about what motivates human thought and
behavior, understanding these theories can
provide useful insight into individuals and
society.
Psychosexual
Development
Theory of Sigmund Freud
“A person goes through the
sequence of 5 stages and
along the way there are
needs to be met. Whether
they are met or not ,
determines whether the
person will develop a
healthy personality or not.”
-SIGMUND FREUD
 Psychosexual development
 Freud believed that adult
personality problems were the
result of early experiences in
life.
 He believed that we go through
five stages of psychosexual
development and that at each
stage of development we
experience pleasure in one part
of the body than in others.
EROGENOUS ZONES

 parts of the body that

have especially strong
pleasure-giving qualities
at particular stages of
development.
 PSYCHOSEXUAL
DEVELOPMENT
Freud thought that
our adult personality
is determined by
the way we resolve
conflicts between
these early sources
of pleasure—the
mouth, the anus and
the genitals—and
the demands of
reality.
FIXATION
is the
psychoanalytic
defense mechanism
that occurs when
the individual
remains locked in
an earlier
developmental
stage because
needs are under or
over-gratified
 FIXATION
• A fixation is a persistent
focus on an earlier
psychosexual stage.

• Until this conflict is resolved,

the individual will remain
"stuck" in this stage.
 Stages of
Psychosexual
Development
 I. Oral Stage
 It occurs during the
first 18 months of life
when the infant’s
pleasure centers on
the mouth.
 Chewing, sucking
and biting are chief
sources of
pleasure and these
actions reduces
tension in the
infant.
Too much or too little satisfaction can
lead to an Oral Fixation or Oral
Personality which is shown in an
increased focus on oral activities.
Oral Receptive – have a strong
tendency to smoke, drink alcohol,
overeat.
Oral Aggressive – tendency to bite
his/her nails or curse or even gossip.
As a result these person may
become too dependent on
others, easily fooled and lack of
leadership. They may also fight
these tendencies and become
pessimistic and aggressive in
relating with people.
Fixations at oral stage:
Fixations at oral stage:
2. Anal Stage
 It is the second
stage of Psychosexual
development that
occurs between 1
½ until 3 years of age,
in which the child’s
greatest pleasure
involves the anus or
the eliminative
functions associated
with it.
 Through toilet training, the child
comes in contact with the rules of
society.
 Struggle might exist in the toilet
training process when the child
retains feces when asked to
eliminate, or may choose to defecate
when ask to hold feces for some
reason.
 ANAL RETENTIVE
-Obsession with
cleanliness,
perfection and
control.
 ANAL EXPULSIVE
-Person become
messy and
organize.
Fixations at anal stage:
Fixations at anal stage:
 3. Phallic Stage
 It occurs between the
ages of 3-6.
 The word “phallic” comes
the Latin word
“phallus,” which means
“penis.”
 During this stage,
pleasure focuses on the
genitals as the child
discovers that self-
stimulation is enjoyable.
 During the preschool age
children become in what makes
boys and girls different.

 Freud’s studies led him to

believe that during this stage
boys develop unconscious
sexual desire for their mother.
Boys then see their father as a
rival for her mother’s affection.
 In Freud’s view, the phallic stage has a special
importance in personality development because this
period triggers the Oedipus Complex and Electra
Complex.

 OEDIPUS COMPLEX – developing

unconscious sexual attraction
towards their mother.

 ELECTRA COMPLEX – developing

unconscious sexual attraction
towards their father.
Resolving the Oedipus Complex
and Electra Complex
 At about 5-6 years of age,

children recognize that their
same-sex parent might punish
them for their incestuous
wishes.
 To reduce the conflict, the

child identifies with the same-
sex parent, striving to be like
him/her.
 If the conflict is not resolved,

the individual may become
fixated at the phallic stage.
Fixation at Phallic Stage
 LATENCY STAGE
 It occurs at
approximately
between 6 years of
age until puberty.
 At this stage, the
child represses all
interest in sexuality
and develops social
and intellectual
skills.
 LATENCY STAGE
 The pursuit of social
and academic
activities channels
much of the child’s
energy into
emotionally safe
areas and aids the
child in forgetting
the highly stressful
conflicts of the
phallic stage
 GENITAL
STAGE
 The final stage of
psychosexual
development occurs
from puberty onwards.
 It is the time of sexual
reawakening, but
the source of sexual
pleasure now becomes
someone outside the
family.
 GENITAL Stage
 Freud believed that
unresolved conflicts
with parents re-
emerged during
adolescence.
 Once resolved, Freud
believed that the
individual capable of
developing a mature
love relationship and
functioning
independently as an
adult.
Freud’s
sexual
fixation
 Freud’s Personality Components

Conscien
Pleasure Reality
ce
Principle Principle
Principle

ID EGO SUPEREGO
 ID
Operates the pleasure principle.
Focuses on immediate gratification or
satisfaction of its needs. So whatever
feels good now is what it will pursue
with no consideration for the reality,
logicality or practicality of the
situation.
When ID wants something, it wants is
now and it wants it fast.
Example is the baby when hungry.
 EGO
Operates using the reality principle.
It is aware that others also have needs to be
met.
It is practical because it knows that being
impulsive or selfish can result to negative
consequences later, so it reasons and
considers the best response to situations.
It is the deciding agent of the personality.
It functions to help the ID meet its needs, it
always takes into account the reality of the
situation.
 SUPEREGO
Embodies a person’s moral aspect.
It is likened to conscience because
it exerts influence on what
considers right and wrong.
If the ID exerts too much power
over the EGO, the person becomes
too impulsive and pleasure seeking
behavior takes over one’s life.
On the opposite, one may find the
SUPEREGO so strong that the EGO is
overpowered. The person becomes
harsh and judgmental to himself
and other’s actions.
Freud believed that the personality
of an individual is formed early
during childhood years.
TOPOGRAPHICAL MODEL
UNCONSCIOUS
Freud said that most what we go
through in our lives, emotions,
beliefs and impulses deep within
are not available to us at conscious
level.
Oedipus and Electra Complex
Our unconscious still influence our
thinking, feeling and doing.
CONSCIOUS
Freud said that all that we are of is
stored in our conscious mind.
Our conscious mind only comprises a
very small part of who we are so that in
our everyday life we are only aware of
a very small part of what makes up our
personality.
Most of what we are is hidden and out
of reach
SUBCONSCIOUS
Existing in the part of the mind that a
person is not aware of.
It is right below the surface but still
hidden somewhat unless we searched
for it.
The information such as childhood
memories or name of bestfriend is
stored in preconscious.
 Ego
(Free floating in all three
levels)
Conscious

Subconsci
Superego
ous
Nonconsci
ous
Unconscio
usId