Module No.

2 : The Theories of Development and Its Implications to Teaching

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

LO1. Explain Freud's view about child and adolescent development;

LO2. Identify the different characteristics in every psychosexual stage.

LESSON 2.1: “FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT”

SIGMUND FREUD

• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a Viennese doctor who came to believe that the way

parents dealt with children's basic sexual and aggressive desires would determine how

their personalities developed and whether or not they would end up well-adjusted as

adults.

• Freud described children as going through multiple stages of sexual development, which

he labeled Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, and Genital.

STAGES OF SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

The Role of Conflict

Each of the psychosexual stages is associated with a particular conflict that

must be resolved before the individual can successfully advance to the next stage.
The resolution of each of these conflicts requires the expenditure of sexual energy and

the more energy that is expended at a particular stage, the more the important

characteristics of that stage remain with the individual as he/she matures psychologically.

To explain this Freud suggested the analogy of military troops on the march. As the troops

advance, they are met by opposition or conflict. If they are highly successful in winning

the battle (resolving the conflict), then most of the troops (libido) will be able to move on

to the next battle (stage). But the greater the difficulty encountered at any particular point,

the greater the need for troops to remain behind to fight and thus the fewer that will be

able to go on to the next confrontation.

Frustration, Overindulgence, and Fixation

Some people do not seem to be able to leave one stage and proceed on to the next. One

reason for this may be that the needs of the developing individual at any particular stage

may not have been adequately met in which case there is frustration. Or possibly the

person's needs may have been so well satisfied that he/she is reluctant to leave the

psychological benefits of a particular stage in which there is overindulgence. Both

frustration and overindulgence (or any combination of the two) may lead to what

psychoanalysts call fixation at a particular psychosexual stage. Fixation refers to the

theoretical notion that a portion of the individual's libido has been permanently 'invested'

in a particular stage of his development.

In the first stage of personality development, the libido is centered in a baby's

mouth. It gets much satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to satisfy the

libido, and thus its id demands. Which at this stage in life are oral, or mouth orientated,

such as sucking, biting, and breastfeeding. Freud said oral stimulation could lead to an

oral fixation in later life. We see oral personalities all around us such as smokers, nail-

biters, finger-chewers, and thumb suckers. Oral personalities engage in such oral

behaviours, particularly when under stress.

Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)

The libido now becomes focused on the anus, and the child derives great pleasure

from defecating. The child is now fully aware that they are a person in their own right and

that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside world (i.e.,

their ego has developed). Freud believed that this type of conflict tends to come to a head

in potty training, in which adults impose restrictions on when and where the child can

defecate. The nature of this first conflict with authority can determine the child's future
relationship with all forms of authority. Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child

becoming an anal-retentive personality who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and

respectful of authority. They can be stubborn and tight-fisted with their cash and

possessions. This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to their feces when

toddlers, and their mum's then insisting that they get rid of it by placing them on the potty

until they perform!

Not as daft as it sounds. The anal expulsive, on the other hand, underwent a liberal toilet-

training regime during the anal stage. In adulthood, the anal expulsive is the person who

wants to share things with you. They like giving things away. In essence, they are 'sharing

their s**t'!' An anal-expulsive personality is also messy, disorganized and rebellious.

Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)

Sensitivity now becomes concentrated in the genitals and masturbation (in both

sexes) becomes a new source of pleasure. The child becomes aware of anatomical sex

differences, which sets in motion the conflict between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry,

jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra

complex (in girls). This is resolved through the process of identification, which involves

the child adopting the characteristics of the same sex parent. Oedipus Complex The most

important aspect of the phallic stage is the Oedipus complex. This is one of Freud's most

controversial ideas and one that many people reject outright. The name of the Oedipus

complex derives from the Greek myth where Oedipus, a young man, kills his father and

marries his mother. Upon discovering this, he pokes his eyes out and becomes blind. This

Oedipal is the generic (i.e., general) term for both Oedipus and Electra complexes. In the
young boy, the Oedipus complex or more correctly, conflict, arises because the boy

develops sexual (pleasurable) desires for his mother. He wants to possess his mother

exclusively and get rid of his father to enable him to do so. Irrationally, the boy thinks that

if his father were to find out about all this, his father would take away what he loves the

most. During the phallic stage what the boy loves most is his penis. Hence the boy

develops castration anxiety. The little boy then sets out to resolve this problem by

imitating, copying and joining in masculine dad-type behaviours. This is called

identification, and is how the three-to-five-year-old boy resolves his Oedipus complex.

Identification means internally adopting the values, attitudes, and behaviours of another

person. The consequence of this is that the boy takes on the male gender role, and adopts

an ego ideal and values that become the superego. Electra Complex for girls, the Oedipus

or Electra complex is less than satisfactory. Briefly, the girl desires the father, but realizes

that she does not have a penis. This leads to the development of penis envy and the

wish to be a boy. The girl resolves this by repressing her desire for her father and

substituting the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby. The girl blames her mother for

her 'castrated state,' and this creates great tension.

The girl then represses her feelings (to remove the tension) and identifies with the

mother to take on the female gender role.

Latency Stage (6 years to puberty)

No further psychosexual development takes place during this stage (latent means

hidden). The libido is dormant. Freud thought that most sexual impulses are repressed

during the latent stage, and sexual energy can be sublimated (re: defense mechanisms)
towards school work, hobbies, and friendships. Much of the child's energy is channeled

into developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge, and play becomes largely

confined to other children of the same gender.

Genital Stage (puberty to adult)

This is the last stage of Freud's psychosexual theory of personality development

and begins in puberty. It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful

resolution of which is settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another

person in our 20's. Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure, rather than self-

pleasure like during the phallic stage. For Freud, the proper outlet of the sexual instinct in

adults was through heterosexual intercourse. Fixation and conflict may prevent this with

the consequence that sexual perversions may develop. For example, fixation at the oral

stage may result in a person gaining sexual pleasure primarily from kissing and oral sex,

rather than sexual intercourse.

Overview of PSYCHOANALYSIS

Psychoanalysis emphasizes unconscious motivation- main cause of behavior lies buried

in the unconscious mind. It is both an approach to therapy and a theory of personality.

Three Structures of Personality

1.) ID

2.) Ego

3.) Superego
Tripartite Theory of Personality

Freud (1923) saw the personality structured into three parts (i.e., tripartite), the id,

ego, and superego (also known as the psyche), all developing at different stages in our

lives. These are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical. The id is the

primitive and instinctive component of personality. It consists of all the inherited (i.e.,

biological) components of personality, including the sex (life) instinct – Eros (which

contains the libido), and aggressive (death) instinct - Thanatos. It operates on the

pleasure principle (Freud, 1920) which is the idea that every wishful impulse should be

satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences.

world (like a referee). It is the decision-making component of personality The ego

operates according to the reality principle, working our realistic ways of satisfying the id‘s

demands, often compromising or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences

of society. The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in deciding

how to behave. The superego incorporates the values and morals of society which are

learned from one's parents and others. It is similar to a conscience, which can punish the

ego through causing feelings of guilt.

Trait Approach to Personality

the fundamental units of one ‘s personality. Traits predispose one to act in a certain way,

regardless of the situation. This means that traits should remain consistent across

situations and over time, but may vary between individuals. It is presumed that individuals

differ in their traits due to genetic differences. These theories are sometimes referred to

psychometric theories, because of their emphasis on measuring personality by using

psychometric tests. Trait scores are continuous (quantitative) variables. A person is given

numeric score to indicate how much of a trait they possess.