Basic tenets of Freuds psychoanalytic theory n Three

Basic tenets of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory n Three levels of consciousness n n n Conscious: what we’re thinking about or experiencing at any given moment Preconscious: what we can readily call to consciousness (memories, knowledge) Unconscious: thoughts, desires, and impulses of which we’re not aware; this is the largest level of consciousness.

Structure of the personality n n n Id Ego Superego

Id n n n Only purpose is to satisfy our desires Completely unconscious with no basis in reality Operates according to the pleasure principle— always seeks pleasure and avoids pains. Only part of the personality present from birth. The child gradually learns that the id can’t always be satisfied.

Ego n n Develops as child realizes that the id is constrained by reality Abides by the reality principle—goal is to bring pleasure within constraints of reality Mostly conscious Also houses the higher mental functions such as reasoning, problem-soliving, and decisionmaking

Superego n n The moral branch of the personality; our conscience It can either reward or punish the ego Doesn’t consider reality (like the id); it only considers whether the id’s sexual and aggressive impulses can be satisfied in moral terms Can operate on all levels of consciousness, but it’s mostly preconscious

Defense mechanisms n n n Arise because of the anxiety due to conflicts between id and superego; too much pressure put on the ego Protect the ego and reduce anxiety Unconscious, so we’re not aware we’re using them Not necessarily bad when used on temporary basis Examples: repression, denial, sublimation, regression

Libido n n Sexual energy of the sex instinct Sex instinct is the most important of life’s forces and is the basis for most mental disorders Sex is much more than copulation and can refer to anything pleasurable As sex instinct matures, libido moves from one body part to another, and child moves into a new stage of psychosexual development.

Adult personality n n n Determined by the way conflicts between early sources of pleasure and constraints of reality are resolved When conflicts aren’t resolved adequately, person can become “fixated” at that stage of development Fixation occurs when child’s needs are either not met or are overgratified.

Five stages of psychosexual development n n n Oral stage Anal stage Phallic stage Latency stage Genital stage

Oral stage n n n Birth to 1 year Mouth is focus of sexual pleasure Fixation: smokers, drinkers, loud talkers, people who like to eat or chew gum, dentists

Anal stage n n 1 -3 years Focus of sexual pleasure is the anus Voluntary defecation is the primary way to gratify the sex instinct during this stage Fixation: love of bathroom humor, interest in bowel movements, extreme messiness, prudishness, irritability

Phallic stage n n 3 -6 years Focus of sexual pleasure is on the genitals All children develop an incestuous desire for opposite-sex parent Oedipal and Electra complex develops in males and females, respectively.

Oedipal complex n n n Boys have sexual longing for mothers and jealousy of fathers Boys want to hurt or kill fathers because they’re a rival for Mom’s affection Boy realizes he’s too weak to kill father and develops “castration anxiety” (fears Dad will cut off boy’s penis) Castration anxiety causes repression of desire for Mom and identification with Dad Becomes psychologically male at this point.

Electra complex & penis envy n n n Girls realize at age 3 -4 that they don’t have a penis; blame Mom for castrating them. Sexually desire fathers and want to bear father’s child, preferably a son, to compensate for her lack of a penis. Freud didn’t know how girls resolved this anxiety. Thought boys had stronger superego than girls because they had to go through the mental work of repressing their castration anxiety whereas girls didn’t.

Latency period n n Ages 6 -12 Nothing much going on here Child’s sex instinct is quiet, and libido is channeled into acceptable activity like schoolwork and play. Continues until puberty.

Genital stage n n n Age 12 to late adulthood Puberty brings maturation of reproductive organs Libido is once again settled in the genitals Aim of sex instinct is reproduction In old age, person might regress to an earlier stage of development.

Is Freud’s theory valid? n n The theory of psychosexual development has NOT held up to scientific scrutiny. It is still commonly assumed in the child development community, though, that children do go through a period where they prefer the opposite-sex parent. This resolves itself by age 5 or 6.

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development n Basic ideas n n A basic psychological conflict (not a sexual conflict) determines healthy or maladaptive behaviors at each stage. Normal development must be viewed in the context of one’s culture; we’re a product of our society. Focus is on psychosocial development, rather than psychosexual development. Conflicts are between biological maturation and social demands.

Characteristics of Erikson’s stages n n n Each stage contains a unique developmental crisis that must be faced. There are 8 stages. Crisis is not a catastrophe but merely a turning point that can strengthen or weaken us. Each crisis is primarily social in nature. There are degrees of success; the more you resolve each conflict, the healthier you are. Adjustment requires balancing both positive and negative traits.

Basic trust vs. mistrust n n Birth to 1 year Corresponds to Freud’s oral stage Babies must learn to trust caregivers. You can’t “spoil” an infant; responding to their cries teaches them to trust you, which sets the pattern for relationships throughout life.

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt n n 1 -3 years (Freud’s anal stage) Children are developing new motor and cognitive skills and want to be independent. Autonomy occurs when parent allows child some freedom to make their own decisions. Shame & doubt occur when parent tries to do too much for the child or makes fun of him for doing something

Initiative vs. guilt n n n 3 -6 years (phallic stage) Children try to act grown-up and do things beyond their capabilities May conflict with parents or feel guilty about this Initiative occurs when parent supports child’s sense of independence Guilt occurs if parent demands too much selfcontrol from child.

Industry vs. inferiority n n 6 -11 years (latency stage) Children master social and academic skills. Compare themselves to others—do they measure up? Can result in a sense of industry and self-confidence, or a low self-esteem.

Identity vs. identity confusion n Adolescence Who am I? What do I want out of life? Many college students are still in this stage.

Intimacy vs. isolation n Young adulthood Task is to forge close relationships with other people, both friendships and romantic relationships. If there’s a problem left over from stage 1 (basic trust vs. mistrust), there will be a problem here, too.

Generativity vs. stagnation n Middle adulthood Generativity—giving to others through childrearing, careers, or caring for others. Stagnation—failing to find meaning in life; person feels empty and thinks life is meaningless

Ego integrity vs. despair n n n Late adulthood Older person looks back on life and assesses it If dissatisfied with what they’ve accomplished, they will fear death more.

Comparing Freud & Erikson n Erikson’s theory is more optimistic than Freud’s. (You can always go back and fix things. ) Basic conflict in each stage is social, not sexual. Erikson’s theory, like Freud’s, defies scientific testing.

Piaget’s Cognitive. Developmental Theory n n n Most influential theory in child development Piaget thought children were NOT passive creatures who learned only through positive and negative reinforcement. Children learn by actively constructing knowledge and manipulating objects. Development occurs in stages; it’s not continuous. Key to cognitive development is not language (as most theorists thought) but action— manipulating objects and moving in space.

The clinical interview n n n A form of gathering information by asking open-ended, flexible questions with follow-up questions based on subject’s answers. Nothing is standardized; subject determines what questions are asked. This is how Piaget came up with his theory. He did clinical interviews while giving children standardized IQ tests to follow up on their incorrect answers.

Four States of Development n n Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years Preoperational stage: 2 -7 years Concrete operations: 7 -11 years Formal operations: 11 years on up (this age range has been hotly contested as being too young)

Sensorimotor stage n n n Infants “think” by acting on the world with their senses—seeing, hearing, taste, touch. They don’t “think” much but explore their world through sensory and motor experiences. Acquire a primitive sense of self and others during this stage; gain self-awareness by 18 mos. Object permanence is the most significant development. By 2, infant can think & problem-solve.

Preoperational stage n n n Children use symbols to represent earlier sensorimotor discoveries (language and make-believe play) Thought lacks logical qualities of later stages Major errors in thought (e. g. , conservation error) dominate this stage.

Concrete operational stage n n n Reasoning becomes logical and grounded in reality Can organize objects into hierarchies of classes and subclasses Thinking isn’t yet abstract.

Formal operations n n Characterized by abstract thought Can reason with symbols and do advanced mathematics Can think of all possible outcomes to a scientific problem, not just the obvious ones. Begin to question authority and become frustrated with the lack of an ideal world.

Limitations of Piaget’s theory n n n Seriously underestimated abilities of infants and young children Developmentalists don’t believe development is as stagelike as Piaget thought…more continuous Children can be trained to solve Piagetian tasks, which Piaget wouldn’t have thought possible. Children don’t reach formal operations by age 11. Some people don’t reach it at all. There may be some postformal thought