Psychological Theories of Human Development

• Psychological theories of mental development are a set of interrelated statements that define, describe, relate, and explain phenomena of interest.
• The functions are describing phenomena under study, discovering relationships, and identifying causal factors.

Theories of Human Development

• Explain how humans evolve through universal processes, some focus on the biological aspects, while others focus on personal experiences.
• Most of the development throughout life comes from the interaction between biological factors and experiences.
• Freud, Erikson and Piaget offer a set of approaches from psychology, attempting to describe and explain the unique aspects of mind development and human behavior in childhood.
• These theories establish indispensable and sequential stages for mental maturation, social skill acquisition, intelligence, personality establishment, and self-concept in children.
• The three theories of human development each take a different approach

Freud's Psychosexual Development

• Sigmund Freud developed the Psychoanalytical theory of psychosexual development
• Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856, in the Czech Republic
• Freud was a medical doctor, neurologist and the father of psychoanalysis
• Freud specialized in treating people with nervous system disorders, and employed techniques like hypnosis or catharsis.
• Psychoanalysis analyzes a person's unconscious
• The theory suggests human behavior originates in biological sexual impulses of which people are not conscious.
• The mind is mainly influenced by biological impulses in erogenous zones, seeking gratification and changing throughout life

Five Stages of Psychosexual Development

• The psychoanalytic theory describes child development as a series of stages known as psycho-sexual stages
• The child's development is described as a series of psychosexual stages, which are experienced during the first five years of life.
• Libido or sexual impulse focuses on a different erogenous zone in each stage.
• Experiences in these stages shape the adult’s personality.
• Successful completion causes a healthy personality, but unresolved problems can lead to fixations
• A fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage, thus, until the conflict is resolved, the subject remains stuck.

Oral Stage

• Lasts from 0 to 1 years.
• In the oral stage pleasure is derived from sucking on the mother's breast.
• Pleasure Center: Mouth
• The world is recognized through the mouth
• The biggest conflict development in this stage is weaning from the primary caregiver.
• Fixations in this phase can cause dependency or aggression
• Oral fixation can cause problems with food, smoking or drinking

Anal Stage

• Lasts from 1 to 3 years.
• Pleasure Center: Anus.
• Main Conflict: Control of sphincters
• The child should learn to control their physical needs.
• Bowel and bladder elimination equals hygiene habbits.
• The development of control causes a sense of accomplishment and independence
• Excess control leads to orderliness and compulsive behavior
• Under control means indulgent and disorganized and rebellious behavior.

Phallic Stage

• Lasts from 3 to 6 years.
• The Pleasure Center is the Genitals.
• Main Conflict: to identify with the parent of the same-sex
• The child starts to discover the differences between the sexes
• The child is more aware of their own body, the bodies of other children, and their parents
• The boy experiences the Oedipus complex (father is competition) and experiences jealousy and rivalry towards his father for his mother’s attention.
• The girl experiences the Electra complex (mother is the competition) and experiences jealousy and rivalry towards his mother for his father’s attention.

Latent Stage

• Lasts approximately 6 to 12 years
• It has no particular source of pleasure
• During this period, the sexual energy is still present but directed towards different areas of exploration
• The child focuses more on intellectual activities and social interactions.
• This stage is important for developing communications skills and social habits
• There is a consolidation of the child's character that has developed in earlier stages, with an attention to external activities like education, friends, and hobbies.

Genital Stage

• Lasts through the rest of a person's life beginning with puberty
• In the Genital stage the genitals remain the source of pleasure
• In this stage the individual develops a strong interest toward sex and sexual relationships
• This stage is different because instead of recongnition and exploration being individual it is a couple effort
• Based on feelings and responsibility toward adulthood
• Grows on the interest for the well-being of others
• The main goal is the independance from the parents

Erik Erikson

• Erik Erikson: a German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst of Jewish origin recognized worldwide.
• He made contributions in the area of developmental psychology.
• Erikson's most notable theories concern identity crisis in adolescence and the impact on an individual’s personality.

Erikson's Psychosocial Development

• In this theroy eight stages occur over a life span
• In each stage, people face a crucial crisis with 2 solutions; positive and negative
• Resolving conflict is an important step to growing and facing new challenges in the future

Stage 1: Trust vs Mistrust

• Ages 0-2
• The infant feels trust beginning with the mother-child bonding, and extending the bond with their father
• They begin to distrust changing situation and frustration

Stage 2: Autonomy vs Shame

• Ages 2-4
• Child is experiencing the learning precess to walk
• Balancing, muscle coordination and habbits, much testing and error.
• Develop feelings of voluntariness/stubbornness, shame or guilt
• Developing self-esteem will develop self-confidence and if they can’t achieve the develope shame and doubt self-esteem.

Stage 3: Initiative vs Guilt

• Ages 4-8
• Make believe and imagination help in learning
• They feel more free and energetic
• Curiosity and initiative grow together
• Positivity is follow our interests
• Negativity is repressed developing feelings of guilt.

Stage 4: Industriousness vs Inferiority

• Ages 9-12
• Child is beginning the school stage, socializition becomes very important
• It is the stage for learning and experimenting
• Starting to understand sensations and emotions
• Comparisons to others leads to feeling of inferiority.

Stage 5: Identity vs Confusion

• Ages 12-18
• Stage is to discover the self
• Experimentation with diferent roles, attitudes, feelings towards others and preferences
• Crisis of identity
• Socialization enables to create an identity and to have "models to follow"

Stage 6: Intimacy vs Isolation

• Ages 19-40
• Connecting to others in an intimate why
• Being stable relationships depending on individual's principles.
• Creating a love relationship generates security and happiness
• Feeling isolated stems from feeling isolated and in loniliness.

Stage 7: Generativity vs Stagnation

• Ages 40-60
• Focus on creating a new generation and caring for the next of kin
• Reflecting on yourself and the feeling like too much productivity can lead to stangation
• Question your porpuse, matrimony, job

Stage 8: Integrity vs Despair

• Ages 60+
• Goal is to preserve well being though mind and body
• Being helpless or feeling the body not responding can bring a feeling of emptiness
• Feeling like things were done alright in a healthy manner leads to integration feelings.
• Feeling regretful of one's choices might lead to feelings of despair and isolation.

Jean Piaget

• Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist and biologist
• He is considered the father of genetic epistemology.
• Piaget developed a theory of sensorimotor intelligence, describing the spontaneous development of practical intelligence based on sensory and motor actions and interaction.

Piaget's Cognitive Development

• Child cognitive development occurs in a series of 4 stages:
• Children/adolescents are considered "little scientists".
• They actively construct their knowledge and the understanding of the world.
• Every infant has biological principals of adaptation and organization
• Every individual adjusts to their experience, then asimilates everything, later acomodating

Stage 1: Sensorimotor Stage

• Lasts from 0 to 2 years old
• The 5 sences development (exploration)
• The first one ususally is simple reflexes
• Later on it creates habbits
• The ability to keep permanance with things
• Moving, seating, walking, and running can lead to bigger experiences and growth
• Sence their enviroment from their point of view

Stage 2: Pre-Operational stage

• Lasts about 2-7 years.
• Imagery give the child the ability to draw mental images of reality.
• Imitation of actions of parents and peers
• Play alone or assign roles that will assist the growing children's oral and written skills
• Development of symblic function.
• Development of oral expression and writting .
• Intuitive thinking - fantasie age becomes Intuitive.

Stage 3: Concrete Operations Stage

• Lasts from 7-12 years
• Children utilise logic to make inferences
• It leads to performing simple math problems
• They start understanding the order and revesibility of things.
• Reorganizing our thoughts and feelings

Stage 4: Formal Operations Stage

• Lasts from 12+ years
• Focus on understanding our identity
• Prior knowlegde and structures have been organized to be able to abstract and increase logical capabilities
• Capacity for self reflection over one own thoughts and emotions