Psych11 General Psychology: Handout 2.

Desires:

Repression of sexual and

aggressive desires including
those involved in the
Oedipus/Electra Complex

Human Developmental Theories

Freuds Stages of
Psychosexual Development
Oral Stage (Birth to 1st year)
Erogenous Zone:
Mouth
Desires:
Stimulating the oral zone
through sucking, eating,
crying, and babbling
Problem:
Overcoming dependency
Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)
Erogenous Zone:
Anus
Desires:
Stimulation
of
anal
erogenous zone through
bladder
and
bowel
functions
Problem:
Toilet training and selfcontrol
Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
Erogenous Zone:
Genitals
Desires:
Stimulation of genitals
Problem:
Resolving Oedipus/Electra
Complex, involving erotic
attachment to parent of
opposite sex and hostility to
parent of same sex
Latency Stage (6 to 12 years)
Erogenous Zone:
None

Problem:

Consciously:
Unconsciously:

Learning modesty and

shame
Dealing with repressed
Oedipus/Electra conflicts

Genital Stage (12 years to Adulthood)

Erogenous Zone:
None
Desires:
Mature sexual relationships
Problem:
Displacement of energy
into healthy activities and
establishing
new
and
refreshed relationship with
parents
Piagets Stages of
Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 years)
Mainly reflexive or instinctive motor
responses to stimulation, with very little
thinking involved

Important Concepts

Mental Representations The child can now

form memories of objects and events that
they retrieve for use later. But when the
object is out of sight (e. g., misplaced from
its original position) the object no longer
exists.

Object Permanence The realization that objects

continue to exist even when they are out
of sight.
Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years)
The sense of self emerges as distinctive
from other people and objects in the
environment
Children solves problems using mental
representations (such as searching
different places for a lost toy)
Children cannot solve problems requiring
logical thought

Important Concepts

Egocentrism A self-centered focus, the child sees

the world only in terms of themselves and
their own positions. They assume that
others see the world in the same way they
do.
Animistic Thinking A belief that inanimate
objects have life and mental processes
Centration - Inability to understand an event
because the child focuses attention too
narrowly, while ignoring other important
information.
Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years)
Children understand for the first time that
many things may stay essentially the
same, even when their superficial
appearance changes.

Important Concepts

Conservation The understanding that the

physical properties of an object or
substance do not change even when
appearances change but nothing is added
or taken away.
Mental Operations Solving problems by
manipulating images in ones mind
Formal Operational Stage (12 to Adulthood)
The ability for abstract and complex
thought appears
Kohlbergs Stages of
Moral Reasoning
Levels and Stages
I. Preconventional Morality
Stage 1. Pleasure/Pain Orientation
- Avoid pain or getting caught
Stage 2. Cost/Benefit Orientation
- Achieve/receive rewards
II. Conventional Morality
Stage 3. Good Child Orientation
- Gain acceptance, avoid
disapproval
Stage 4. Law-and-order Orientation
- Follow rules, avoid penalties
III. Postconventional (Principled) Morality
Stage 5. Social Contract Orientation
- Promote the welfare of ones
society

Stage 6. Ethical Principle Orientation

- Achieve justice, avoid selfcondemnation
Eriksons Stages of
Psychosocial Crises
Trust vs. Mistrust (0 to 1 years)
+
Basic sense of safety to rely on forces
outside oneself

Insecurity, anxiety
Autonomy vs. Self-doubt (1 to 3 years)
+
Perception of self as agent; capable of
controlling ones own body and making
things happen

Feelings of inadequacy about self-control

and control of events
Initiative vs., Guilt (3 to 6 years)
+
Confidence in oneself as being able to
initiate and create

Feeling of lack of self-worth

Competence vs. Inferiority (6 years to Puberty)
+
Adequacy in basic social and intellectual
skills; acceptance by peers

Lack of self-confidence; feelings of failure

Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence)
+
Comfortable sense of self as a person,
both unique and socially accepted

Sense of fragmented, shifting, unclear

sense of self
2

Intimacy vs. Isolation (Early Adulthood)

+
Capacity for closeness and commitment
to another

feelings
of
aloneness,
loneliness,
separation; denial of intimacy needs
Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood)
+
Focus of concern beyond oneself, to
family, society, and future generations

Self-indulgent concerns; lack of future

orientation
Ego-integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood)
+
Sense of wholeness; basic satisfaction with
life

Feelings of futility, disappointment

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