Theories of Child’s Development

• Understanding Emotional Changes

Identify of oneself becomes more important as one progresses into adolescence. Part of
identity is sorting through emotions. Many of these emotional changes are in part controlled
by hormones in your body.

As we exit the childhood stage, we enter a world filled with decisions, questioning and
testing our morals, social status, sexual identity, and more. It is during this time that we start to
develop a stronger reliance on our peer group. It’s normal to want to be a part of the “in
crowd”. Peer pressure becomes part of our daily lives and can control us if we are not careful.
Teenagers must be taught that it is best to identify and celebrate the differences and
uniqueness that is you. Our choices, in part, reflect what we’ll become even with the best
parental guidance. For some parents it is difficult for them to watch their children make poor
decisions that they know will not be good. On the other hand, some children do not want to be
exactly what their parents want them to be whether that is a doctor, lawyer, or a business
leader. During this time, we may feel that our parents don’t understand us and they have
unrealistic expectations for us. As our physical body changes, those changes engender new
feelings about our self-image. Whether a person is short, tall, fat or skinny, there will be
emotional feelings that arise because of these physical changes. It is important to realize that
millions of people have gone through all of these things before so you are not alone.

• Understand Social Change

This drawing away our parents and to our peers is part of what is referred to as peer
pressure and is a normal result of the beginnings of adolescence. That pressure will have a
direct effect on the existing relationships that we have with our parents in part because the
transition into adolescence is difficult on them also. During this developmental phase, we
tend to lean towards those that we believe understand what we are going through. Those
people are usually those who are also going through adolescence. Just like in childhood but
now on a more profound level, we develop personal relationships with those who share our
interests. During this time we begin to become more sexually aware. Many of us feel
isolated during this transition and it appears that other stressors take on a greater
significance. Some of the problems at home such as sibling rivalry, poor parenting,
domestic violence among a host of other problems lead some adolescents to choose
unhealthy coping strategies such as substance abuse, promiscuity, and/or self-harm in an
effort to temporarily escape their particular situations.
Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

Sigmund Freud, a well-known psychoanalyst coined the psychosexual development

theory. His theory described how personality developed over the course of childhood. While
the theory is famous in psychology, it has always been quite controversial, both during Freud’s
time and in modern psychology.
Freud believed that personality developed through a series of childhood stages and was
composed of three parts: the id; the ego; and the super-ego. The id is the pleasure-seeking
energies of the personality and it focuses on certain erogenous areas. This psychosexual
energy, or libido, was described as the driving force behind behavior. The ego develops later in
childhood and it is considered the conscious and rational part of the personality. The super-ego
develops as a result of training, teaching and socialization and is a moderator of the id and the
ego. Part of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory suggested that personality is mostly established by
the age of five. Early experiences play a large role in personality development and continue to
influence behavior later in life (https://www.verywellmind.com/freuds-stages-of-psychosexual-
development-2795962).
Freud postulated that if these psychosexual stages are completed successfully, a healthy
personality would be the result. If certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage,
fixations can occur. A fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Until this
conflict or fixation is resolved, the individual will remain “stuck” in this stage. For example, a
person who is fixated at the oral stage may be over-dependent on others and may seek oral
stimulation through smoking, drinking, or eating.

1. The Oral Stage occurs from birth to 1 year old. The erogenous zone is the mouth.

According to Freud, during this stage, the infant interacts with its environment primarily
with the mouth. Basic reflexes such as rooting and sucking are important during this
stage. The mouth is vital to the infant for eating but also brings out pleasure through
tasting and sucking on things. Because the infant is entirely dependent upon caretakers,
the infant also develops sense of trust and comfort through the oral stimulation of
feeding and sucking on things. The primary conflict at this stage is the weaning process
which is described as how the child becomes less dependent upon caretakers. If fixation
occurs at this stage, Freud believed the individual would have issues with dependency or
aggression. Oral fixation can result in problems with drinking, eating, smoking, or nail
biting.

2. The Anal Stage occurs from age 1 to 3 years old. The erogenous zone is concerning
bowel and bladder control.

During the anal stage, Freud believed that the primary focus of the libido was on
controlling bladder and bowel movements. The major conflict at this stage is toilet
training. The child has to learn to control his/he bodily needs. Developing this control
leads to a sense of accomplishment and independence. According to Freud, success of
this stage is dependent upon the way in which parents approach toilet training. Parents
 who utilize praise and rewards for using the toilet at the appropriate time encourage
positive outcomes and help children feel capable and productive. Freud believed that
positive experiences during this stage served as the basis for people to become
competent, productive, and creative adults.
However, not all parents provide the support and encouragement that children need
during this stage. Some parents instead punish, ridicule, or shame a child for accidents.
According to Freud, inappropriate parental responses can result in negative outcomes.
If parent take an approach that is too lenient, Freud suggested that an anal-expulsive
personality could develop in which the individual has a messy, wasteful, or destructive
personality. If parents are too strict or begin toilet training too early, Freud believed
that an anal-retentive personality develops in which the individual is stringent, orderly,
rigid and obsessive.

3. The Phallic Stage occurs from age 3 to 6 years old. The erogenous zone is concerning
the genitals.

Freud suggested that during the phallic stage, the primary focus of the libido is on the
genitals. At this age, children also begin to discover the differences between males and
females.
Freud also believed that boys begin to view their fathers as a rival for the mother’s
affections. The Oedipus complex describes these feelings of wanting to possess the
mother and the desire to replace the father. However, the child also fears that he will
be punished by the father for these feelings, a fear Freud termed castration anxiety.
The term Electra complex has been used to describe a similar set of feelings experienced
by young girls. Freud, however, believed that girls instead experience penis envy.
Eventually, the child begins to identify with the same-sex parent as a means of
vicariously possessing the other parent. For girls, however, Freud believed that penis
envy was never fully resolved and that all women remain somewhat fixated on this
stage. Psychologists such as Karen Horney disputed this theory, calling it both
inaccurate and demeaning to women. Instead, Horney proposed that men experience
feelings of inferiority because they cannot give birth to children, a concept she referred
to as womb envy.

4. The Latent Period occurs from 6 to puberty. The erogenous zone is concerning sexual
feelings are inactive.

During this stage, Freud postulated that the superego continues to develop while the
id’s energies are suppressed. Children develop social skills, values and relationships
with peers and adults outside of the family. The development of the ego and super-ego
contribute to this period of calm. The stage begins around the time that children enter
into school and more become concerned with peer relationships, hobbies and other
interests. The latent period is a time of exploration in which sexual energy is still
present, but it is directed into other areas such as intellectual pursuits and social
 interactions. This stage is important in the development of social and communications
skills and self-confidence.

5. The Genital Stage occurs from puberty to death. The erogenous zone is maturing sexual
interest.

The onset of puberty causes the libido to become active once again. According to
Freud, during this final stage of psychosexual development, the individual develops a
strong sexual interest in the opposite sex. This stage begins during puberty but last
throughout the rest of a person’s life. Where is earlier stages the focus was solely on
individual needs, interest in the welfare of others grows during this stage. If the other
stages have been completed successfully, the individual should now be well-balanced,
warm, and caring. The goal of this stage is to establish a balance between the various
life areas.

Erik Erikson’s Psychoanalytic Theory

Erik Erikson’s theory is based on the notion that development consists of a series of
psychosocial crises that individuals must successfully resolve if they are to achieve maturity.
Erikson based his work on Freud’s (1923) theory. However, instead of stressing the
important of sexual development like Freud, he wanted to investigate how children socialize
and how this affects their sense of self.
Erikson believes that the ego develops as it successfully works out crises that are
distinctly social in nature. These involve building a sense of trust in others, developing a sense
of identity in society, and helping the next generation prepare for the future. Erikson extends
on Freudian ideas by focusing on the adaptive and creative characteristic of the ego and
expanding the notion of the stages of personality development to cover the entire lifespan.
Consistent with Freud and many others, Erik Erikson contended that personality develops in a
preordained sequence, and builds upon each previous stage. This is called the epigenetic
principle. The result of this “maturation timetable” is a wide and integrated set of life skills and
abilities that function together within the autonomous individual.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

According to Erikson, there are eight distinct stages of psychosocial development.
Erikson assumes that a crisis occurs at each stage of development. For Erikson (1963),
these crises are a psychosocial nature because they involve psychological needs of the
individual (i.e. psycho) conflicting with the needs of society (i.e. social). According to the
theory, successful resolution of each stage results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of
basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego can use to resolve
subsequent crises. Failure to successfully resolve a stage crisis may lead to a reduced ability to
complete succeeding stages thereby potentially developing a less wholesome personality and
sense of self. However, there is still a chance to resolve these crises at a later time:
 Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

Period Stage Positive Characteristics Gained and Typical Activities

Birth to 1 Trust vs. Hope: trust in primary caregiver and in one’s own ability to
year old Mistrust make things happen
1 t0 3 Autonomy vs. Will: new physical skills lead to demand for more choices, most
Shame & often seen as saying “no” to caregivers; child learns self-care
Doubt skills such as toileting
3 to 6 Initiative vs. Purpose: ability to organize activities around some goals; more
Guilt assertiveness and aggressiveness (Oedipus or Electra conflict
with parent od same sex may lead to guilt)
6 to 12 Industry vs. Competence: cultural skills and norms, including school skills
Inferiority and tools use (failure to master these lead to sense of
inferiority)
12 to 18 Identity vs. Fidelity: adaptation of sense of self to pubertal changes,
Role consideration of future choices, achievement of a more mature
confusion sexual identity, and search for new values
18 to 30 Intimacy vs. Love: person develops intimate relationships beyond adolescent
Isolation love; many became parents
30 to old Generativity Care: people rare children, focus on occupational achievement
age vs. and creativity, and train the next generation; turn onward from
Stagnation self toward others
Old age Integrity vs. Wisdom: person conducts a life review, integrates earlier stages
Despair and comes to terms with basic identity; develops seld-
acceptance