SESSION 9

Developmental Psychology: How Children Become Adults

I. OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, you will be able to
• Define developmental psychology;
• Describe fetal development;
• Explain Freud’s theory of psychosexual development;
• Specify key features of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development; • identify
the four stages in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development;
• Identify the three levels in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development; • describe
the two basic dimensions of parental style.

II. INTRODUCTION
• A familiar proverb states, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” Meant to apply
as a metaphor to the raising of children, this saying contains within it an entire
justification for the study of developmental psychology.
• Every adult was once a child, and the adult was shaped and formed by
experiences during child- hood.
• Psychologists as far apart in many of their assumptions and conclusions as
Sigmund Freud and John Watson subscribed to the general view that in order to
understand adult behavior it is necessary to study child behavior.
• The contemporary approach to developmental psychology expands the concept
of development well past childhood and adolescence.
• There are also developmental stages associated with adulthood. This will be
evident when Erik Erikson’s theory of development is presented later in this
lesson.

III. DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

• What is Developmental Psychology?
o Developmental psychology is the study of the growth and maturation of
the individual over an extended span of time.
 o Developmental psychologists focus on human growth and changes
across the lifespan, including physical, cognitive, social, intellectual,
perceptual, personality and emotional growth 1.
• Child psychology is a subset of developmental psychology. It concerns itself
primarily with the study of the individual from birth to the beginning of
adolescence (usually around the age of twelve or thirteen).
• Adolescent psychology is also a subset of developmental psychology. It
concerns itself primarily with the study of the individual from the beginning of
adolescence to its end (usually around the age of eighteen).
• Sometimes child psychology refers loosely to both child and adolescent
psychology.

IV. Biological Aspects of Development: From Fertilized Egg to Infant

• The individual begins when a given sperm and a given ovum unite.
• Provided by the father, the sperm, or more completely spermatozoon, is a
highly mobile cell with a tail.
• Provided by the mother, the ovum is a single egg cell.
• Both the sperm and the ovum contain twenty-three single chromosomes.
• When the egg is fertilized, there will be twenty-three pairs of chromosomes.
• Meiosis is the process that reduces pairs of chromosomes to the individual
chromosomes found in either the sperm or the ovum.
• Mitosis, on the other hand, is the process that allows a cell to reproduce itself.
This process starts with twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, and all twenty-
three pairs are replicated.
• It is mitosis that makes possible the growth of the individual from one cell, the
fertilized egg, to billions of cells.
• There are four stages associated with conception and birth:
1. Zygote
2. Embryo
3. Fetus
4. Neonate.
• When a sperm and an ovum unite to form a fertilized egg, the new being is called
a zygote. The stage of the zygote lasts for one week.
• During this stage the zygote develops rapidly from a single cell to a large group of
cells. A zygote may be imagined as a ball of cells without differentiation.

1
https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/developmental.
 • From one week to seven weeks, the new being is called an embryo.
• As the cells continue to divide and replicate themselves, some differentiation
begins to take place.
• Three basic embryonic layers emerge:
1. Ectoderm,
2. Mesoderm,
3. Endoderm.
• The ectoderm is the outer layer of cells, and it will become the sense organs,
skin, and nervous system.
• The mesoderm is the middle layer of cells, and it will become the heart, bones,
and muscles.
• The endoderm is the internal layer of cells, and it will become the stomach,
intestines, and lungs.
• From seven weeks to birth, the new being is called a fetus.
• Fetal development is rich and complex. The cells continue to divide, and they
become specialized in their structures and functions. Brain cells (neurons), skin
cells, hair cells, fat cells, and many other kinds of cells form.
• The head, limbs, fingers and toes, and other features of the body appear. In the
typical case, the stage of the fetus lasts a little over seven months, making the
total time from conception to birth about nine months.
• At birth the new being is called a neonate.
• Neo means “new.” And nate means “birth.” Thus, the word neonate simply
means “newborn.”
• If the neonate loses weight after birth, then he or she is not referred to as an
infant until birth weight has been regained. The word infant is from Latin roots
meaning “without speech.”

V. Different Theories of Human Development

A. Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development: From the Oral to the Genital
Stage.
a. The Author Freud. Sigmund Freud is an Austrian neurologist and the
founder of psychoanalysis.
b. He lived from May 6, 1856, until September 3, 1939.
c. Freud's school of thought-psychoanalysis emphasizes the influence
of the unconscious mind on behavior. He was one of the major
intellectual figures of the 20th century.
d. Psychosexual development was one of the most influential theories
that he introduced in his time. He believed that our adult personality
is largely shaped by experiences in our early developmental stages.
Each stage is centered around the resolution of conflicts which help
build growth, and if done otherwise will result to fixations.
e. These stages were introduced by Freud as the 5 stages of Human
Development. It includes Oral stage, Anal stage, Phallic stage,
Latency stage, and Genital stage.
f. Freud’s Stages of Development
1. The First stage in this process is the oral stage.
- Oral stage centers its interest on the oral gratification of
an infant.
- This stage happens from birth to one year old, and
according to this stage the infant's mouth was the only
engrossing organ of pleasure.
- In the Oral stage, the infant acquires pleasure from
sucking, biting, and chewing. In this stage also, the infant
is dependent on to their caretakers for oral gratification.
- The oral stage also leads the infant to develop a sense of
trust and/or mistrust based on their experiences of oral
gratification.
- According to Freud, when a baby does not receive enough
oral stimulation, they can later develop oral fixations.
- A child will have an obsessive, unhealthy behavior that
involves the mouth.
- When they are stress, they will respond with nail biting,
just to cope up with the stress or problems.
2. The Second stage is the Anal Stage.
- This happens between the first year to third year of a
child.
- In this period, the child is ushered to learn the process of
removal and withholding. Freud believes that the child
learns their pleasure from passing or holding back
excrement.
- Freud believed that if a child is potty trained, their
personality will develop. If a child is potty trained too
strictly, they may develop a personality that is too
controlling and compulsive.
 - On the other hand, if a child is not trained, they may
develop unorganized and passive personalities.
- When it comes to Anal fixation, a child who experience
too much punishment during will result to an adult who is
obsessive compulsive who is generally stubborn and
perfectionist, and always seeks order, on the other hand
became careless and lack of self - control.
3. The Third stage is the Phallic stage.
- Phallic stage occurs in the third year to sixth year of a
child. This stage centered on the genitals.
- In the phallic stage, Freud used the Oedipus and Electra
Complex in which a boy and a girl sexually desires their
parents.
- This is where the conflict begins. It happens when a child
feels a desire for the opposite-sex parent, and hatred
toward the same-sex parent.
- For boys, this is called the Oedipus complex, involving a
boy's desire for his mother and hatred towards his father.
- For the girls, on the other hand, is called Electra complex,
it involves girl's desire for his father's love and attention
and hatred for her mother.
- Just like the Oedipus complex, she has the urge to
replace her mother and looks at her as rival for her
father's love. "
4. The fourth stage is the latency stage.
- This stage lasts for six years until puberty.
- The term "latent" refers to a state in which the libido is
substantially repressed or sublimated, meaning "hidden."
- Unlike other stages, Freud did not designate an
erogenous zone for this stage.
- Since no further psychosexual development occurs at
this stage, a child shifts to other activities like school,
sports, and building relationships.
- Given that sexual desires are suppressed during this
stage, a child’s energy can be redirected into developing
social and intellectual skills.
- On the other hand, dysfunction at this stage prevents a
child's ability to form healthy relationships as an adult.
 - As Freud believed that unresolved conflicts or issues
during this stage can lead to problems, such as difficulty
expressing emotions or creating healthy relationships.
5. Moving on to the fifth stage, which is the Genital stage.
- This stage occurs from puberty till adulthood.
- During this stage, a child's ego matures to the point where
they long for independence.
- This phase marks the rise of love and sexual emotions,
which lead to building of intimate relationships.
- An example of this stage are teenagers who develop
sexual attraction towards others and start to explore their
sexuality.
- Their ability to form deep and long-term relationships
becomes evident, and their sexual desire and conduct
become healthy and consensual.
- However, according to Freud, unresolved conflicts or
difficulties during this period can lead to sexual
dysfunction, difficulty developing healthy relationships,
and other emotional disorders.
- At this stage, young adults are expected to strengthen
their maturity in handling and forming romantic
relationships.
B. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development: From Trust to Integrity
a. Erik Erikson (1902–1994) was personally trained by Freud and
maintained respect for Freud’s theory.
b. However, he expanded Freud’s concept of psychosexual development
to include psychosocial development.
c. Psychosocial development refers to the characteristic ways in which
the individual learns to respond to other people.
d. The term social world is often used to refer to the constellation of
other human beings in our environment—parents, siblings, teachers,
friends, sweethearts and lovers, husbands and wives, and coworkers.
This is the world addressed by Erikson’s theory.
e. According to Erikson, there are eight stages in psychosocial
development:
1. Trust versus mistrust (Birth – 1 year)
- An infant with a sense of trust tends to thrive and expects
good things to happen. Conversely, an infant with a sense
 of mistrust sometimes displays a failure to thrive
syndrome.
- A lack of interest in the surrounding world and poor
health, associated with mistrust, are characteristics of
infantile depression.
- Affection, displayed in the form of loving attention, tends
to foster the trait of trust. Lack of affection tends to foster
the trait of mistrust.
- These last two statements concerning affection tend to
apply to future stages as well.
- In general, affection and positive reinforcement tend to
bring forth the positive traits.
2. Autonomy versus shame and guilt (2 – 3 years old)
- A toddler with a sense of autonomy will be interested in
exploring the immediate world and display an interest in
novel stimulation.
- A certain amount of self-direction will emerge.
- Conversely, a toddler with a sense of shame and doubt
will tend to hold back, to seem shy, and to lack self-
confidence.
3. Initiative versus guilt (3 – 6 years old)
- The third stage of psychosocial development takes place
during the preschool years.
- At this point in psychosocial development, children begin
to assert their power and control over the world through
directing play and other social interactions.
- Children who are successful at this stage feel capable
and able to lead others. Those who fail to acquire these
skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of
initiative.
- Outcomes
o The major theme of the third stage of psychosocial
development is that children need to begin
asserting control and power over the environment.
o Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose.
Children who try to exert too much power
experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of
guilt.
4. Industry versus inferiority (6 – 12 years old)
- A sense of industry refers to children having confidence in
their own ability in problem-solving and can receive
evaluations of their work and make productive use of
those feedback.
- A child with a sense of industry will show an interest in
school, study, complete homework, agree to do
reasonable chores, and in general display responsible
behavior.
- A child with a sense of inferiority will avoid studying,
homework, and chores.
- The child obtains no satisfaction from these activities,
particularly if the child often obtains poor grades or
receives too much parental criticism.
5. Identity versus role confusion (12 – 18 years old)
- An adolescent with an identity has a sense of direction in
life.
- He or she already thinks in terms of a particular
vocational area, has fairly well- defined plans for the
future, and a high level of self-esteem.
- Although goals are not yet attained, they seem clearly
desirable and possible.
- Conversely, an adolescent suffering from role confusion
imagines no particular pathway in life and dreams of no
well-shaped future.
- On the contrary, the future seems obscure and formless.
6. Intimacy versus isolation (Young adults)
- Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships
with other people. Success leads to strong relationships,
while failure results in loneliness and isolation.
- This stage covers the period of early adulthood when
people are exploring personal relationships.
- Erikson believed it was vital that people develop close,
committed relationships with other people. Those who
are successful at this step will form relationships that are
enduring and secure.
- Building On Earlier Stages
 o Remember that each step builds on skills learned
in previous steps.
o Erikson believed that a strong sense of personal
identity was important for developing intimate
relationships.
o Studies have demonstrated that those with a poor
sense of self tend to have less committed
relationships and are more likely to struggler with
emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression.
7. Generativity versus self-absorption (Adults)
- Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast
them, often by having children or creating a positive
change that benefits other people.
- Success leads to feelings of usefulness and
accomplishment, while failure results in shallow
involvement in the world.
- During adulthood, we continue to build our lives, focusing
on our career and family.
- Those who are successful during this phase will feel that
they are contributing to the world by being active in their
home and community.
- Those who fail to attain this skill will feel unproductive
and uninvolved in the world.
8. Integrity versus despair. (Old age)
- The final psychosocial stage occurs during old age and is
focused on reflecting back on life.
- At this point in development, people look back on the
events of their lives and determine if they are happy with
the life that they lived or if they regret the things they did
or didn't do.
- Erikson's theory differed from many others because it
addressed development throughout the entire lifespan,
including old age.
- Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of
fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of
wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and
despair.
 - At this stage, people reflect back on the events of their
lives and take stock.
- Those who look back on a life they feel was well-lived will
feel satisfied and ready to face the end of their lives with a
sense of peace.
- Those who look back and only feel regret will instead feel
fearful that their lives will end without accomplishing the
things they feel they should have.
- Outcomes
o Those who are unsuccessful during this stage will
feel that their life has been wasted and may
experience many regrets. The person will be left
with feelings of bitterness and despair.
f. In each stage the first attribute mentioned is a positive, or desirable,
personality trait. The second attribute is a negative, or undesirable,
personality trait. Trust, for example, is positive. Mistrust is negative. At
each stage of development, the individual is challenged by life to form
the positive trait.