THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT

Theories of Personality Development

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Austrian neurologist & founder of psychoanalysis.
Offered the first real theory of personality development.
Describe adult behavior as being the result of instinctual drives that have primarily sexual nature (libido) from within the person & the
conflicts between these instincts.
individual (the id)
reality (the ego)
society (the superego)
Concerned more on looking at illness

Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory (Psychosexual Development)
Age Psychosexual Stage Characteristics
Infant
(Birth-1 yr)
Oral stage


Child explores the world by using the mouth especially the tongue.
Toddler
(1-3 yr)
Anal Stage


Child learns to control urination & defecation.
Preschooler
(3-5 yr)
Phallic Stage


Child learns sexual identity through awareness of genital area.
School-age child
(6-12 yr)
Latent Stage


Childs personality development appears to be non-active or dormant.
Adolescent
(13-20 yr)
Genital Stage Adolescent develops sexual maturity and learns to establish satisfactory relationships
with the opposite sex.



Erik Erikson (1902-1996)
Was trained in psychoanalytic theory but later developed his own theory of psychosocial development that stressed the importance of
culture & society in the development of the personality.
Concerned more on looking at wellness
Each task in his theory need not be resolved for the first time it arises.
Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development
Development Period Development Task Characteristics
Infancy
(Birth-1 1/2 yrs.)
Trust vs. mistrust Child learns to live & be loved.
If not cared, fear & suspicion arises.

Toddlerhood
(1 -3 yrs)
Autonomy vs. shame & doubt Child learns to be independent and make decisions for self.
If restrained too much/punished harshly likely develops lack of
confidence.

Early childhood
(Pre-school years)
(3-5 yrs)
Initiative vs. guilt Child engages in self-initiated activities & assumes more responsibility.
If made to feel bad/guilty later becomes dependent on others.


Middle & Late childhood
(elementary school yrs)
(6 yrs-puberty)
Industry vs. inferiority Child learns mastery of doing things well.
If unrewarded, may feel incompetent & unproductive.


Adolescence
(10-12 yrs)
Identity vs. role confusion Adolescents learn who they are & what kind of person they will be.
If not role confusion arises & often seeks negative identity.

Early adulthood
(20s, 30s)
Intimacy vs. isolation Individuals form intimate relationships with others.
If not, will have difficulty dealing with others & become isolated.

Middle adulthood
(40s, 50s)
Generativity vs. stagnation Individuals extend socially & able to juggle over various roles well.
If not, theyll have narrow perspective & are unable to cope with
change.

Late adulthood
(60s - )
Integrity vs. despair Individuals look back & evaluate what theyve done positive (integrity)
If negative (despair)

THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
Swiss psychologist, introduced concepts of cognitive development that are similar yet separate to Freud & Erikson.
Piaget defined four stages of cognitive development; within each stage are finer units or schema
Each period is an advantage over the previous one; to progress from one period to next, the child reorganizes his or her thinking processes to bring
them close to reality.
Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor
Neonatal reflex

Primary circular
reaction

Secondary circular
reaction

Coordination of
secondary reactions

Tertiary circular
reactions

Invention of new
means through
mental combinations

1 mo.

1-4
mos.

4-8
mos.

8-12
mos.

12-18
mos.

18-24
mos.

Stimuli are assimilated into beginning mental images. Reflexive behavior.

Hand-mouth & ear-eye coordination develop. Intent of behavior present.
activity: rattle, tape of mothers voice

Infant learns to initiate, recognize (as memory is present) & repeat pleasurable exp. toy: mirror; game: peek-a-boo


Have sense of separateness (separation anxiety), permanence. Recognizes familiar objects.
toy: colored boxes

Child has space & time perception, permanence; trial & error learning
game: throw & retrieve

Transition phase Uses memory & imitation to act, solve basic problems. Can foresee.
toys: (with several uses) blocks & colored plastic rings
Preoperational
Thought
2-7 yr. Comprehends the world with words, images & drawings. Comprehends simple abstractions but thinking is basically concrete & literal. No
awareness of reversibility, egocentric, concept of time now; centering, role fantasy assimilation. No concept of conservation. Intuitive.
toys: (require imaginations) modeling clay
Concrete
Operational
Thought
7-12
yr.
Displays concrete inductive reasoning, memory & classification skills, aware of reversibility, sees constancy despite transformation
activity: collecting & classifying natural objects
Formal
Operational
Thought
12 yr. hypothetical - deductive reasoning, understands causality and time periods. Adult & mature thought (idealistic/logical/abstract)
activity: talk time
It is important that infants have stimulating objects around for exploring so that experimenting and learning can proceed this way.
THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Lawrence Kohlberg
a psychologist
studied the reasoning ability of boys and based on Piagets developmental stages, developed a theory on moral reasoning or the way children gain
knowledge of right and wrong
children pass through stages of moral development as well as cognitive and psychosocial development.
Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development
AGE (YEAR) STAGE DESCRIPTION CHARACTERISTICS
Preconventional (Level I)
2-3

4-7

1

2

Punishment/obedience orientation

Individualism, purpose &
exchange

Child does right because a parent tells him or her to & to avoid punishment

Do good out of self-interest. Imitative, cannot apply principles, egocentric.
Conventional (Level II)
7-10

10-12


3

4

Orientation to interpersonal
relations of mutuality

Maintenance of social order, fixed
rules & authority

Engage in actions that are nice or fair rather than right to be good
person in own eyes and eyes of others.

Child finds following rules satisfying. Obey rules usually when imposed.
Postconventional (Level III)
Older than 12

5

6

Social contract, utilitarian law-
making perspectives

Universal ethical principle
orientation

Adolescent follows standards of society because they are important & right &
good for all people.

Adults follow internalized standards of conduct.