Child Psych Essay Research Paper In today

Child Psych Essay, Research Paper

In today s world the field of psychology has grown to be a very respected science. Objectivity and the scientific method are both part of the psychologists mode of operation. However, even the greatest of psychologists can only theorize about what makes human beings behave and act the way they do. Absolutes are not a part of psychology; everything is relative and open to speculation. In the field of psychology there have been many different areas of interests. Human development is one of the most popular areas of interest for those who study psychology. Three of the most notable theorists addressing human development are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Jean Piaget. Each theorist has developed ideas consisting of stages pertaining to human development. Human development considered successful when one passes through various stages, defined by each theorist. Each theory differed in their focus according to each theorist based on different stages.

Sigmund Freud is known as the father of psychology. Although some of his work has been dismissed, most of it still holds weight in the world of psychology today. Freud believed that inner forces or drives fueled human development. He believed that the most powerful of all inner forces was our sexual drive or being. Freud linked sexual desire including any bodily pleasure into most of his work. Each stage focuses on a different area of the body that is a source of excitation and pleasure (Hoffnung, 33). Thus, when Freud discusses the sexual needs of children, they are not similar to the sexual needs that an adult would experience. Children experience sexual gratification in different ways such as sucking their thumbs or retaining their excrement. Freud specified certain areas of our bodies as erogenous zones such as the mouth and the genitals.

Freud s theory on human development is labeled as the psychosexual stages of development. Freud believed that each person as an individual passed through stages in their life based on which part of their body gratified them. According to Freud, if one is fixated on a specific stage, either taking longer in one stage or moving to another stage early, it is believed that individual will develop a disorder later on in life. Freud s psychosexual stages consist of five stages in total. The Oral stage takes place from birth to about one year of life. During this stage a child is orally oriented and the mouth is the erogenous zone. Everything a child touches is put in his or her mouth. Freud believes that all pleasure is derived through the mouth during this stage. When a child sucks his thumb he or she does so to gratify him or herself. The second stage of development takes place between one and three years of age, known as the Anal Stage. The erogenous zone shifts location from mouth to anal region. Freud believes that children experience sexual gratification during bowel movements and when they withhold bowel movements. Some children may even experience pleasure by handling or looking at their own feces. Once the Anal stage has been completed, Freud s next stage of development is the Phallic Stage.

The Phallic Stage usually occurs at about three to six years of age. The shift in the erogenous zone moves from the anal region to the genital organs. This stage is also known as the Oedipal Stage. During this stage, children take interest in their sexual organs. They begin to notice the differences and similarities between themselves and their parents. A child wants to be close and loving to the opposite sex parents. For girls this is referred to as the Elektra Complex. Once the child realizes they can not be with their mother or father, they begin to identify with the parent of the same sex. The next stage is called the Latency Stage which ranges from about six to twelve years old. There is an absence of an erogenous zone in this stage. After the realization that the child can not be attracted to a parent, the child shifts his or her attention to same sexed relationships. For example, boys will shift their sexual urges and drives to something acceptable such as sports and other physical or intellectual activities. The last stage of Freud s psychosexual development is the Genital Stage. The erogenous zone returns again more powerful to the genital organs. This stage takes place from puberty into adulthood. True sexual desire and mature sexual relationships mark this stage of development.

Erik Erikson took Freud s ideas as a starting point and expanded them to cover the entire life span of a human being. He also placed more emphasis on social encounters and identity. Erikson proposed that development occurs in a series of eight stages beginning with infancy and ending with old age. Each stage is named for a particular challenge that a child must overcome to be able to proceed to the next stage. Successful mastery of the psychosocial crisis at a particular stage results in personality strength, or virtue, that will help the individual meet future developmental challenges (Hoffnung, 34). Erikson s theory was named the Psychosocial Stages of Developmental Processes. The first stage is trust versus mistrust, ranging from birth to one year. This stage focused on oral-sensory and the development of trusting relationships with caregivers. According to Erikson, the child develops a sense of optimism or pessimism during this stage. The next stage is au